School graduations, women's ministries of the ELCJHL

News from the ELCJHL

Allison Schmitt sent out the summer newsletter of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), and I'm including an article in this post. I wish the whole newsletter was on the church's website, but that takes time. To find out more about the ELCJHL, go to this link: http://www.elcjhl.org/

I want to take this opportunity to thank Allison for two years of outstanding service as communication assistant to the ELJHL bishop, the Rev. Munib Younan. She sent some words of closing as she turned over her responsibilities to Elizabeth “Elly” McHan, a recent graduate of Wartburg Seminary.

Allison writes:
"It is difficult for me to put into words what this last two years has meant for me. I think it will be only after I have some distance in time and space that I will fully realize the impact of this experience. What I do know is that I am immensely grateful for the opportunity I have had to live and work among the courageous Palestinian Christians for these 24 months. Their resilience, flexibility, persistence and faith will inspire me for the rest of my life. Somehow they manage to hope for a better day, in spite of conditions that most of us in the West would find hopeless.

"There have been highs and lows for me here. But whatever my mood, I have always been keenly aware of what an honor it has been to learn from, live with and work for justice alongside the Palestinians. It is my prayer that this two years is just the beginning of a lifetime of speaking and acting in support of their liberation."

Thank you, Allison! Now for a news story about high school graduation, and I want to point out that the students of the Lutheran schools in Palestine are not all Christian; almost half of these young graduates are Muslim. Please pray for these young people and for the Lutheran women of the ELCJHL. An article about women's ministries follows.


ELCJHL schools celebrated tawjihi graduations in May,
Graduates performed poems, rap songs, give speeches to celebrate

Large crowds and local dignitaries were on hand to celebrate graduation at the Lutheran high schools. A total of 127 students, including 59 girls and 68 boys, received certificates at the four ceremonies.

Graduate Majdi Habash called the Ramallah School of Hope a candle to light the graduates’ paths as they set out to contribute to society. They are armed not with guns or stones but with education, he said, quoting Palestinian-American academician Edward Said. He encouraged his 39 classmates to imitate a child learning to walk – to laugh when they fall down and get up to try again, he said at the May 27 ceremony at the Ramallah Cultural Palace in Beitunya.

ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan encouraged the graduates to dream, even if it seems impossible, of a bright future for themselves and the Palestinian people. Improbable things – like having an African-American president in the U.S. White House – do happen, he said.

Amidst Palestinian and German flags at the TalithaKumi School in Beit Jala, school principal Dr. Georg Dürr encouraged graduates to use the kairos (opportune) time wisely. Although they have hoped since childhood for their own state, “now is the time for resolution,” he said at the May 28 event.

In his English speech, Jameel Sarras said that parents and teachers were the “wind beneath our wings” for him and his 41 classmates. He encouraged them to work to ‘bring freedom and peace back to our beloved Palestine.” He offered special thanks to Dr. Dürr, who was completing his last year at the school.

At their May 29 graduation ceremony, Nataly and Tania Hannoneh thanked their teachers for “putting up with us for 15 years” at the Lutheran school in Beit Sahour. Their school years are like a harbor closing behind them, with the world an ocean before them, they said to the audience and their 37 classmates.

ELCJHL Director of Schools Dr. Charlie Haddad referenced Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela in encouraging the students to be the kind of leaders Palestine needs.

Gandhi’s name was invoked at the Dar al-Kalima graduation as well. Delivering the English speech at the May 31 ceremony, Yousef Al- Ramahi, quoted the Indian leader: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” He thanked instructors for teaching them to be “good, sensible people” and exhorted his seven classmates to contribute to Palestine’s development.

Al-Ramahi joined his fellow graduate Mohammed Teilakh in performing a rap song, to the delight of the audience gathered in the auditorium of the International Center of Bethlehem.

After graduation, the students were scheduled to join their Palestinian peers in taking the tawjihi exams – a set of exams administered over three weeks in as many as 10 subjects to determine college eligibility.

-- --

ELCJHL women focus on family at workshop

The fast pace of societal change has led to a crisis of the family, said Bishop Munib A. Younan at a recent ELCJHL women’s conference on the family from a Palestinian Christian perspective.

About 48 women from ELCJHL congregations in Israel-Palestine attended the June 17-18, 2010, conference, according to ELCJHL Women’s desk facilitator Bassima Jaraiseh. Women from the Church of the Good Shepherd in Amman, Jordan, planned to attend the conference, which was held in Jericho, but they were unable to do so.

In his opening lecture, Younan said Palestinian society must find ways to cope with changes to the family, which have more to do with cultural pressures than with the Israeli occupation or difficult economic conditions. Once “family” meant father, mother and children, but societal changes make it a difficult word to define.

