Accompaniment
Walking With Our Brothers and Sisters in the Holy Land
How can I accompany the Palestinian Lutherans?
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Young Adults in Global Mission form close bonds with youth and people from the ELCJHL in their year term of service. |
Accompaniment is the ELCA’s central commitment in relation to our global companions. This commitment is illustrated by the image of walking alongside companions in respect and mutuality, together discerning future directions for shared mission. One of the ELCA’s most significant companions in the Middle East is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), led by Bishop Dr. Munib Younan.
With the ELCJHL, the ELCA also has strong relationships with Lutheran World Federation ministries in Palestine-Israel, including Augusta Victoria Hospital. LWF ministries provide all Palestinians with access to important services, including health care infrastructure, and the capacity-building benefits of vocational education.
The most tangible form of the ELCA’s accompaniment of the ELCJHL is our cadre of missionary personnel in the region, serving at the invitation and under the direction of Bishop Younan. The ELCA supplies a pastor for the English-speaking congregation, a communications assistant for the bishop and an assistant to the director of the ELCJHL school system. There is also a Young Adult in Global Mission program there.
Redeemer English-Speaking Congregation
Pastors Martin and Angela Zimmann will share the positions of Pastor of the English-speaking Redeemer Lutheran Congregation and Special Assistant to the Bishop of the ELCJHL. Follow them at
https://www.facebook.com/
#!/ZimmannsInTheHolyLand.
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Martin, Angela, Seth and Chelsea Zimmann |
Pastor Martin Otto Zimmann holds a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Martin graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, with a Bachelor's in English Literature in 1990. A 1998 graduate of the Lutheran Theological School at Gettysburg, Martin has served at St. John Lutheran Church in Dundee Michigan and at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Temperance, Michigan. Martin helped shape the synodical partnership between the Southeast Michigan Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Holy Land and Jordan and has helped to organize ELCA delegations to Jerusalem and the West Bank. He has taught at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan and Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, on a variety of topics, including Ethnic Studies, Literature and Composition, Climate Change and Sustainability, and Apocalypse Theology. His hobbies include sustainability and earth-conscious stewardship, including urban farming and goatherding.
Pastor Angela Zimmann holds a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Angela graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1994, and is a 1998 graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Angela has served at St. John Lutheran Church in Dundee Michigan and Trinity Lutheran Church in Riga, MI. Angela served on the county-wide school board for many years. In 2012, she was the Democratic nominee for US Congress in Ohio-5, garnering 40% of the vote, the most a Democrat has received in the district in decades. She has taught at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio since 2004. Her hobbies include walking, reading, spending time with her children and family, and she wants to learn to knit.
ELCJHL Communication Assistant
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Danae and Steve Hudson |
You are most likely to find Danae Hudson behind her camera or on Facebook as the ELCJHL's Communications Assistant. Before she was handed all the website passwords, Danae worked at MTV Networks doing everything from digital media to news to voice acting. Her hobbies are photography, videography, reading, Facebook, baking, and dancing poorly. She is accompanied by her husband Steve, a Certified Public Accountant who enjoys playing drums and taking walks.
Follow them at http://hummusnotwalls.wordpress.com/.
Young Adults in Global Mission and Trips' Coordination
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Julie Rossate and Jeff Von Wald |
Julie Rossate and Jeff Von Wald are delighted to be part of the ELCA Global Mission team, living and working in Jerusalem and the West Bank with the
Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program and the Holy Land Trips' program.
Jeff is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and worked most recently at Harvard Divinity School in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Jeff attended Harvard Divinity School and the State University of New York at Oswego. Jeff was an Americorps Volunteer in upstate New York. Jeff likes to read, discuss theology, play the guitar, kayak, canoe and follow all of Syracuse University's sports teams.
Prior to working with Global Mission, Julie was the director of an adult education program in the Boston area. She attended Macalester College and Harvard Divinity School. Julie was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. Julie likes to read, drum, study Arabic, kayak, canoe and tease her husband about his love of all Syracuse University's sports teams.
Young Adults in Global Mission
The Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program has six energetic young people in Palestine in 2012-2013. They will serve in various capacities this year. Read their blogs at the links below.:
YAGMs
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) seeks to support local and international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace, based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
You can read about the experiences and reflections of some current and past accompaniers and learn more about how to become an accompanier. To donate to the EAPPI scholarship fund, a Global Gift program of the ELCA, please contact globalmissionsupport@elca.org or contact Pr. Lanny Westphal at 800-638-3522, ext. 2641.
Current US Accompaniers
Past ELCA Accompaniers