Apartheid-Free Pledge discussions
Dear Lakeshore,
I hope you can join in Sunday’s Forum with special guests from Kehilla Synagogue, a sister congregation with whom Lakeshore partner in many ways. They will join us to share their thoughts on the Apartheid-Free pledge, which Lakeshore is considering.
We affirm our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people. We oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression, and we declare ourselves an Apartheid-Free Faith Community. To that end, we pledge to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.
At out April congregational meeting, I shared with you the Apartheid-Free pledge. Church council has been discussing the pledge and agreed that the congregation should discuss whether Lakeshore should take this pledge. At the congregational meeting, several people wanted to hear from our Jewish partners what they think of the pledge, and Sunday’s Forum will provide an opportunity to hear from members of Kehilla, to ask questions, and to engage in further discussion. I hope you will be able to participate!
October 1, following worship, will be Lakeshore’s next congregational meeting. The agenda for the meeting will be a listening session to hear from one another our thoughts on the pledge and whether Lakeshore should sign it. The pledge itself is a way for communities to come together in support of Palestinians in their struggle for liberation. It has been taken by over 150 communities, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Interfaith groups. Our Baptist partners the Alliance of Baptists and Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Bautistas por la Paz have taken this pledge and encourage their partner congregations to take it as well. You can learn more about the pledge at apartheid-free.org.
I look forward to our discussions this Sunday and October 1.
Pastor Allison
