This page contains information for parishes and individuals seeking to better understand the Church’s response to the war and guidance on how they can how help whether through prayer, giving or action.
This page does not pretend to be a comprehensive resource on the war in Gaza or the wider issues shaping the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Pray
The first thing Christians can do in response to war is to pray for peace and for those affected.
On 7 October 2023, the day of the attack by Hamas on Israel, the Archbishop of Canterbury and York prayed for those mourning, those injured, and all those fearing for their safety. They also prayed for restraint on all sides, and renewed efforts towards a just peace for all.
Prayer remains as urgent today as it did then.
Please find prayers for peace and hope which can be used to pray for the situation.
Give
Following a 4-day pastoral visit to Jerusalem (19-23 October 2023), Archbishop Justin Welby joined with Archbishop Hosam Naoum to launch a joint appeal calling for prayers and donations both for the vital work of Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, and also for the wide range of ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem which are also being greatly affected by the war.
Alongside the various healthcare programmes they run, the Diocese also provides education and training, youth and women's ministries and ecumenical & interfaith engagement. Full details of this work can be found on the Diocese’s website.
If you would like to learn more about the Diocese of Jerusalem, Bearing Witness is a brilliant series of studies with information and films available online from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Amongst other things, it contains a short film about the ministry of Al Ahli Hospital.
If you would like to contribute to the appeal, you can do so securely through the following UK charitable bodies: The Friends of the Holy Land and the Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association.
Act
If you would like to connect with organisations working to promote peace and human flourishing in the Middle East then check out the following organisations:
- Christian Aid is the official ecumenical arm of Churches in Britain and Ireland and has been working with the poorest and most vulnerable people in the Middle East since the early 1950s, when it provided humanitarian relief to Palestinian refugees.
- Embrace the Middle East is an ecumenical Christian charity working to help marginalised and vulnerable communities in the Middle East.
- The Jerusalem Middle East Church Association has supported the life and work of the Anglican Church across Jerusalem, the Middle East and North Africa for more than 120 years and other many ways for individuals to get involved in supporting the Church in the Holy Land.
- Friends of the Holy Land is a non-political Christian Charity whose mission it is to secure a resilient and enduring Christian community in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel and Jordan - the part of the world that Christians call the Holy Land.
- USPG is a historic Anglican mission agency that has a long standing partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
- The Church Mission Society is a historic Anglican mission society which supports mission partners across the region.
- The Council of Christians and Jews is a leading interfaith charity which works to help Jews and Christians to meet, to understand each other better and to create meaningful engagement between the communities.
Stay informed
The Church of England has issued several statements in response to the war in Gaza.
- A statement from the House of Bishops (13 February 2024)
- A statement from the House of Bishops (13 December 2023)
- The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address to the Church of England’s General Synod where he calls for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza (13 November 2023).
- A video message from Archbishop Hossam, the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, on the humanitarian challenges facing his diocese (13 November 2023).
- A speech in the House of Lords by the Bishop of Gloucester calling attention to the need to stop the conflict spreading to the West Bank (31 October 2023).
- A statement from the House of Bishops calling for immediate humanitarian pauses to the war (31 October 2023).
- A speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury in House of Lords on the war in Gaza (24 October 2023).
- A call by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for an end to the bloodshed in Israel and Gaza after an explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza (18 October 2023).
- A response by the Bishop of Sheffield to a statement in the House of Lords seeking assurances that the people of Gaza will be able to return to their homes after the war (16 October 2023).
- Statements by UK faith leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, condemning antisemitism and calling for solidarity between faiths (17 October 2023).
- Response by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the attack on the Anglican Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza (15 October 2023).
- Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Israel and Gaza (13 October 2023).
- Statement by the Archbishops of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York following the attacks by Hamas on 7 October (7 October 2023).