Episode 9: Middle East & North Africa Advocacy through Accompaniment

In episode 9, host Regina Q. Banks speaks with Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, program director for Middle East & North Africa (sometimes referred to as MENA) policy with ELCA Witness in Society. 

 This is a wide ranging conversation which discusses many aspects of the ELCA's relationship with local church bodies in the Holy Land and in other parts of the region.

Regina & Sasha also discuss many current events, including the ongoing war in Gaza and its impact on the populations there, as well as the historical elements of how the ELCA engages in the region, including the framework of accompaniment-- which Joey Chin will elaborate on in our history segment. Finally, we'll also hear a story from a Palestinian Christian and ELCJHL young adult.

Take action today via the ELCA Action Center:

Action Alert: Gaza’s Children Need a Permanent Ceasefire

Sign up to receive all our action alerts via email: http://elca.org/advocacy/signup

Further Reading: 

For more information about Sumud, the ELCA's work of "accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising with our partners in the Holy Land and in the United States," visit elca.org/sumud.

Here I Pod is a production of ELCA Advocacy.

Host: Regina Q. Banks
Production: Blake Chastain, Joey Chin, Karen Krueger
Intro/Outro Music: "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" arranged in jazz-style, by Steven Seigart

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.