National Bishop Larry Kochendorfer is inviting the church to join in prayer and advocacy following an urgent request from Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

In a June 3 letter to the church, Bishop Kochendorfer shared Bishop Haddad’s concerns regarding Natalie Abuddayeh, a youth member of the ELCJHL, who was detained alongside three other women from her student apartment in Birzeit. Abuddayeh is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala, a graduate of Talitha Kumi Lutheran School and a media and journalism student at Birzeit University.

“Our prayers and actions for justice are always intertwined,” Kochendorfer wrote. “We join in prayer for our siblings in Christ.”

The ELCIC invites members to read Bishop Kochendorfer’s full letter to the church, join in prayer for the ELCJHL and consider contacting their Member of Parliament and/or the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Read Bishop Kochendorfer’s letter to the church

Read Bishop Kochendorfer’s letter to Minister Anand

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From Pastor Vida: For further reporting and analysis see https://persecutedchurchalerts.substack.com/p/persecuted-church-alert-four-female

You may wish to add your concerns to this message by emailing your own MP and/or the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  

You can find a list of current Members of Parliament here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/search. And you can reach The Honourable Minister Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs by emailing Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca

The National Church Office has prepared the following draft to aid in preparing your own correspondence: 

 I have heard from my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, that Natalie Abuddayeh, a young member of our partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land was taken at gunpoint yesterday (June 2, 2026) from her student apartment in Birzeit, alongside three other women.

I am deeply shocked and horrified by this news, as well as by the news that her family does not yet know where she has been taken.

I call on the government the Government of Canada to act immediately to address this injustice and secure Natalie Abuddayeh’s release, along with the other three women.