Join us in calling for a return of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza…
We Rise by Batya Levine | Listen here
Since 1919, the Church Council has been working for peace with justice in Seattle, King County, and across the globe. This work is grounded in our vision of a world where justice is realized; where all people experience liberation, profound peace, expansive equity, and joy-filled human flourishing. We work toward this vision by building collective power through faith-rooted community organizing for transformational change toward justice and liberation – specifically in the areas of immigration and land stewardship. In this present moment, we cannot with integrity work locally on immigration and land stewardship and remain silent about the atrocities happening to the people of Palestine.
Co-Executive Director Joey Lopez spoke at the Jewish Voice for Peace rally last Friday at the federal building, calling our elected officials to implement a ceasefire now and to refrain from sending additional military funding to the State of Israel. Joey shared:
“Last summer, my husband and I gathered with our families and friends to celebrate our wedding. It was a beautiful ritual that intertwined our respective faith traditions, mine Christian and his Jewish. Part of our day was signing our Ketubah – the wedding covenant between a couple in the Jewish tradition. In this covenant, in the witness of God, our family and friends, my husband and I committed to “be devoted to justice, to acts of lovingkindness, and be partners in repairing the world.” Further on in our Ketubah, we honor the covenant of love and compassion between Ruth and Naomi – “wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
Over the past several weeks, these commitments of our covenant to one another have never been more real. We have shared in collective grief. I have born witness to the grief Dustin has, as he watches what is unfolding in Gaza in the name of his faith tradition. Dustin has born witness to my righteous anger toward the role white Christian supremacy continues to play, pitting Jews against Muslims, fueling a rise in antisemitism and islamophobia. We both share in the deep sadness for the ignorance of the core tenant of our respective traditions – b’tzelem elohim, that we are all made in the image of the Divine.
This collective grief is why I am organizing… why we are organizing. We cannot continue with business as usual.“
Co-Executive Director Joey Lopez spoke at the Jewish Voice for Peace rally in November 2023.
Core to our founding, The Church Council stands firm in our opposition to war and militarism, advocating for peace with justice. We know that our country’s international efforts often escalate violence rather than facilitating efforts for peace. We will not be complicit. We will not be silent.
We relate to nearly 300 faith communities across King County. This is the collective power we can bring to this moment. Together, we call for:
The safe return of all hostages.
An immediate ceasefire
A stop to additional military funding to the State of Israel
We call on members of Congress and President Biden to act now!
Over the last several weeks we have helped to craft and signed on to a multi-faith statement (see below to sign-on as an individual or faith community), we have signed on to letters to our US Senators asking them to support a ceasefire and stop military aid to Israel, and we emailed an action alert about a ceasefire rally at the Federal Building in Seattle on Nov. 3, that Joey and many other faith leaders spoke at.
We hope you will join us:
Sign on as an individual or organization to the WA Statement in Solidarity with Jews and Palestinians, co-written by an interfaith coalition in which the Church Council is a part: tinyurl.com/WAStatement
To stay informed on future actions, click here.
Join a loving group of interfaith parents and kiddos in our community as part of the National families day of action for a free Palestine on November 12 from 11am-1pm at Columbia Park.
Take action through this Gaza Toolkit created by interfaith leaders in WA state: tinyurl.com/WAGazaToolkit.