Refugee Support

In turbulent times – in Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, in migrant communities – we call all to pray, along with work for peace and justice.

APRIL 2026

2 HOLY THURSDAY / MAUNDY THURSDAY :: As Lent ends, Christians have three intense nights and days. They first remember the washing of the feet, the Last Supper (“Ultimate Supper” in some nations), and the entire night before Jesus was executed.

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PASSOVER / “PESACH”:: The festival of freedom from slavery, deliverance through Red Sea and desert – and the night before, when the angel of death passed over the Israelites’ homes (but not the Egyptians’). It is celebrated until April 9 this year. This was the festival time when Jesus and his closest colleagues celebrated their Jewish identity. 2026 is a rare year when most Christians and Jews remember their ancient roots on the same day.

3 GOOD FRIDAY :: The most solemn day in the Christian year. Enter the ancient “Christ-Hymn” quoted by Paul: Philippians 2: 6-11.

5 EASTER SUNDAY :: The night before – with vigils of ancient origin in many churches – and the day itself are the center of the Christian year. In 2026, Catholics and many others will be remembering the death of beloved Pope Francis on Easter Sunday night last year.

12 “ORTHODOX” EASTER :: As is often the case, the Gregorian and Julian calendars do not agree on calculating the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox. We can pray in union with church communities besieged this Easter in Ukraine, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and too many other “eastern” countries.

14 20 21 22 24 YOM HA SHOAH / HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY :: Since 1951, this solemn day has been assigned to the 27th of Nisan, halfway from Passover to Independence Day. A day for fasting.

20 PATRIOT’S DAY :: Our Commonwealth’s remembering of 1775 in Concord and Lexington. It’s now a day for so many to feel freshly the horror of the Boston Marathon bombing. This year, the action team responsible for these website resources is holding a holiday fundraiser for the Brazilian Resource Center and the Thiago Bastos family – “Festa !” 7:00pm, Church of the Holy Spirit Hall in Orleans.

ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY:: On 5 Iyar each year, this is the anniversary from 1948 celebrated by so many in Israel and their supporters. This same day is “Nakba” (disaster day) in Palestinian communities. We can intensely desire, pray, and work that such a chasm will be honestly and justly addressed.

EARTH DAY:: An idea of Senator Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin), this began as a “national teach-in on the environment” and became an almost instant success. Most Cape towns have activities that invite young and old to participate.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY :: One can pray, fast, and recall the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1923. As organizers describe the day, it is “not to pass on a sense of victimhood, but to cultivate understanding, resilience, and the wisdom to prevent such darkness from ever repeating.”

SACRED SCRIPTURE

Here are some central texts in the Jewish and Christian traditions.

Leviticus 19: 32-36 & Deuteronomy 24: 17-22

Earliest codes for holiness and wholeness.

Psalm 75 & Psalm 85

Songs for peace in our world

Psalm 118

From the most ancient lectionaries to now, the classic Easter song, for allowing all 50 days of Easter to sound the great alleluia.

Zechariah 9: 9-10

Peace, and the just One who enters Jerusalem on a donkey

Matthew 25: 31-46

The ultimate test for every nation and person!

PRAYER & REFLECTION FOR PEACE IN THE WORLD

UNICEF POEMS FOR PEACE:

https://www.unicef.org/children-under-attack/poems-for-peace

Since the initiative’s inception in 2020, UNICEF has received thousands of poems from 8 year-olds to 24 year-olds around the world including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS, after the February 28 bombing of Iran by the USA and Israel, suggests many points of prayer. Among them:

> For the safety of all, especially innocent civilians impacted by the conflict, that they would experience God as a refugee and fortress (Psalm 91).

> For the restoration of order and security in Iran, Israel and throughout the Middle East (Isaiah 32:17–18).

> For the provision of urgently needed humanitarian aid to all who are suffering (Psalm 146:7–9).

> For wisdom and guidance for all engaged in diplomacy, that their efforts would lead to a just and lasting peace (Proverbs 2:6).

> For leaders and authorities, that they would act justly, love mercy and walk humbly — surrendering themselves to God’s ways (Micah 6:8).

FASTING

Fasting can clear the mind and heart. It is its own strong form of prayer. Good Friday, Shoah, Patriot’s Day, and Armenian Genocide Days are particularly appropriate for some form of fasting.