Accompaniment
Walking With Our Brothers and Sisters in the Holy Land
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.
Young Adults in Global Mission
Most recently, the ELCJHL has welcomed the implementation of a Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program in Palestine. Six YAGMs were assigned to Jerusalem and the West Bank where they will serve in various ELCJHL schools and other ministries for a year.
Front Row, L to R: Mary Margaret Powers, Laurie Blank
Back Row, L to R: Bethany Sack, Anna Johnson, Rachel Zarnke, Greta Steeber
Below are links to blogs created by individual YAGMs. The personal views they express do not necessarily reflect positions of the ELCA, but we encourage you to read their reflections on their work.
- Anna Johnson, originally from Iowa, is taking a year off from George Washington University to work in the ELCJHL Director of Education's office in Jerusalem and to serve as Holy Land Trips Assistant to Martin Shoffner.
- Mary Margaret Powers from Stone Mountain, GA will be serving this year at the Helen Keller School for the Visually Impaired in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem.
- Bethany Sack finished her Reconciliation Studies program at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, in May and is now volunteering at the School of Hope in the city of Ramallah.
- Rachel Zarnke, a recent University of Chicago graduate, isnow working in the Dar Al Kalima School in Bethlehem. Read about her experiences as a missionary in the Holy Land and about how the current Israel-Palestine situation is affecting her life this year.
Video Workshop
Lutheran documentary filmmaker Tim Frakes recently led video workshops for Palestinian Lutheran school students. The free workshops taught high school students the basics of website and video production.
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: