Summary of meetings held in Washington, DC, April 21-22, 2016

Meeting at the Executive Office Building included (Left to right) Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Fr. George Ayoub, Secretary to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to Patriarch Fouad Twal; Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal; Anglican Archbishop Suheil Dawani; Canon Trond Bakkevig (coordinator of CRIHL and pastor in Church of Norway); Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land; Father Ibrahim Faltas, Representative of the Custos of the Holy Land; and Issa Kassissieh, Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the Holy See.

On Thursday, April 21, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton joined ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan, (Latin) Patriarch Twal, (Anglican) Archbishop Dawani and several others of the Palestinian delegation who came to Washington after the Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence: The Atlanta Summit of Churches in the USA and the Holy Land meeting.

The first meeting was in the Longworth House Office Building where the group met with Rep. Chris Stewart (R-2^nd-UT) and Mr. Drew Bowling, Communications and Policy Advisor to Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-1^st-NE).  The delegation orally presented the outcome of the Atlanta Summit and then discussed the general situation of the churches and Christians in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East.

A lunch for the delegation was hosted by Churches for Middle East Peace, at which a number of the members of the CMEP Leadership Council and other guests were present.  James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, was accompanied by Mr. Omar Shehabi of Palestine Works which recently prepared a report on religious freedom in Israel and the Occupied Territories for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

In the late afternoon the delegation visited the White House and met with Dr. Colin Kahl, Deputy Asst. to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice-President, and Ms. Yael Lempert, Special Asst. to the President and Senior Director for the Levant, Israel and Egypt at the National Security Council.

The delegation gave them a letter to the president and a copy of the Atlanta Summit Document.  The delegation members highlighted the importance of education; the need to fight extremism and radicalism; the centrality of Jerusalem to peace; and the work of their educational, health and other diaconal work.

Bishop Younan noted the mediation role church leaders had played during Secy. of State Colin Powell’s tenure and that it could be done again. He expressed thanks for Secy. Kerry’s negotiating effort. He asked the Administration to support the May 30 French-organized Middle East peace conference. He urged the US to refrain from using its veto.  He asked that the U.S. make reunification of families a priority.  He also expressed thanks for the support from USAID for the East Jerusalem hospitals.

On Friday morning the delegation met at the State Department with Dr. Shaun Casey, Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs (Office of the Secretary of State), his deputy, Ms. Rachel Leslie, Advisor for Public Diplomacy and Outreach, Office of Religion and Global Affairs, Stephen Butler, Depty. Director of the office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and Dr. Michael D. Yaffe, Senior Advisor in the office of the special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations.  The delegation shared a copy of the letter to the President and the final Atlanta document.

Patriarch Twal expressed concern that the “status quo” will mean more violence and therefore there is a need to create a new status quo.  Bishop Younan expressed appreciation for the interaction with Dr. Casey in recent years.  He said the churches’ relationships with the US Consul General in Jerusalem and Amb. Shapiro in Tel Aviv are good and “very meaningful”.  He said that the Summit, of course, was remarkable and outstanding, especially since both mainline and evangelical US churches attended.  He hopes for a more unified strategy among Palestinian and US churches concerning the conflict.

Bishop Younan reiterated his wish that the US give priority to consulting with the Palestinian church leaders.  He would like the US to strengthen the voice of the moderates (these churches) as well as similar Muslim and Jewish voices.  He expressed frustration that the Israel-Palestine issue appears to be “on the back burner”, whereas, if it were solved, it could help solve some of the other issues such as those in Syria and Iraq.  He also expressed thanks for the support from USAID in the health sector but asked that they help with education as well since the churches’ aim is to uphold human dignity for all.

Check out this Living Lutheran article about former Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) who volunteered in Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) schools and have now returned to the region to work with various organizations.

“Working near Jerusalem in the West Bank community of Beit Sahour, Marta Erling Spangler started to see the world through the eyes of the Palestinian Christians and Muslims around her.

One of the first participants in the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) service program when it opened sites in the Holy Land in 2008, Erling Spangler had plenty to see.

While she could visit Jerusalem whenever she wanted, her students at the Evangelical Lutheran School in Beit Sahour needed permits to enter. Few could secure them. She took her access to higher education for granted. Checkpoints and conflict stood between her students and university degrees.

Erling Spangler’s growing awareness of her own privilege drew her to focus on social justice after her year of service ended.

Some years later, after volunteering with AmeriCorps in Pittsburgh; earning a master’s degree in ethics, peace and global affairs; and working for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, she is in Jerusalem again, serving as resource development and board liaison officer with Augusta Victoria Hospital. Operated by the LWF on the Mount of Olives, the hospital offers health-care services otherwise unavailable to the Palestinian community.”

Read the full article here.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has new videos available online about the life and ministry of the church. You can find those videos here (we’d recommend that you save the link as more videos will be uploaded).  We are thankful for the work of videographer, Tim Frakes and the Rev. Eric Shafer for making these videos.

