By The Rev. Mary B. Blessing, Episcopal Priest, Social Justice Committee, Diocese of El Camino Real

Santa Clara County continues to be a place of fulfillment of the American Dream: people whose families came from all corners of the world, to live free of oppression.  Freedom to express our own faith, or to choose to have no faith, while living respectfully with those whose faith is different than our own.  Most places on this planet are not designed this way.

As a Christian who believes God created all humankind to be related to one another in love and to act from a place of peace, it pains me deeply to continue to see the horrific suffering of war-torn Israeli-Hamas conflict.  The Holy Land upon which Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed walked has been desecrated, culminating in the recent horrific murders of 6 Israeli and American hostages.  Hope has been torn from many hearts, yet grief-stricken families hold on to the belief their loved ones’ lives will have been for a greater purpose. This is both humbling and awe-inspiring.

What are we called to do here, thousands of miles away, where we continue to have our freedom? We are not under constant threat of bloody terrorism and extreme military reaction.  How can we help raise up hope for our fellow Israeli, Palestinian and Christian citizens sharing life in Jerusalem, the “City of Peace”?  Can civic and religious leaders find ways of modeling respect for one another which can lead to genuine peace across all differences?

Recently I’ve been inspired by the witness of peace across difference through the heavenly voices of teenagers, gathering just steps away from St. George’s Anglican/Episcopal Cathedral at the YMCA.   A place I visited to go swimming while on pilgrimage at St. George’s. Yes, a Christian-founded youth organization was the meeting place that began the JERUSALEM YOUTH CHORUS. Now an independent organization, they are an incredible witness to the power of music to unify across deep divides. Formed in Jerusalem about 12 years ago, Palestinian and Israeli teenagers, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, meet to sing, discuss, and sing some more to learn from one another, writing songs of peace. They state: we are “Palestinians and Israelis raising our voices to push back against the violence surrounding us—to reject war, occupation, and terror, and instead sing out for peace, justice, inclusion, and equality….We are the alternative” *

In October 2023, following the horrific terrorist attack in Israel, these teens created a new song, A DIFFERENT WAY.  They address the absolute need to follow a way of peace and love that goes beyond difference of culture, politics and even religion.  These teens embody a profound understanding of the way we can respond across deep divides which can lead to violence or, by our choice, bring us to peace and calm.  They understand what President Abraham Lincoln meant when he used the image of calling out humanity’s “Better Angels of their Nature” in his 1^st Inaugural Address, 1861.  These teens of Jerusalem witness the power of choosing to have inner “Better Angels” as our guide.

In response to the Hamas attack and Israel’s offense, these teens wrote “A Different Way”, sung in Hebrew, Arabic and English, proclaiming the horrors of war which have touched their lives inexorably, and yet they choose to learn to live “A Different Way”, as the refrain states:

*https://jerusalemyouthchorus.org/