The third of five commemorative global mission trips in observance of our church’s 200 years of global mission, takes place August 21 – Sept 2, 2011. The trips are partially funded and sponsored by Wider Church Ministries and Executive, Jim Moos especially for conference ministers and UCC Global Ministries Board members. The trips to each of the five regions of our global mission work, Latin America, Southern Asia, East Asia and the Middle East, will occur through 2012.

A group of eleven, led by Peter Makari, Global Ministries Executive for the Middle East and Europe are traveling to Lebanon, Jordan and Israel-Palestine where they will visit mission partners and many mission projects.  The group, made up of conference ministers, Wider Church Ministries Board members and staff is documenting their experiences in writing and photographs. We hope you will have a sense of the inspiration, power and challenges encountered in the Middle East.

The members of the group are:

Rev. Krista Betz, Kansas-Oklahoma Interim Conference Minister
Mr. Louie Blue Coat, SD Global Ministries Board Member
Rev. John Deckenback, Central Atlantic Conference Minister
Rev. David Long-Higgins, OH Global Ministries Board Member
Rev. Barbara Kershner Daniel, MD Global Ministries Board Member
Revs. Bob and Ann Molsberry, Ohio Conference Minister and wife
Ms. Jan Aerie, Executive for Mission Education and Interpretation, Global Ministries
Dr. Peter Makari, Executive for the Middle East and Europe, Global Ministries
Ms. Phyllis Richards, Program Associate for Global Sharing of Resources, UCC
Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, UCC

Day 10
Louie Bluecoat

Let not my heart harden,
Let not my memories fade,
Let not my face burden,
For their lives my friends have paid,

Two peoples lives share the sacred hoop,
Two peoples pain shared at the core,
Two peoples healing must begin,
For their lands the blood did pour,

United in cause we stand for our people,
United in blood, fighting tooth for tooth,
United in pain, voices are what‘s left,
For our future and for our youth…

We must heal…

By Louie Blue Coat

When most people think about the Middle East they think, Terrorism, Holy Places, vast deserts, people with turbans, car bombs, etc… or something flashes through our minds out of a James Bond movie, these are some things I thought about before I left for Beirut, I thought about it but I wanted to go and experience it, if it was a good day to die, then I sure hope I have clean underwear.

We started our last day with a trip to Yad Vashem the Holocaust History Museum, located in Jerusalem. It was a very emotional and a very powerful visual statement regarding Man’s inhumanity to Man. It was a day with mixed feelings for myself, I was glad to be going home and yet felt that I was leaving a part of myself behind. My new friends, our Global Ministries partners and the group I have had the privilege of touring with, were so inspirational to me. Our new friends and I shared a common and dark reality of being people who’s lands were in dispute, from meeting with Iraqi refugees and feeling what they have seen and hearing their stories to meeting with Ms. Sylvia Haddad, an awesome woman that maintains a wonderful sense of humor and a will of iron when it comes to aiding refugees.

It seems to me that no matter where you go in this world of ours, there is injustice and oppression and out of that comes a multitude of consequences. It’s what we do with that which is left and what we tell the young. Do we become great at healing? Do we become better negotiator’s? Do we learn how to turn the other cheek? Or do we pick up arms and learn how to hate with no remorse? These are what my people share with those oppressed in the countries and people we visited with. I left my mind open to the possibilities and was not going to judge nor form an opinion about what I saw and experienced, it didn’t work. My heart went out to the people, how could it not?

I did little note taking because I wanted to get the real feel of the people, their voices, their eyes, their hearts, their minds, the children and most of all how they are dealing with the present situation. I take their stories back to my church and my own people in my own words because in the past we were an oral people.

No matter where you go, there you are, we have met with so many people that are worth mentioning and I am glad my colleagues mentioned them in their blogs, I am mentioning the ones that made a direct impact on me like meeting with Dr. Mary Mikhael, President of the Near East School of Theology, I am reminded that people’s hearts are the same no matter where you go, they have the choice to be warm hearted and loving, caring and amazingly generous with their time, and don’t forget the food!! Holy Cow (pun intended) I ate so much that my system is now wondering where all that salad went? And the mixed grill, I have dreams of that chicken and beef…I think it was beef, but where were the cows?

I want to thank Peter Makari for being a friend and an awesome host for all of us that were on the Pilgrimage, the people we met and places we went were places that very few Americans get to see and experience. Thank you also to David, John, Krista, Bob and Ann, Phyllis, Karen, Jan, and Barbara for your companionship and I learned something from each one of you. Blessings to all! Pilamayan Yelo! Mitakuye Oyasin!

Day 9
Rev. Karen Georgia A. Thompson

Our day started with a devotional time littered with stories and humor.  It was a refreshing way to start the day.  Many of us are weary, and yesterday was a day that was emotionally charged in many ways.  The reminder was that even in serious, tense situations, humor is therapeutic.  This was a good way to prepare us for the visits and the encounters with partners who continue to be a critical presence for Palestinians and offer hope for change.

The first appointment for the day was with Dr. Mira Rizek, General Secretary for the YWCA – Palestine and Global Ministries Board Member representing the Middle East/Europe.  The YWCA currently receives support from OGHS.  

Dr. Rizek shared her analysis of the situation in Palestine, the programs of the YWCA and facilitated a tour of the building which houses the offices and programs of the Jerusalem YWCA as well as the YWCA – Palestine National Offices.  Dr. Rizek’s power point presentation was entitled “Critical Presence:  Responding to the Needs Under Israeli Occupation.”  The need for “critical presence” continues to be a recurring theme and request coming from Christian Palestinians.  The question Dr. Rizek posed “At what cost do we maintain critical presence” is one that stayed with me all day today.  

The YWCA is facing the possibility of losing its building and service to its Palestinian clients as demolition orders are being issued to accommodate the expanding settlements.  Programs at the YWCA are geared primarily towards women.  Because of the many physical barriers to movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, women are afraid to cross checkpoints and are losing their social networks and family support.  We toured the facilities which provide child care services as well as vocational and empowerment programs for women.  In her final remarks to us, Dr. Rizek said: “Every injustice has an end, the question is when.”

Our second visit for the day was with Dr. Jean Zaru, Clerk of the Friend fellowship in Ramallah.  Dr. Zaru welcomed us to her home and provided lunch for our group.  We were grateful for the home cooked meal after so many days away from home and eating meals in our hotel.  Dr. Zaru noted that the Quaker community is shrinking in Ramallah, much the same as it is for all Palestinian Christians.  She highlighted the ecumenical work that is present at the grassroots level, as well as the Kairos Palestine document (http://globalministries.org/mee/kairos/) which was created by the ecumenical community.  She sees much hope but believes hope requires work:  “If you hope for something you have to work for it.  To hope for peace, you have to work for peace.”

Our final visit for the day was with Drs. Samuel and Noehmi Pagan Global Ministries missionaries to Palestine/Israel, who have been in the region for three and a half years.  Both are from Puerto Rico and have been writing articles for newspapers about the Middle East and specifically the concerns in Palestine/Israel.  They spoke of their work teaching about the city of Jerusalem from a Biblical context, and of their interest in having Hispanic congregations in the UCC and DOC understand the on-going conflict in the Middle East and learn more about Palestinian Christians.  Their exposure and connection to Liberation Theology coming out of Latin America was a lens for them to encounter and engage the on-going conflict.

While their work with young men and women is about understanding the history of the region, they noted that those who are coming to the region should encounter “the living stones, rather than the dead stones.”  Many Christians come to Jerusalem and encounter the historic buildings while overlooking the people.  
Our meeting with the various partners and with Palestinian Christian has afforded an encounter with living stones, those who provide critical presence and continue to live in the shadows of growing settlements as they lose their homes and are challenged to maintain their livelihoods.

