This week we’re praying for our partner, Al Ahli Anglican Hospital, in Gaza City. It was a mercy that this hospital in Gaza was able to keep its doors open and treat many wounded patients for so long. However, on 18 December, Al Ahli was left unable to function following IDF action. Please join us in prayer for the staff and patients.

This week we’re praying for our partner, Think and Do, in Egypt. Among the many things it does, it runs a shelter and recovery programme for female survivors of domestic abuse, based in Cairo.

This week we’re praying for our partner, the Near East Council of Churches, in Gaza. Find out about their vital work with mothers, babies and young children - and join us in reflecting on the birth of another baby, over 2,000 years ago, in the same part of the world.

This week, we are giving thanks for the invaluable contributions of all those who volunteer for Embrace. We are also reflecting on some verses in Ephesians, which exhort us to ‘walk in the way of love’.

In Lebanon, there is an estimated 1 million school-age children out of school. This week, we’re learning about a small project that is making a difference to the lives of marginalised young people in Beirut - and challenging ourselves to remain hopeful despite seemingly hopeless situations.

Just as this Palestinian village was a place of refuge for Jesus and his disciples, the small clinic we support there is a place of safety and hope today.

This week, we’re praying for a project in Egypt that trains young people to mentor primary-age children, to encourage them to stay in school. We’re also reflecting on the biblical mandate to help others, and challenging ourselves to be a blessing to those around us.

We’re learning about a joyful project in Dbayeh refugee camp, where women are learning to create beautiful and useful products from recyclable materials. We’re also reflecting on Psalm 24, rejoicing in God’s care for the whole of his creation.

This week, we’re learning about the work of an Embrace partner among children with autism in Egypt. We’re also reflecting on what Christian love looks like.

This week, we’re praying for the olive harvest in the West Bank. Using the words of Psalm 1, we are also reflecting on what it means to make a stand for righteousness and justice.

This week we’re meditating on Psalm 19, a beautiful psalm that reminds us of God’s greatness and the importance of caring for creation. We’re also learning about a new environmental project that we’re supporting in northern Iraq.

As troubling events unfold in Gaza and southern Israel, please join us in praying for a swift de-escalation to the violence and for peace to prevail.

This week we’re praying for an organic community farming project in northern Lebanon, which is providing fresh produce for food-insecure families. We’re also considering Jesus’ words about the harvest being plentiful and the workers being few.

I ask for your prayers for those souls we have lost and the severely injured. What was to be a time of joy has now turned into a whole community into mourning and deep shock.

This week we’re praying for a project that takes a grassroots approach towards achieving peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. We’re also reflecting on the importance of sharing our stories and actively listening to other people.

This week we’re praying for mental health services that our partner, the Karagheusian Health Centre, provide for people in a marginalised neighbourhood in Beirut. We’re also reflecting on how we can imitate the compassion that Christ showed to people in need.

This week we’re reflecting on what happens when we live with our spiritual eyes wide open. We’re also giving thanks for an incredible project that supports visually impaired children in economically deprived areas of Egypt.

This week we’re inspired by a project the Palestinian Bible Society is running to train up a new generation of leaders in the church and the wider community. We’re also reflecting on the qualities that make a good leader.

This week we’re learning more about an incredible project Embrace supports in Egypt that is improving patient care across the Nile Delta region. We’re also reflecting on some scriptures in Hebrews that remind us of God’s goodness and generosity.

This week we’re delighted to welcome a guest writer - Fr. Antoine Al Ahmar, Head of the Theological Department at the Middle East Council of Churches. Fr. Antoine invites us to reflect on Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, with a particular emphasis on the challenge to ‘go and do likewise’.