In the face of societal pressures, Christians must maintain traditional values of mutual commitment, compromise, planning for the future, equality and firm parental guidance of children, he said. The church can help by giving its youth a healthy, positive view of married life and offering pre-marital counseling.

Also addressing the group was Dr. Yahya Hijazi, professor at Naqab University and educational counselor and lecturer for the Palestinian Counseling Center.

Hijazi told the group that 40 percent of Palestinian children are subject to harassment – much of which occurs inside the family. What makes this verbal, physical and sexual violence worse is that it is seen as a family secret, he said, which prevents victims from seeking help.

Families should focus on building good communication skills and providing for good psychological health for its members, he said. Parents need to exercise their authority appropriately, provide clear rules and spend time with their children.

Conference participants broke into groups to discuss the roles of families and schools in this work. They said families should help members develop skills in communicating, accepting constructive criticism and bearing life’s frustrations. They said schools should communicate with families, provide an accepting atmosphere and offer sex education.

Jaraiseh said she felt participants gained new skills at the workshop, including strategies for raising children “in a more positive way.” She said participants commented positively on the program organized by Minerva Khayyat and asked that more effort be made in the future to encourage ELCJHL women ages 18-25 to attend. They also suggested that the ELCJHL have a marriage counselor on staff.

Jaraiseh is at work on the next women’s event, a two-part workshop, “The psychological differences between the two sexes and the challenges of marital life,” scheduled to begin in September.

---- ---- ----

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

WCC message stresses concerns of Palestinian Christians

Concern over the status of Jerusalem and the future of Palestinian Christians was voiced by World Council of Churches leader Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit.

The news release is here and the full text below.

02 September 2010

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has sent a message to the Middle East negotiators in Washington to stress the concerns of Palestinian Christians.

The message conveys concern over the final status of Jerusalem, the future of the Christians there and the need for a just peace in the region.

"Now is the time for a just peace," Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit says in the message from Jerusalem, where he is visiting this week with a WCC delegation. "The Christians here pray for that; all peoples here need it desperately. The time of occupation and violence must end."

The message also talks about the need for the final negotiations on the status of Jerusalem to involve the heads of the local churches. "Palestinian Christians are also concerned about their future here and about their status in Jerusalem," his message said.

In the message Tveit also says the Christians in Jerusalem are "very much concerned by the discourse about religious identity of states in this region, which they fear will marginalize not only their presence and witness but also that of all Christians elsewhere in the region."

The message came as discussions between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams were about to resume. At a meeting between US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, 1 September, each of the leaders pledged to work diligently toward peace.

Full text of the message - http://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/general-secretary/messages-and-letters/to-middle-east-negotiators-in-washington-dc.html

More information on the visit of the WCC delegation - http://www.oikoumene.org/news/news-management/eng/a/article/2267/loving-your-neighbour-in.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches (...) representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries (...)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Full text of the message -

Document date: 2.09.2010

A message to Middle East negotiators in Washington, D.C.

From the blessed city of Jerusalem I bring you greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

When I visit the Palestine and Israel region I carefully listen to the WCC member churches here and to our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers.

During this visit, the Palestinian Christian cry of faith, hope and love expressed through the Kairos Document has been particularly significant. This document now stands as their proclamation for a just peace in Palestine and Israel, and a call to Christians around the world to join them in solidarity. Now is the time for a just peace. The Christians here pray for that; all peoples here need it desperately. The time of occupation and violence must end.

Equally important on this visit has been listening to the concerns of the local churches here that already has been expressed in their historic statement of 2006 on the final status of Jerusalem. Final negotiations on the status of Jerusalem should involve the heads of the local churches. Palestinian Christians are also concerned about their future here and about their status in Jerusalem. Their residency rights, as is the case with all Palestinians living in Jerusalem, including the basic human right to family life and family reunification, are threatened by severe restrictions currently imposed by the Israeli authorities. This must come to an end so husbands, wives and children may be together as one family.

They are also very much concerned by the discourse about religious identity of states in this region, which they fear will marginalize not only their presence and witness but also that of all Christians elsewhere in the region.

Any debate over the religious composition of a given state is an internal one. However, it should guarantee the principle of equality of all citizens in their rights and duties as human beings.

As the representative of the World Council of Churches and a brother to our fellow Christians in Jerusalem and throughout the Middle East, I pray that there is enough will to make the negotiations successful so that they lead to a just peace. Throughout the region the dignity and integrity of all people will be the highest aspiration of civil society and government.

May the Lord bless your deliberations starting today.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
General secretary, World Council of Churches

--- --- ---

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

EAPPI news: Promoting a just peace in Israel and Palestine

The August 2010 newsletter from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is now available.

Go to this link: http://bit.ly/dvXspJ for news from EAPPI. Please pass this on to your networks!

