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Peace Not Walls

“Joseph also went. . . along with Mary, his wife. . . who was expecting a child.” (Luke 2:4-5)

These words are taken from the Christmas Eve sermon from Pastor Fred Strickert, the ELCA missionary who serves at the English-speaking Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jerusalem.  On Christmas Eve, the Arabic, German and English-speaking congregations join together at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem (below) for an international service.  Pastor Fred preached this year’s sermon: 

‘And so the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’  (John 1:14)  Among us in our world filled with refugees and immigrants.

The child of a refugee family finding hospitality and welcome in Bethlehem, just as the church today accepts the challenge of welcoming the stranger today.  Fred Otieno, from the Church in Nairobi, recently said reflecting on his 18 hour a day, seven day a week position as camp coordinator at the Dadaab Refugee Camp, ‘God has a purpose for us being here to make a difference in the lives of these people, so we must try and help them enjoy their stay, because at the end of the day we all need one another.’ 

This is the message that goes out from the Bethlehem manger, “At the end of the day we all need one another.”

  • Christmas is not about how much we can accumulate and horde, but about how much we can give away, sharing ith those in need. 
  • Christmas is not about walls that divide, security that ntimates, and policies that humiliate, but about an attitude toward life in a spirit which loves the other as our self.
  • Christmas is not even about safe, romantic, idyllic tales of long ago, but it is about Christ coming into our midst, now, in the present moment.
  • Christmas is about welcoming Jesus into our midst, as we welcome the least among us, as we show hospitality to the stranger, for then we may discover that we have been entertaining angels unawares, or even God’s own son. 

Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.

 

      

                

Read full sermon

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Service from Bethlehem/Washington and Bishop Younan’s Christmas Message

Christmas Lutheran Church and the Internationl Center of Bethlehem joined together with the Washington National Cathedral for the 5th annual Christmas service simulcast on Saturday, Dec. 17.  Watch video of the service.

 


 

The Rt. Rev. Munib Younan, LWF President and Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, released his Christmas message for 2011, lifting up the waiting that Anna and Simeon had to do in their lifetime:

Imagine having to wait for all those years.

Yet Anna and Simeon were able to wait in hope in spite of their difficult circumstances, in spite of their challenging times. Their faith, their steadfastness, their edifying and uplifting spirituality, their community support, and their prophetic message equipped them and enabled them in their long years of waiting.

In the same way today, in our difficult circumstances and in our challenging times, we can learn from them as we wait in hope, not in resignation.

This Christmas, may we be blessed with the words of Simeon:

“Lord, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.”

Simeon and Anna must have thought that it could never happen in their lifetimes. They must have had doubts and second thoughts. They must have questioned the promises. Yet they continued to live in faith with a hope that was unshaken. They remained steadfast in Jerusalem, finding support in community. They did not hesitate to speak forth a prophetic word. And through their patient waiting their eyes saw the salvation prepared for them and the whole world. Christ was born in a manger—good news for all people.

I pray that this model of hopeful waiting of Anna and Simeon may now exhibit itself in the people of the Middle East.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year in 2012! 

 

Download full message here.

ELCJHL Schools Wish You a Merry Christmas

A portion of a Christmas card from the ELCHL, illustrated by students.

 

 

The ELCHL schools send Christmas greetings to all in a card illustrated by students. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the full Christmas card  |  See photos of the Ramallah Christmas program  |  See other ELCJHL photos for schools

Syrian Christian Leaders Issue Statement

The leaders of the three largest Orthodox communities in Syria have issued a statement regarding the current situation in their country. The two files attached here show the letter, translated from Arabic.

For the several years it has been in existence, the Peace Not Walls campaign of the ELCA has been focused primarily on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The events of this year have shown, more than ever before, that the conflict cannot be comprehended apart from its regional context.

Please keep the people of Syria in your prayers, the Christian communities among them. Additionally, pray that leaders around the world seeking to intervene in the conflict brewing there — including leaders in the United States — will receive the gift of discernment.

This is the season of hope. Amen, come Lord Jesus.

American Jewish Groups Issue Critiques of ‘Bethlehem Call’

At least two mainstream American Jewish organizations have issued statements critical of the ‘Bethlehem Call’ and the decision of some mainline denominations in the United States, including the ELCA, to draw attention to the document. Neither the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign nor other elements of ELCA leadership have offered comment on the content of the ‘Bethlehem Call.’

B’nai B’rith: “The Bethlehem Call” Document Promotes Division, Not Peace
This piece from B’nai B’rith offers a critique of the document itself. Read more here.

AJC Disheartened by UCC, Disciples of Christ and ELCA Embrace of Palestinian Document Delegitimizing Israel
Although critical of  the document itself, this press release from AJC is focused primarily on the apparent promotion of the statement by mainline denominations. Read more here.

Kairos Palestine issues Bethlehem Call after Conference

The blog of the Peace Not Walls campaign of the ELCA does not endorse the content of items posted or linked by authors. The document known as the “Bethlehem Call” contains several elements not in agreement with ELCA policy concerning Israel and Palestine. 

