United Methodist Kairos Response | April 9, 2026
Leaders of United Methodists for Kairos Response have announced a planned assembly, "Sacred Solidarity" on Middle East peace has been postponed because of multiple factors.
UMKR Steering Committee Co-chairs Lisa Bender and Carol Garwood said in a press release that a they regret having to postpone the gathering scheduled for May 1-3 in Washington, D.C.
"A number of setbacks have made that necessary, including medical problems for some key organizers of the event, venue selection complications, and schedule conflicts for speakers, a combination of circumstances that have led to the difficult decision to postpone the Assembly until later in 2026," they said.
Bender and Garwood said registration payments received thus far will be refunded this week to the payment method that was used.
"This postponement is a great disappointment for many of us, but it is the only responsible decision we could make given the obstacles we are facing now," the co-chairs stated. "We sincerely regret any inconvenience this causes for those who were interested in attending."
The announcement continued: "We will be focused now on bringing the movement and our church the most fruitful movement-building, justice-seeking event that we can organize. We will be in touch about the new dates: expect to see an announcement this summer.
"Meantime, the urgent situation in Palestine/Israel and the broader region continues. UMKR's work to address the immediate violence and to seek long-term solutions will continue unabated: our global BDS campaigns, grassroots organizing in dozens of annual conferences this spring and summer, webinars with our partner MFSA, and more."