BEIT JALA, West Bank (ELCA) -- Twelve communicators from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) drove here in two vans from Jerusalem Feb. 2 to attend worship at a Lutheran church, but, with an Israeli curfew in place, the Lutherans wondered if anyone else would be at the church.
Beit Jala and other towns around Bethlehem on the West Bank were shut down, under curfew from the Israeli military. No one was allowed to drive, walk or be outside of his or her home.
With their flashers blinking, two Lutheran World Federation (LWF) vans, following a car driven by the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) (ELCJ), were the only vehicles approaching the Bethlehem check point for entry into this area. Normally busy streets were empty of cars and people. After a brief negotiation, the sergeant allowed the vehicles to pass.
The group was traveling to worship at Reformation Lutheran Church here where Younan was scheduled to preach and lead worship. The communicators were joined by the Rev. Mary Jensen, ELCA missionary and ELCJ communication director, Jerusalem.
A full congregation of "illegal" worshipers greeted the ELCA group as they arrived at Reformation Church. "If God calls us," said one congregation member, "we're coming."
The worship was lively, with congregation members singing the hymns and liturgy in Arabic from memory. Younan's sermon was translated line by line for the ELCA visitors by his wife, Suad Younan. Based on the Gospel lesson of Jesus stilling the storm- tossed sea, Younan's sermon was about God's ability to quiet every storm in life, even the "storm" of the situation in Palestine.
Lessons were read in English by two ELCA members and then in Arabic by the bishop. The Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, ELCA Department for Communication, and group leader, greeted the congregation, sharing with them the prayers and support of the members of the ELCA.
This experience was typical for the twelve ELCA communicators who traveled to Jerusalem and the West Bank, Feb. 1-8, Shafer said.
In addition to Beit Jala, the group visited ELCJ congregations and schools in Bethlehem and Ramallah, and LWF projects in Jerusalem as well as LWF's Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. The LWF is a global communion of 136 Lutheran Churches in 76 countries representing 61.7 million Lutherans.
Visits to ELCJ schools in Bethlehem and Ramallah were among the trip's highlights, Shafer said. Seniors at the Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah shared their hopes and fears with the group. Asked about their plans for after graduation, one student replied, "we can't have any plans beyond next week" because of the situation in Palestine. Another added that he hoped to continue to "get educated and come back to serve my country."
Five years from now students fear "the situation won't change" and "maybe it will get worse." "Nothing is guaranteed; maybe we'll be dead," said one student. "We can't live like others," another said. "We go to sleep not sure if we will wake living or dead."
Still, they "hoped to live" and "hoped to change the situation" in Palestine, and, the students were quick to add that they did not hate U.S. President George W. Bush or Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Rather, they hoped Bush would visit Palestine. "Come see, we are not terrorists," said one student.
ELCA members provide support for humanitarian projects in the West Bank through Lutheran World Relief, the overseas development and relief agency of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; through the LWF, with funds from the ELCA World Hunger Appeal and the ELCA Division for Global Mission, Chicago. Projects supported included the LWF vocational school in Jerusalem and a new International Center in Bethlehem.
Joining Shafer on the trip were Wendy Blanck, Palatine, Ill.; the Rev. Nancy Curtis, Kane, Pa.; Marcia and the Rev. Mark Holman, Minneapolis; Amber Leberman, Elmhurst, Ill., the Rev. Paul Lintern, Mansfield, Ohio; Wendy McCredie, Oak Park, Ill.; the Rev. John Richter, Wyomissing, Pa.; Kris Shafer, Park Ridge, Ill.; the Rev. John Spangler, Gettysburg, Pa.; and Sister Virginia Strahan, Baldwinville, Mass. ---
View photos from the ELCA communicators' visit to the Middle East at http://www.elca.org/co/news/image.index.html on the ELCA Web site.
For more information on the ELCJ, visit http://www.holyland-lutherans.org on the Web. For information about ELCA ministries in the Middle East, visit http://www.elca.org/middleeast on the Web.
*The Rev. Eric C. Shafer is director, ELCA Department for Communication, Chicago.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
