Newsletter Article for April

seek peace, and pursue it Psalm 34:14




Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As a part of my vicarage at St. Paul’s, the seminary places on me certain requirements that I must complete. One of these requirements is the completion of a project that is not a program already in place or something that is ongoing within the life of the local church and one that benefits the congregation being served. As most of you know, Dee and I had a wonderful faith building experience on our trip to the Holy Land in January. In preparation for that trip the seminary professor who lead our group encouraged us to do some reading. He suggested we read the following books in preparation for the trip: O Jerusalem!, L. Collins and D. Lapierre (history of the Israeli war for independence); Blood Brothers, Elias Chacour (a Palestinian priest tells his personal story); The Land and the Book, Charles Page and Carl Volz (essential traveling companion), and Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, Naim Stifan Ateek. In addition to these I have read two more books by Elias Chacour – Faith Beyond Despair and We Belong to the Land. On our trip we meet Dr. Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Lutheran Pastor at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Since meeting him I have read his book, Bethlehem Besieged, and have started another one of his books, I am a Palestinian Christian. I thought I would have had a break from all the reading at seminary!

With all that being said my project during my vicarage here at St. Paul’s stems from my reading and meeting with Dr. Elias Chacour, Archbishop of Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Dr. Mitri Raheb in Israel/Palestine. These readings and meeting with people involved in finding a peaceful solution to the Israeli crisis have stirred my interest in the peace process between Israel/Palestine. Upon our return from the trip I contacted Dr. Raheb and asked him if he would provide me with contact information for representatives in the United States who could speak to the issue of seeking and pursuing peace in the land where our faith was born. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has been an ongoing problem for over 60 years since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

Calling ourselves children of Abraham, we need to be aware, and concerned, about the continually growing contentions between the Israelis and Palestinians. How can blood brothers and sisters who have been at odds for centuries find a way to live in peace? Come join the conversation on Wednesday nights beginning April 14th as we explore ways to seek and pursue a just peace in the “Holy Land” with guest speakers who have lived and worked for peace and reconciliation in Israel & Palestine through non-violent means.

I hope and pray you that you will consider supporting me in this project by attending any or all of the programs that are going to be presented at St. Paul’s. If anyone is interested in doing some reading beforehand, I would recommend Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, Justice and Only Justice by Naim Stifan Ateek and Bethlehem Besieged by Mitri Raheb. If you have any question please feel free to contact me.



Blessings,

Vicar Paul