On this Good Friday, as we rember the crucifixion and those who continue to be crucified and
as the global church gathers at the foot of the cross to remember the suffering, death, and
burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, the World Communion of Reformed Churches lifts an urgent
cry from Beit Sahour — the town of the shepherds, the gateway to Bethlehem, and the heart
of what remains of Palestinian Christian presence in the West Bank.

As a global koinonia of more than 100 million Christians in 109 countries, we are bound
together by communion and called to justice. Faithful discipleship, we believe, means
responding to God’s summons to foster justice and meet the spiritual and physical needs of all
people — through the transforming love of Jesus Christ, given for the world.

We cannot remain silent.

The newly advanced Israeli settlement of “Yatziv” is encroaching upon the last remaining
land of Beit Sahour — land designated for public parks, housing, and community services.
Established on a former military base and already occupied by armed settlers, this illegal
settlement is not merely a political matter. It is a multidimensional system of displacement,
replacement, and erasure — one that threatens to extinguish the living Christian witness in
the very place where the angels announced peace on earth.

As we confess Christ crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, we stand in active solidarity.
We call our member churches to move beyond statements of concern to meaningful action:
divesting from the settlement enterprise, advocating for the protection of Ush Ghurab, and
ensuring that the tomb is not empty of our Christian siblings as well.

As we move through Good Friday and into the silence of Holy Saturday, let us resist the
temptation to rush toward resurrection. The liturgy invites us to wait — to sit in the darkness,
to feel the weight of the stone, to remain present to the suffering of those who have no choice
but to endure it. This is not a failure of hope. It is the fullness of solidarity.

Read the Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth Easter Alert 2026