Update: This resolution was passed by delegates to the 216th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, on June 13, 2015.
The Massachusetts Conference's Israel Palestine Task Team proposed the resolution, which calls on the denomination to "take actions towards a Just Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict."
The resolution has been submitted to the Office of General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ for consideration at this summer's General Synod, the biennial national meeting of the United Church of Christ. Going into Synod, the task team is asking MACUCC delegates to endorse the resolution, which was submitted by the Central Atlantic Conference, Central Pacific Conference, and the New York Conference of the UCC. Because the resolution has already been submitted to Synod, it may not be amended by the Annual Meeting.
The resolution in part calls on UCC churches and members to study the Kairos Palestine document and "take heed of its call for non-violent measures pressuring Israel to end the Occupation." It also calls on all UCC entities to divest any holdings in companies that "have been found to profit from the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the state of Israel." And, it calls for a boycott of "good produced in or using the facilities of illegal settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territories."
The resolution also calls on UCC leadership, in particular at the local congregational level, to participate in "rigorous dialogue among the three Abrahamic faiths ... to identify ways in which groups of congregations of different faiths can work in concert to promote sacred reconciliation among all people who are affected by the conflict in the Middle East. "
The resolution can be read in its entirety here.
The MACUCC Israel Palestine Task Team had brought an earlier version of this resolution to last year's Annual Meeting, where it was the subject of discussion at an open hearing. The Standing Rules of the Conference call for Resolutions of Christian conviction to follow a two-meeting cycle where the resolution is presented at one meeting and acted on at the subsequent meeting, allowing for a year of study and discussion. The task team held a discussion forum on the issue in Grafton in September, and has held several workshops and forums at Super Saturdays. That task team also developed background material, available here.
Read General Synod 30's actions on Israel Palestine resolutions here.
The Massachusetts Conference's Israel Palestine Task Team proposed the resolution, which calls on the denomination to "take actions towards a Just Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict."
The resolution has been submitted to the Office of General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ for consideration at this summer's General Synod, the biennial national meeting of the United Church of Christ. Going into Synod, the task team is asking MACUCC delegates to endorse the resolution, which was submitted by the Central Atlantic Conference, Central Pacific Conference, and the New York Conference of the UCC. Because the resolution has already been submitted to Synod, it may not be amended by the Annual Meeting.
The resolution in part calls on UCC churches and members to study the Kairos Palestine document and "take heed of its call for non-violent measures pressuring Israel to end the Occupation." It also calls on all UCC entities to divest any holdings in companies that "have been found to profit from the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the state of Israel." And, it calls for a boycott of "good produced in or using the facilities of illegal settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territories."
The resolution also calls on UCC leadership, in particular at the local congregational level, to participate in "rigorous dialogue among the three Abrahamic faiths ... to identify ways in which groups of congregations of different faiths can work in concert to promote sacred reconciliation among all people who are affected by the conflict in the Middle East. "
The resolution can be read in its entirety here.
The MACUCC Israel Palestine Task Team had brought an earlier version of this resolution to last year's Annual Meeting, where it was the subject of discussion at an open hearing. The Standing Rules of the Conference call for Resolutions of Christian conviction to follow a two-meeting cycle where the resolution is presented at one meeting and acted on at the subsequent meeting, allowing for a year of study and discussion. The task team held a discussion forum on the issue in Grafton in September, and has held several workshops and forums at Super Saturdays. That task team also developed background material, available here.
Read General Synod 30's actions on Israel Palestine resolutions here.