Here is a sample from the lead story:

Promoting a just peace in Israel and Palestine

Greetings from Jerusalem. The Middle East is experiencing an intense heat wave and as the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan begins, West Bankers are preparing for a tough period.

The heat adds an additional burden to Palestinian communities coping with the multiple impacts of the occupation. July saw a sharp rise in the frequency and scale of house demolitions by Israeli forces. Several families have also been evicted from their homes to make way for Israeli settlers, especially in Jerusalem

In one case, the army demolished 70 tents, making over 100 people homeless on a single day in a Bedouin village in the Jordan Valley. Soldiers later returned to demolish emergency tents donated by humanitarian agencies. Israel often demolishes Palestinian homes on the grounds that they are built "illegally," but makes it near impossible for Palestinians to obtain permits in Area C, the 60 percent or so of the West Bank in which the Oslo Accords granted Israel full military and civil control. It is also extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain building permits in East Jerusalem.
For the rest of the article, go to - http://bit.ly/dvXspJ

Another highlight is a photo report from events in Hebron - http://www.eappi.org/en/photos-videos/photos/103-closing-down-hebron.html

To support shopkeepers in Palestine's biggest city outside
Jerusalem, please visit http://www.openshuhadastreet.org/

In solidarity and peace,
EAPPI Jerusalem

--- --- ---

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

Church leaders' letter to president in advance of peace talks

Churches for Middle East Peace issued this bulletin today.

Christian Leaders Offer Words of Hope and Encouragement to President in Advance of Peace Talks

Christian leaders from a broad group of denominations and organizations sent a letter to President Obama on Monday expressing renewed hope and urging the U.S. to sustain its close cooperation with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

In the letter, 28 leaders from Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and African American denominations and organizations recognized the unique opportunity that the talks present to resolve final status issues that have remained stumbling blocks. They stressed, however, the importance of avoiding statements or actions by either side that would undermine confidence in the negotiations, incite disrespect, or prejudge the outcome of final status issues.

The leaders echoed the belief that an agreement could come to fruition in one year and said they would work with both the American Jewish and Palestinian communities to assure them of achieving each people's aspirations for peace and security.

Click this link for the text of the letter and the list of church leaders who have signed it: http://cmep.org/letters/2010_Letters/Letter%20to%20the%20President%20083010.pdf

Here is the full text of the brief letter:

Dear Mr. President,

As leaders of American Christian faith communities deeply concerned with the need to end the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, we are pleased with the success of your diplomacy in bringing the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian Authority together in Washington September 1-2 to restart direct negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on final status issues within the coming year. We fully support your goal of ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace with a viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security.

At the same time we have no illusions about the difficulty of the task ahead. Both sides hold deep convictions contrary to those held by the other. Although many issues have been clarified in past negotiations, major compromises by both sides will be needed at considerable political risk and cost. Without your help it seems unlikely that an agreement can be reached. Time is short. If an agreement is not reached within the coming year, it may not be reachable at all.

For that reason we call on you and your negotiating team to continue your vigilant efforts to help the parties find acceptable solutions. We are heartened by the statement of Senator George Mitchell that he will remain closely involved in the negotiations. The U.S. will need to empower both sides to take risks for peace and when necessary to make proposals to bridge remaining differences. The United States must be clear that actions or words by either side in the coming year that undermine confidence in the negotiations, incite disrespect or prejudge the outcome of final status issues will not be tolerated.

In support of this effort, we pledge to maintain and expand our dialogue on this issue with American Jewish and Palestinian communities and to assure them of our steadfast support for achieving the aspirations of both Israel and the Palestinian people for peace and security.

Mr. President, we are praying for you as you seek to bring God's justice and peace to a place torn by walls and weapons. We are convinced that with your vigilant support this dream can be fulfilled, and the lives of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as U.S. national security interests, can be transformed for the better.

Sincerely,

--- --- ---

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

Delegation seeks just, inclusive peace in Palestine and Israel

WCC delegation seeks just and inclusive peace in Palestine and Israel

27 August 2010

At a time when there are signs of hope emerging from the churches in the Middle East around the conflict in Palestine and Israel, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation led by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will be travelling to the region to emphasize the need for a “just peace”.

While planning for the visit was initiated several months ago, it now coincides with the start-up of peace negotiations 2 September in Washington, D.C., United States.

“The purpose of this visit is to support the churches in the region and to encourage all actors involved to make needed changes to the situation there,” Tveit said prior to the visit.

The delegation, which includes WCC staff members and the moderator of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Rev. Kjell Magne Bondevik, will be visiting with WCC member churches, ecumenical partners and leaders from the Jewish and Muslim communities as well as WCC partner agencies and political leaders. The visit is 28 August to 2 September.

“We want to reaffirm that the WCC as a fellowship of churches is working and praying for peace and justice for all people in the Holy Land,” Tveit said. “The conflict in the region requires a political solution. All religious institutions and communities should work together for a just peace. This is essential for a reconciliation and healing process.”

“We are aware of the extreme difficulties facing the negotiations beginning 2 September,” he said. “We pray for those in charge of this important work and believe that the negotiations must be inclusive of all in the region who suffer because of this conflict and be based on principles of international law.”

During the visit Tveit will also say that the Kairos Document, which was developed by Palestinian Christians in late 2009, is resonating in WCC member churches around the world. [http://www.kairospalestine.ps/]

“The WCC member churches are viewing this document as cry for justice coming from Palestinian Christians, whose human dignity is being diminished and denied,” Tveit said.

The WCC has been encouraging its member churches to develop and coordinate active advocacy plans to address government, international bodies, interfaith partners and churches in the region to end the occupation of Palestinian territories and the suffering of both Israeli and Palestinian people.

The visit is also one part of an overall effort within the WCC leading to the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, to be held in Jamaica, May 2011, where nearly one thousand people will gather to move forward the Ecumenical Declaration for Just Peace. [http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/peace-convocation.html]

(Ecumenical Declaration for Just Peace - http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/about-iepc/drafting-group.html)

The WCC delegation will visit with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), which is a WCC-sponsored programme that brings people from around the world to Palestine-Israel to provide a protective presence to vulnerable communities. The ecumenical accompaniers monitor and report human rights activities and abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working for peace. [

Media contact: Mark Beach, +41-79-50.76.363

WCC member churches in Palestine and Israel - http://www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/regions/middle-east/israel.html?no_cache=1

Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel - http://www.eappi.org/

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

-- --- --

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

Meet the ELCA Team

Meet the ELCA Europe and Middle East Team

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America kindly provides a detailed picture of its Global Mission Europe and Middle East staff team

The Global Mission Middle East and Europe staff team met in July, 2010, to strategize about their work together. Pastor Julie Rowe provided these introductions:

The Rev. Robert Smith (first row center), the EME Desk Director, has a lot of ground to cover as his job takes him from the United Kingdom in the northwest to Vlaidavostok in the northeast and as far south as Palestine and Cairo. Egypt. Some main areas of focus for the EME desk are to bring justice and reconciliation for refugees and displaced people, such as St Andrews Refugee Services in Cairo, which works with Sudanese refugees, or those dealing with Roma (gypsy) populations, which are subject to great discrimination in Europe.

The Rev. Peter Johnson* (upper row left) administers the Cairo program as well as serves as the pastor of St. Andrew’s International Congregation.

Pastor Arden Haug * (upper row center) is the Regional Representative in Europe and serves as the pastor of the International Congregation in Bratislava, where he also supervises the almost 20 ELCA missionaries, whose salaries are paid by the European governments, that serve as English teachers in Slovakia and Poland. The focus of the desk is toward building capacity for companions in Russia, the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe while still maintaining support of international congregations in Western Europe as well.

Carol LaHurd (upper row right) is the Coordinator of the Peace Not Walls Campaign that carries out the ELCA’s Middle East strategy to advocate for a just, lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.

The Rev. Julie Rowe ( first row left), a former missionary in Jerusalem for four years, works with Companion Synods and Working Groups relating to Europe and the Middle East, the Peace Not Walls Campaign and other website work.

Marlene DeWulf (first row right) holds down the administrative fort for the whole team.

The Rev. Peter and Michele Johnson and the Rev. Arden and Jana Haug are among our 225+ ELCA missionaries serving in 50 countries. Learn how you and your congregation can provide prayer, financial and encouraging support for ELCA missionaries like the Johnsons and Haugs at www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

This email update courtesy of Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest - http://blogs.elca.org/handinhand/

Find out more about ELCA Global Mission at this link: http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Global-Mission.aspx

ELCA Peace Not Walls is based in Global Mission, but you'll find its web presence at this link: http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls.aspx

--- --- ---

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/

An ecumenical accompanier writes from Jayyous

"The soldier closing the gate calls out to us, `Have a good day.' (...) `A good day?'

"It’s a good day when the gates that separate farmers from their fields are closed 22 hours out of each day? It’s a good day when Israeli soldiers choose to give Palestinian farmers permission to go onto their own Palestinian land that they have farmed for generations? It’s a good day when farmers and their families are forbidden to stay on their land over night but must return through the gate between 6 and 6:30 in the evening?"

Hope you'll read the full blog post from EAPPI accompanier John Buttrick: http://fjbuttrick.blogspot.com/

John is serving as an "EA" through the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) - http://www.eappi-us/

--- --- ---

To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at the blog A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/