2009 Conference of Bishops

RAMALLAH, West Bank (ELCA) — Israel is targeting the small Palestinian Christian community here, threatening a key connection to the West and worrying Christian leaders, said Dr. Rafiq Husseini, chief of staff to the president, Palestinian National Authority. He made the comment Jan. 13 in a meeting here with seven North American Lutheran bishops.

The bishops were part of a group of 44 bishops representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), who visited the West Bank and Israel Jan. 6-13. The bishops met with religious, political and community leaders, and visited sacred sites. Their visit focused on support and encouragement for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

More than 1,000 Palestinians have died and nearly 5,000 have been injured in the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. Many of the dead and injured are women, children and elderly people. “Civilians are paying the price,” Husseini said. Thirteen Israelis have died.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation, said the committee’s comments were disturbing and showed regression for Christians here. He said the war in Gaza fails to meet the test of Christian “just war” principles and the Israeli response to Hamas is disproportionate.

“As leaders we are called to obstruct injustices and (to) open doors,” he said. Hanson pledged that Lutherans in the United States will engage the Obama administration, which he hopes will exercise power in ways different than the Bush administration has.

“The war in Gaza has made it difficult for us as moderates. Extremists are winning the day,” Hanson said. He pledged to use his influence to help U.S. religious leaders speak with one voice on the Middle East.

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CHICAGO (ELCA) — Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $50,000 Jan. 8 to secure food aid, trauma counseling and medical care in Gaza.

Violence in Gaza has compromised the services of medical clinics and limited people’s access to food, water and other basic necessities, according to Megan Bradfield, associate director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission.

Since air raids in Gaza began in late December, more than 900 Palestinians have died, including nearly 400 women and children. Ten Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians have died, according to news reports.

ELCA International Disaster Response sent the funds to Action by Churches Together (ACT) for implementation by the Middle East Council of Churches’ Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR).

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank (ELCA) — With the vision “that we might have life and have it abundantly,” a Lutheran congregation here has embarked on a ministry of preaching, teaching and healing, aimed at empowering the people who live in this conflicted area.

The Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor, Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, presented his congregation’s vision to 44 North American Lutheran bishops who met here Jan. 10. The bishops, representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), are participating in a weeklong series of meetings with religious, political and community leaders in Israel and the West Bank, and visiting sacred sites. Their visit, concluding Jan. 13, also focuses on support and encouragement for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

Christmas Lutheran Church formed DIYAR (meaning “homeland”), a consortium of Lutheran-based ecumenically oriented institutions serving the whole Palestinian community, Raheb said. DIYAR now has a staff of 100 people. He said the 200-member congregation is reaching out through DIYAR to about 60,000 people each year by means of its International Center of Bethlehem, a conference and media center, plus a health and wellness center. In 2006 the congregation started Dar al-Kalima College, the only Lutheran higher education institution in the Middle East, Raheb said.

DIYAR focuses its programs on peacemaking, care for the city, investing in spirituality, empowering individuals and the community, building bridges for intercultural dialogue, creating room for hope, and the “mysteries of the risen Lord,” Raheb said.

In a question and answer session with the bishops, Raheb said that he is concerned about the future for Palestinians, especially because of the current conflict between Israel and Gaza.

“I think we are heading with full power to a fully developed apartheid system. This war on Gaza had many goals, but one important goal is to make the two-state solution not viable. A two-state solution made sense, but what is happening in Gaza makes this impossible,” he said. Raheb said he’s also concerned about the future safety and security of people living in the West Bank because of the war in Gaza.

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AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) — The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the United States government needs to take a more active role in stopping the conflict in Gaza. Stopping the conflict needs to be a top priority, and it must be accomplished as soon as possible, he said.

Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza, Hamas must stop rocket attacks on civilians in Israel, and negotiations must be restarted for “a permanent peace with justice and a two-state solution.” The LWF is a global communion of 141 churches in 79 countries, representing 68.3 million of the world’s Lutherans.

Humanitarian conditions for the people of Gaza must be improved immediately, Hanson said. “We are deeply concerned that food, medicine and other basic necessities are not …<more>

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AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) — Despite the continued conflict in Gaza, bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are proceeding with plans to travel Jan. 6 to the Middle East. A smaller group of seven ELCA bishops, including the ELCA presiding bishop and the national bishop of the ELCIC, spouses and staff arrived here for a series of meetings Jan. 3-5 with religious, community and political leaders.

The Lutheran leaders are here to provide support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), to learn more about the realities of living in the Middle East and to advocate for peace.

Leading the bishops are the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, other leaders of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, and the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, ELCIC national bishop. <more>

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CHICAGO (ELCA) — The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the ELCA joins with all people calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and southern Israel. Hanson also asked ELCA members to join Middle East religious leaders who requested that Sunday, Jan. 4, be “a day for justice and peace in the land of peace,” he wrote in a Dec. 31 pastoral letter.

Hanson issued the letter as the ELCA Conference of Bishops and bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCiC) prepare to visit religious, government and community leaders, congregations and schools in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank. They scheduled the visit months ago as part of their annual academy, a time of theological reflection and study.

At least 39 ELCA bishops, plus 5 ELCIC bishops, 27 spouses and 14 ELCA churchwide staff are expected to make the Jan. 6-13 visit. A smaller delegation will visit Jordan beginning Jan. 3. The visit is intended to show support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and Holy Land (ELCJHL), led by its bishop, the Rev. Munib A. Younan, and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The bishops also want to learn more about the complexities in the region, and to promote just and peaceful solutions to the conflict. <more>

From ELCA News Service

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