Kairos Palestine led a conference in Bethlehem called ‘Kairos for Global Justice Encounter” in December that gathered participants from 15 countries  to see current realities on the ground and what has changed since December, 2009, when the initial Kairos Palestine group issued their “Word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering.”  They issued what they are calling “The Bethlehem Call.”

Read the full statement here (PDF document).

Join Bethlehem/Washington DC Simulcast Worship Saturday, Dec. 17

 Join worshipers in Bethlehem and at the Washington Cathedral for the fifth annual joint simulcast Christmas service on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 9 am Central Standard Time. Prayers, readings, and hymns alternate between Washington, D.C., and Palestine via the Internet, bringing together people of different lands, languages, and ethnic backgrounds in celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace.   The service is webcast live from the Cathedral’s home page.

 In Bethlehem, participants include the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem; the Rt. Rev. Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land; and the Rev Dr. Mitri Raheb from Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Participants in Washington include the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington; the Rt. Rev. Richard H. Graham, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod; the Rev, Canon Jan Naylor Cope, vicar of the Cathedral; and the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson.

Click here to watch last year’s service.

Could Arab Spring turn into Christian Winter?

From the World Council of Churches:

Churches in Egypt are praying and helping migrants, who flee home due to political turmoil, violence and uncertain future. There is a great need to develop stable democratic societies if the “Arab spring” is to bear fruits. Or else it might turn into an “Arab winter” with religious minorities at the risk of persecution.

David Victor R. Youssef expressed this concern at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Network on Migration meeting taking place in Beirut, Lebanon from 5-7 December, organized by the WCC office for Just and Inclusive Communities and hosted by the Middle East Council of Churches.

Youssef works for the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services and was interviewed by Naveen Qayyum, the WCC staff writer. Read full interview.

Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land condemns mosque attack

Mosque in Northern West Bank town of Burkin attacked.

Mosque in Northern West Bank town of Burkin attacked.

Flaming tires were thrown into a mosque in the Northern West Bank town of Burkin near the settlement Ariel Wednesday, according to Burkin’s mayor, and two cars were torched. The attacks are believed to be the latest in a string of so-called “price-tag” attacks by angry Israeli settlers against local Palestinians. These attacks are called “price tag” attacks because they are allegedly made by Israeli settlers if there is any progress toward removing illegal Israeli settlers from occupied Palestinian land. Several mosques have been burned in the past few months in similar incidents. In this case, only the entrance was burned, but graffiti was sprayed all over the mosque denouncing the head of the Shin Bet’s Jewish division, responsible for tracking extremist activity. Read Haaretz article.

Settler-related incidents resulting in Palestinian injuries and damage to property are up more than 50 percent this year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which documents violence in the Palestinian territories.

The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, made up of top Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, including LWF President and ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan, denounced the attack and issued this statement:

The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land condemns the acts of desecration of the mosque in the village of Burkin in the northern West Bank yesterday. The Council calls upon people from all faiths – Christians, Jews and Muslims – to respect all Holy Places and sites for all three religions, and strongly discourages extremists’ behaviour that exploits or involves religion in a political/territorial dispute.

In the name of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, The Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs at the PA and The Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land, The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land.

What is it with American news media?

Pastor Fred and Diaconal Minister Gloria Strickert, ELCA missionaries at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jerusalem, discuss American church groups that visit the Holy Land who wonder why they haven’t seen the realities on the ground in the US media.  In their most recent blog post, the Strickerts update us on current stories that haven’t made it into the American media. 

“What is it with American news media?” the question was addressed to me by an American tourist this past week.  Visitors often raise similar questions.

“We never hear about these things in the newspapers or on television news.”

“We have seen it with our own eyes.  The wall.  The checkpoints.  The inequalities.  You never hear about this back home.”

“Why is American news so slanted?”

Every week I meet with visitors from the States, who come to hear about the work of the church in Jerusalem.  Usually by the end of the conversation a hand goes up.  “But what about the political situation?” or “This trip has been an eye opener.”   or  “What is it with our American media?’

I don’t attempt to answer the why question.  I’m not an expert on media.  I simply affirm these visitors’ perceptions, relating that my experience with the media over several decades has been much the same.

I encourage them to go online and to try to read a number of sources.  “Multiple perspectives are always good,” I usually tell them.  I always point them to http://www.haaretz.com/ where a person can quickly see that in Israel a healthy debate can occur in a single newspaper, something rare in American sources.

Here are some websites Fred suggests:

http://www.haaretz.com/
www.maannews.net/eng/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
http://jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com/
americans for peace now   http://www.peacenow.org/
Churches for Middle East Peace  http://www.cmep.org/

For more on recent happenings in the Holy Land that haven’t been reported in the US, including US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta telling Israel to “get to the damn (negotiating) table,” read the rest of their blog.