The Metro Lutheran, newspaper of Lutherans in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, ran a feature story in its July issue profiling Father Elias Chacour of I'billin in Galilee.
The home page for the Metro Lutheran is http://www.metrolutheran.org/
Editor Bob Hulteen's article is at this link: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=380&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1375043&om=1
Here is the lead...
Christian Palestinians are an essential part of the Holy Land solution -
An urgent plea for peace
"Father Elias Chacour loves his job and his homeland. He is the Archbishop of Akko, Faifa, Nazareth, and Galilee in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church."
And here are a few quotes...
“`The Galilee is known for being green. That makes the people hospitable,' Chacour claims. `Galilee for us Christians is the Galilee of the Resurrection. It is there that Christ appeared so often to his disciples.' Chacour is probably best known internationally for his book titled We Belong to the Land, which he wrote in order to explain to those who don’t know that the common claim for the same land is the primary reason for the conflict in the Middle East. `The land is so important to us that we teach our children to be respectful of wherever they are walking.'"
"Chacour warns that a selective reading of the Bible to support one’s own position is a crime against God and a crime against humanity. `If you use Biblical arguments to justify your political and geographical rights, you are making God the granter of your arguments, and there is no way for any concession.'”
"While preaching at a Luther Seminary [http://www.luthersem.edu/] chapel service, Chacour announced that he came as a beggar — not for money, but for friendship, for solidarity with Palestinian Christians.
"Chacour asks those people who visit the Holy Land to put aside at least one day to share food and water with Palestinian Christians. `We are very hospitable, and will share our food, and tell you the story of the open tomb. When you are an archbishop of a land that includes people named Jesus, Mary, and Judas, you realize you have a responsibility. And you recognize that you need to be in relationship with other Christians around the world.'"
-- --
While in Minnesota Chacour also spoke at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. His sermon in the chapel there is available on podcast: http://gustavus.edu//podcasts/chapel/2008/2008-05-12.mp3
Q&A with Father Chacour followed the chapel service:
http://gustavus.edu/podcasts/chapel/2008/2008-05-12%20Father%20Elias%20Chacour%20Q%26A.mp3
--- --- ---
To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, subscribe at the blog, A Texas Lutheran'sVoice for Peace - http://voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment