ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 13, 2009  

North American Lutheran Bishops Learn about Bethlehem Ministry
09-014-JB

     BETHLEHEM, West Bank (ELCA) -- With the vision "that we
might have life and have it abundantly," a Lutheran congregation
here has embarked on a ministry of preaching, teaching and
healing, aimed at empowering the people who live in this
conflicted area.
     The Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor, Evangelical Lutheran Christmas
Church, presented his congregation's vision to 44 North American
Lutheran bishops who met here Jan. 10.  The bishops, representing
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), are participating in a
weeklong series of meetings with religious, political and
community leaders in Israel and the West Bank, and visiting
sacred sites. Their visit, concluding Jan. 13, also focuses on
support and encouragement for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).
     Christmas Lutheran Church formed DIYAR (meaning "homeland"),
a consortium of Lutheran-based ecumenically oriented institutions
serving the whole Palestinian community, Raheb said.  DIYAR now
has a staff of 100 people.  He said the 200-member congregation
is reaching out through DIYAR to about 60,000 people each year by
means of its International Center of Bethlehem, a conference and
media center, plus a health and wellness center.  In 2006 the
congregation started Dar al-Kalima College, the only Lutheran
higher education institution in the Middle East, Raheb said.
     Raheb said he and others needed to gain consensus in the
congregation before moving ahead with DIYAR.  Some members wanted
to wait until times were better for Palestinians in the West
Bank, who live under Israeli occupation.
     "I told them: 'Stop waiting!  The Messiah has already come!"
Raheb said.
     DIYAR focuses its programs on peacemaking, care for the
city, investing in spirituality, empowering individuals and the
community, building bridges for intercultural dialogue, creating
room for hope, and the "mysteries of the risen Lord," Raheb said.
     In a question and answer session with the bishops, Raheb
said that he is concerned about the future for Palestinians,
especially because of the current conflict between Israel and
Gaza.
     "I think we are heading with full power to a fully developed
apartheid system. This war on Gaza had many goals, but one
important goal is to make the two-state solution not viable. A
two-state solution made sense, but what is happening in Gaza
makes this impossible," he said. Raheb said he's also concerned
about the future safety and security of people living in the West
Bank because of the war in Gaza.
     In a separate presentation of how the ELCJHL and the North
American Lutheran churches can work together, the Rev. Munib A.
Younan thanked the bishops for traveling to the region. "Your
presence here is not a lip service. It's a statement.  It's a
statement that you stand with the local people, not in times of
joy but in times of difficulties, in times of occupation and in
times of war," the ELCJHL bishop said.
     Together with the ELCJHL, the North American Lutheran
churches are "on the road to Emmaus, where Jesus will break the
bread and tell us 'you are my children, and I ask you to continue
to accompany each other for witnessing for the Lord,'" Younan
said.
---
     Information about the 2009 Bishops' Academy is at
http://blogs.ELCA.org/09cobacademy/ on the ELCA Web site.

     Information about Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church is
at http://www.bethlehemchristmaslutheran.org/ on the Web.


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