Kairos Palestine is the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" of our time. This Confession of Faith, written in 2009 by a broad spectrum of Palestinian Christian leaders, is addressed to Palestinians, Israelis, the international community--as well as all the churches of the world. It lifts up the classical theological virtues of faith, hope, and love that lie at the heart of the Christian Gospel, and affirms that resistance to injustice and oppression is firmly grounded in these principles. It is both an anguished cry in a dark hour and a profound testament to unquenchable hope.

This special 24-page PJN (formerly IPMN) publication pairs the Kairos Palestine statement with a three-week study plan that provides individual readers and congregational groups with essential historical, political, and theological context as well as a list of thought-provoking questions to stimulate reflection and discussion. The booklet is an excellent guide for readers undertaking an individual study of the document.

Church-based groups will benefit from the detailed lesson plans for a three-week congregational study, including a list of thought-provoking questions to stimulate reflection and discussion.

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Companion Teaching Resources

As an additional teaching tool to Kairos Palestine, see with the following presentations and companion articles designed to enrich the study guide.

Powerpoint Study Aids to download free:
Facts on the Ground - An introduction before you start (The Delaware Analogy)
Part 1 - Faith
Part 2 - Hope
Part 3 - Love & Resistance

 

We Hear Your Call • This collection of articles was published by Ecclesio in a week of reporting on the North American response to Kairos Palestine. With all the heads of churches in the Holy Land signing the Kairos Palestine confession of faith, it is a unique call to action to the Christian community around the world. These articles from Ecclesio report on some of the actions taken by U.S. denominations in response to this call. The final article reports on the Canadian response. They appear here in the order they were published in May 2013.

 

  • Why Study Kairos Palestine?

    In 2010, the 219th General Assembly of the PC(USA) commended Kairos Palestine for study. The 219th GA “Commends for study the Kairos Palestine document (‘A Moment of Truth’), and endorses the document’s emphases on hope for liberation, nonviolence, love of enemy, and reconciliation. We lift up for study the often neglected voice of Palestinian Christians.” [Cmt 14, item 14-08]

  • What does kairos mean?

    Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment, the supreme moment; a crucial time into which a document is spoken. In the New Testament, kairos means "the appointed time in the purpose of God,” the time when God acts (e.g. in Mark 1.15, the kairos is fulfilled).

    At a “kairos moment,” members of Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Baptist traditions in the Palestinian Christian community issued a statement in Bethlehem in December 2009 called the "Kairos Palestine Document.” Many of these brothers and sisters in Christ are partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The statement characterizes the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories since 1967 as an evil that must be resisted by Palestinians and be removed by nonviolent means, including BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions.

  • How does Kairos South Africa fit in?

    Written by an ecumenical group of pastors, Kairos South Africa is a theological statement issued in 1985. It challenged the Church’s response to what the authors saw as the vicious policies of the Apartheid state under the State of Emergency declared on 21 July 1985.

    Desmond Tutu to Kairos Palestine: “...the encounter between Kairos Southern Africa and Kairos Palestine has a very special significance, ... Again, the very essence of the Gospel is at stake. …Because we are one body, we are now in complete solidarity with you and we look forward to rejoicing with you when your freedom comes.” - April 2011