Dear church,
I recently returned from a solidarity visit with our ELCIC partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).
Journeying with Bishop Carla Blakley (the Eastern Synod has a Companion Synod relationship with the ELCJHL), bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and global Lutheran partners, I witnessed firsthand resiliency, hope, hospitality and the varied ministries of the ELCJHL.
I was honoured to be present for the consecration of the new bishop of the ELCJHL. On your behalf, I presented gifts to Bishop Azar as he concluded his ministry and to Bishop Haddad as he begins his new calling. It was a privilege to worship with many from around the world during Bishop Haddad’s consecration and then to be invited to participate in a small delegation of bishops as he presented his credentials to the King of Jordan.
Throughout this time in Palestine, I heard of the suffering of the Palestinian people: of systems of apartheid, check points, gates that disrupt movement, land seizures, night raids, collective punishment, human rights abuses and the devastating loss of civilian life in Gaza that many human-rights experts describe as genocide…all of which began prior to October 7, 2023.
Bishop Haddad’s mother was held at a checkpoint for several hours prior to the consecration, even though all her paperwork was in order.
And yet, the ELCJHL remains steadfast in its mission. As the ELCIC accompanies our partners I experienced this faithfulness lived out in powerful ways. Congregations continue to gather for prayer and fellowship. The schools of the ELCJHL continue to serve their wider communities and are now midway through the 2025–26 academic year. Diaconal ministries are providing food, rent assistance, medical care and school tuition support to hundreds of families across the West Bank. Gender justice and environmental ministries continue their work toward a more just and sustainable future.
Hope persists. Not as denial. Not as silence. But as a daily, defiant choice.
Hope is not passive. It is planted in truth. It is nurtured in action. “Our hope is an action that starts as reality today and continues to actively live and build for the future,” said Bishop Haddad.
I am learning from our siblings in the ELCJHL that hope asks something of us. It asks us to stay present when it would be easier to disengage, to keep caring when compassion feels costly, and to believe that faith still has something meaningful to say to the world as it is. This kind of hope is lived. It is practiced. It is chosen again and again.
This hope demands that we grieve with those who grieve, refuse silence in the face of injustice, and pray—while also acting—for dignity, freedom and life for all God’s children.
I remain rooted in compassion, solidarity, and in the belief that every life matters, praying that all may experience the fullness of peace, safety, justice and dignity that we believe God desires for all people.
In Christ Jesus—Shalom,
Rev. Larry Kochendorfer
ELCIC National Bishop
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