Hope Equals
What is Hope Equals?
Hope Equals is an initiative of Christian Reformed World Missions that engages college students with a passion for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. It offers a new approach demonstrating that the church can be relevant in the midst of conflict.
The name Hope Equals, conveys our goal of bringing hope to Israelis and Palestinians—a common hope. Hope Equals also suggests a dynamic process of discovery, involving Christians, Muslims and Jews. The name Hope Equals is an incomplete statement and also an unanswered question.
Hope Equals is a network of North American missions activists, who support the reconciliation efforts of Israelis and Palestinians. These activists mobilize their communities to advocate for change. Hope Equals is about people. We foster hope. We strive for peace.
What is a missions activist?
Missions activists are young Christians committed to ministry through advocacy at home and abroad.
Hope Equals Strategy
Hope Equals has two components: the domestic and international.
On the one hand, Hope Equals engages North Americans domestically:
- Launches multi-media campaigns using video, online social networking, t-shirts, stickers and more, to keep people informed and promote their passion for peace and reconciliation in this conflict.
- Mobilizes campus, church and community groups, equipping them to be promoters, supporters and advocates of peace.
- Involves our network of participants in tours, trainings, internships with partner organizations—always focusing on mutual learning.
- Advocates for peace, together with college and seminary students from all over the US and Canada. With help from the CRC Office of Social Justice, Hope Equals is gets petitions signed, organizes campus events, and much more.
On the other hand, Hope Equals supports its Palestinian and Israeli friends in their peace and reconciliation ministries:
- Rather than reinventing the wheel, Hope Equals works alongside those already at work in the midst of the conflict.
- Hope Equals provides assistance to Palestinian and Israeli friends for select community projects.
- Volunteers with a desire to serve and learn go to Israel and Palestine, where they meet with major players in the peace and reconciliation movement.
Hope Equals at Urbana
Hope Equals was launched at Urbana09, a mission conference in St. Louis that attracted over 17,000 young adults. The Hope Equals booth attracted a lot of attention. The booth was made to be symbolic of the wall being built by Israel to separate segments of the West Bank from Israel. There were canvas panels hanging on the wall that could be signed by conference attendees with messages of peace and hope to be sent to our Israeli and Palestinian brothers and sisters.
There were many highlights for the Hope Equals initiative at Urbana. Numerous campus groups have already committed to work with Hope Equals, and many students asked about starting a group on their respective campus. Over 100 interested students signed up to learn more about or to join the movement. Hundreds of students signed the wall in several different languages including English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and more, and Hope Equals representatives were invited to speak at two different campus mission conferences.
- Check out the Hope Equals' websites and become part of the conversation. Visit Hope Equals' website, Facebook site, Twitter, or Flickr account. Online social networking is a great way to lend your voice to advocate for change.
- Start or join a Hope Equals campus group to promote awareness about the conflict. It can be a Hope Equals group, or it could be an existing group already working to promote peace and justice. In the case of the latter, you can be an affiliate group, promoting the values of Hope Equals by using Hope Equals resources, news, and other media. Contact Mariano Avila, Hope Equals Project Coordinator, or visit the Hope=Involved webpage to learn more.
- Read. There are a lot of great books and articles that will help you to learn more about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. BLOOD BROTHERS by Rev. Abuna Elias Chacour is a great place to start. Rev. Chacour is a Palestinian Christian working with Christians, Muslims and Jews to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
- Visit the Hope Equals website to buy a t-shirt or merchandise or to make a donation.
- Watch the Hope Equals video (10 min., 5 min., or 2.5 min.) to learn more.
- Visit the "CRC and Israel/Palestine" webpage found on the Office of Social Justice's (OSJ) website. You'll find a map, a travelogue, a timeline of significant events over the past century, resources, and more information on what you can do to help.
- Start a letter-writing campaign to bring the issue before the eyes and ears of government officials. Congressional and Parliament offices are organized to listen to and respond to the concerns of their constituents. For more information, contact the Office of Social Justice, visit the OSJ website, and/or read the OSJ Advocacy Guide.
- Write an opinion editorial or a letter to the editor in your own community newspaper as a way to create awareness about the issues. Keep it short, focused and relevant, and ensure that you're well educated on the subject.
- Pray. It's been said, "When man works, man works. When man prays, God works!" Never underestimate the power of prayer.
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