A couple videos that we’d like to highlight:

Video 1: The Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, extends an invitation for pilgrims from around the world to visit the Holy Land to see the living stones. (1:30)

Video 2: The Environmental Education Center of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) introduces Palestinian youth to their own natural heritage. The center helps Palestinian youth see themselves as future stewards and caretakers of the environment through conservation and environmentally-conscious lifestyles. (2:59)

Video 3: The Rev. Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and President, the Lutheran World Federation join in the celebration of the Armenian Orthodox Christmas and Epiphany at the Armenian Patriarch St. James Church in Jerusalem. (3:01)

Video 4: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Each year Christians from around the world reflect on Jesus prayer in John 17 “that they may be one, so that the world may believe.” This January, Jerusalem, the birthplace of Christianity, saw Christians from many countries and faith traditions gather at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer next to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to pray for Christian unity. (2:45)

Graffiti from the Separation Wall near Bethlehem.

The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches invites member churches, faith-based communities, and civil society organizations to join together in 2013 for a week of advocacy and action in support of an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and a just peace for all in Palestine and Israel. Congregations and individuals around the globe who share the hope of justice shall unite during the week to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness.

The theme of the week in 2013 is: “Jerusalem, the city of justice and peace.”

As part of the most recent World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, from 28 May to 3 June 2012, churches in at least 25 countries around the world sent a clear signal to policy-makers, community groups, and their own parishes about the urgent need for a peace settlement that ends the illegal occupation and secures the legitimate rights and future of both peoples.

During World Week for Peace 2013, participants will organize and join in events and activities around the following three principles:

1. Praying with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem and other worship resources prepared for the week. Note that Tuesday of this week falls on  Sept 24, the date of the monthly prayer vigil called for by ACT Palestine. 
2. Educating about actions that make for peace, and about facts on the ground that do not create peace, especially issues related to the city of Jerusalem.
3. Advocating with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice.

Find more information and resources at the PIEF webpage, including:

• The Jerusalem Prayer from the Churches in Jerusalem
• The liturgy “Jerusalem, the City of Justice and Peace,” written by Palestinian Christian laity and clergy for Sunday 22 September
• Proposed common action and advocacy for Sunday 22 September, based on the theme: “To pray, you need a military permit!”
• A resource on Jerusalem created by our international working group, with information, theological reflections, and advocacy suggestions for each day of the Week
• Testimonials from the Wall Museum near Rachel’s Tomb, a project of the Sumud Story House of the Arab Educational Institute
• A policy paper on Jerusalem, published March 2013 by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung office in East Jerusalem

The Rt. Rev. Munib A. Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation and Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, addressed the ELCA Churchwide Assembly today, August 15, 2013.

I continue to believe that security for the State of Israel depends on justice for Palestinians, and that freedom and justice for Palestinians depend on Israel’s security. We are in a symbiotic relationship. It continues to be my vision that Palestinians will one day see the image of God in their Israeli neighbors and Israelis equally see the image of God in us, their Palestinian neighbors. For it is only when we recognize our common humanity and hold each other in dignity and respect and mutually recognize each other’s human, civil, religious, and political rights. Only then will the Holy Land become a promised land of milk and honey for Israelis and Palestinians alike. I pray for the fulfilment of this vision and that we can experience peace and justice in our days.

We are tired of wars and hatred. We continue to be committed to the vision that our children and grandchildren will experience peace based on justice and reconciliation based on forgiveness. I ask you to pray for the Middle East. Please pray for Syria, Egypt, Palestine and Israel. Pray that God may open the eyes of our leaders to say “no more hatred, no more weapons, no more bloodshed—only dignity for every person and justice for every nation.” Please pray for the LWF and the ministry of the ELCJHL.”

Click here to read the full greeting from LWF President, Bishop Munib Younan.

Beirut, Lebanon: On May 22 2013, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) President, Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), spoke during the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) conference on Christian Presence and Witness in the Middle East. “We do not live in the mentality of the ghetto, nor in the mentality of a minority complex, nor do we live as dhimmi (dependent) people,” said Bishop Younan. “We have always been, as Arab Christians, building our societies, loyal to our countries and nationalities, bringing hope in hopeless situations.”

Read the LWF news story here.

For the full speech click here.

In their Easter message, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem “call upon all Christians from around the ecumenical world to come and visit with our churches and walk with the living stones of the Holy Land  in the footsteps of our risen Lord.” If you are interested in responding to this call take a look at Peace Not Wall’s resources for traveling to the Holy Land.

Below is the full text of the Easter message:

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.” Matthew 28:6

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, bless our faithful people in this region and the people of God everywhere in the name of the risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Each year the Church calls us to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through Divine Liturgies and Paschal ceremonies and gatherings. The Church in the Holy Land offers what no other church around the world can offer – Pilgrimage in the land where it all happened. Through many prayers, fasts, and holy journeys, this land we call Holy became a fifth gospel. Indeed, our Easter greetings come from the heart of the City of Hope, Resurrection and the Empty Tomb.

As Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, we call upon all Christians from around the ecumenical world to come and visit with our churches and walk with the living stones of the Holy Land in the footsteps of our risen Lord. And for those who are not able to make their pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we appeal to them to hold the peoples of this land in their prayers, particularly the Christian presence that keeps dwindling and faces existential challenges throughout the Middle East.

The holy fire on Holy Saturday and Easter Vigil remind us, and the entire world, of the ‘Light of the Risen Lord’, which illumines the whole world, even in the darkest places of the earth. Our world today is full of false idols that separate people from the light of Christ and the truth of his Gospel. The Christian presence here in the Mother City of our faith continues to serve as a beacon of light of the risen Christ, which the first disciples witnessed here at the empty sepulcher in Jerusalem.

As a continued witness of the resurrection, the Church in the Holy Land urges all people of faith and goodwill around the world, especially those in authority, to strive for justice and peace among the nations. In particular, pray with us for the situation in Syria; in Lebanon; in Palestine and Israel; in Egypt; in Iraq, and wherever there is political unrest. Pray for all victims of violence and oppression, for prisoners, for those who live with the lack of security, and those who are displaced and refugees, especially here in our land.

May the light of the risen Lord shine upon the whole world and in our region, and may we all be raised with Christ into life victorious. Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed.

Alleluia!

Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarchate
Patriarch Norhan Manougian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate
Very Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land
Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem
Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate
Aba Fissiha Tsion, Locum Tenens of the Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate
Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek-Melkite-Catholic Patriarchate
Archbishop Moussa El-Hage, Maronite Patriarchal Exarchate
Bishop Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East
Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
Bishop Pierre Melki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate
Msgr. Joseph Antoine Kelekian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

Taken from Independent Catholic News website

(Left to Right) Rev. Ibrahim Azar, Pastor of the Arabic Speaking congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer; Rev. Mark Brown, Church Council Chairperson of the English Speaking congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer; Bishop Munib Younan, Bishop of the ELCJHL; Propst Wolfgang Schmidt, Representative of the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland in Jerusalem bless Rev. Dr. Martin Zimmann and Rev. Dr. Angela Zimmann. © Danae Hudson/ELCJHL

On March 10th, 2013, ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan installed Rev. Dr. Angela Zimmann and Rev. Dr. Martin Zimmann as pastors of the English Speaking Redeemer congregation and Special Assistants to the Bishop. Also installed were Danae Hudson, as Communications Assistant to the Bishop, and Steve Hudson, as volunteer accountant for the ELCJHL.  

Bishop Younan challenged them in his sermon: “You are called to accompany the people of Palestine in their struggle to realize the dream of a peaceful coexistence with their Israeli neighbors. You will hear the pains and insecurity of both peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, but you are called to give them a word of comfort, a word of peace, a word of love. The road is difficult, the work is challenging. I pray you will be up to the task. And we in the ELCJHL will be supporting you.”

Listen to Bishop Younan’s sermon for the installation service.  See more photos of the installation. 

From left: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary; Rev. Dr Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse, vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee; Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the WCC Central Committee; Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan; and Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima; vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, after the WCC Executive Committee vote.

The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting near Geneva at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey voted to approve the full membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) in the WCC. The approval ended a two-year process in which both the Executive Committee and Central Committee of the WCC considered the application of the ELCJHL. During this period, visits to the churches in Jerusalem and discussions with other member churches in the area took place. The ELCA has a long relationship with the ELCJHL.

“The ELCJHL widely identifies with ministries of the World Council of Churches,” Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan of the ELCJHL said in a brief speech to the Executive Committee after the vote, pointing to their support of the Jerusalem Inter-church Centre, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel and the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum.

“We are honoured to serve God’s will through the essential ministries of the World Council of Churches,” Younan said. “The ELCJHL supports these ministries … because they show our people in Jerusalem, The Holy Land, and Jordan that their Christian sisters and brothers around the world stand with them, accompanying them in their sorrows and in their joys.”

Younan said, “in this age of globalization, we join with the churches in the world around us to be instruments of peace, harbingers of justice, initiators of dialogue.”

“The ELCJHL is richly blessed by the accompaniment we have received through this ecumenical body, and we hope that we have returned some of that goodness to you,” he said.

The ELCJHL, with its origins in 19th century missionary activity in the Holy Land, is made up of congregations in Amman, Jerusalem, Ramallah and the Bethlehem area. An updated count of WCC member churches will come after the WCC 10th Assembly being held in Busan, Republic of Korea, 30 October to 10 November, 2013.

See the ELCJHL’s story.       See World Council of Churches’ story.

ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation, gives a Christmas video greeting from Jerusalem:

Don’t forget the simulcast Christmas service between Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and the National Cathedral in Washington, to be broadcast at 10 am EST here.