Writer: Mary Jean Baxley

Christians United for Israel sponsored Jerusalem Day May 28 at First Baptist North Spartanburg and Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia.

More than 250 attended the Spartanburg breakfast event. Mike Hamlet, pastor of First Baptist North Spartanburg, said the time spent with Ron Dermer, Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Sen. Lindsey Graham was “very informative and helped the people understand the importance of our support for Israel from both a biblical and national perspective.”

Later, at a luncheon event in West Columbia, Wendell Estep, pastor of Columbia First Baptist Church, said that people who are committed to Israel are following God. “As Christians who came out of the Hebrew experience, we share a common heritage,” he said.

Jose Rivera of Cornerstone Community Church in Orangeburg, who also serves on the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs, was at the West Columbia event. “I am here to support Israel,” he said. “Our roots are there.”

Dermer and Graham spoke at both events.

“Our bond with Israel is deep,” said Graham. “We have no better friend in that part of the world than Israel.”

Church groups and individuals from around the state and nation will travel to Washington, D.C., for the CUFI summit July 21-22.

— Mary Jean Baxley, who writes for Christian publications, is a member of Rose Hill Baptist Church in Georgetown.