Day 8
Rev. Bob Moslberry

Barriers

Since I roll around in a wheelchair, I deal with barriers and obstacles all the time – narrow doorways, steep hills, and stairs.  So I was not surprised to have to deal with barriers on this trip to the Middle East.

I was not prepared, however, for the sheer magnitude of the barriers.  My poor tour group of pastors, national staff, and conference ministers has had to drag me up and down entire flights of stairs, haul me over cobblestones, heave me in and out of burial chambers and crypts, cart me over boulder-strewn trails, and schlep me on and off busses.  They’re getting quite a workout.

Since I perceive the world through a lens that is sensitive to barriers, I’m keenly aware of the barriers that confront our Palestinian partners – both Christian and Muslim – on a daily basis.  Their lives seem effectively surrounded by a sophisticated system of obstacles.

Daoud’s family village was cut off from the outside world when Israeli authorities closed the only access road with mounds of dirt and stone.  It is ringed by Israeli settlements illegally carved out of occupied land, and the new settlers are harassing his family by uprooting their ancient olive trees, tearing down fences, and destroying wells.

Jean had difficulty keeping medical appointments in Jerusalem for treatment of breast cancer because people who live in the West Bank can’t travel freely in their own land.  A “Separation Barrier” that looks eerily like the Berlin Wall snakes for 500 miles across the land, well inside the partition that the UN has ceded to the Palestinians.  The Wall has divided villages, cut family members off from one another, separated farmers from their fields, and made it even more difficult for people to find employment.  Our group tried to cross through a checkpoint but discovered the officials had no provision for getting my wheelchair through the turn style.

Thousands of West Bank homes have been systematically demolished and schools and infrastructure on the inside of the Wall are woefully inadequate.  We heard story after story from discouraged Palestinians who encounter dead ends everywhere they turn.

The barriers I face in my wheelchair fall into two categories.  Some are just given, intractable, and can’t be changed.  I can only accept them and try to move on with my life.  The fact of my paralysis is of this category.  Other barriers are things that can be fixed.  When the bathroom door of my guest room in Jerusalem proved too narrow for my wheelchair, we simply took the door off its hinges and removed it.

Palestinians face one more category of barrier.  They are imprisoned by barriers deliberately imposed by the Israeli State, usually in the name of security.  “This is a man-made crisis,” one U.N. worker told us.  These policies are deliberate, with the impact of making life impossible for West Bank residents.

At the end of every briefing from our global partners in the Middle East, our group left a gift with our hosts – one of the God is Still Speaking comma pins.  We assured them that when humans run up against intractable barriers, God can still find a way out.

Day 7
Rev. Krista Betz, Interim Conference Minister
Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, United Church of Christ

Ask, Seek, Knock

We spent August 27, in and around the triangle of Christian West Bank villages of Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, and Bethlehem.  It was a full day where we were able to meet with partners, visit holy sites, and even squeeze in a bit of tourist shopping.

In Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity is a massive structure with layers of history as well as nooks and crannies of rooms and chapels that invite exploration.  As you look at the front of the stone church, you'll see only a small door about four feet high.  If you look closer at the wall above the door you'll see the outlines of a few other much larger door frames that have been blocked up with stones so that all that remains is the small opening.  This was done for a variety of protective and security reasons throughout the some 1,500 year history of the church.

The door to the church is an important reminder and metaphor for me about what we are encountering.  First is that, unfortunately, the conflict that this place is experiencing is not new.  Because of its strategic location and religious significance this place has been in conflict and turmoil regularly and repeatedly throughout the centuries.  So while we are here to listen to our partners and understand their current experiences of struggle and conflict, I am mindful of how long conflict has been part of the fabric of the existence here for all peoples.  The second metaphor is theological. Because of the size of the door to the church, one must bow in order to enter.  It's not a practice that most of our churches use much any more, but bowing as one enters a church is an ancient expression of humility, humbleness, and human fraility.  We acknowledge that God is God and we are not.  We are hearing how extraordinarily complicated the situation is-- the history, the politics, the religion of the region are entrenched, volatile, and often open for interpretation.  What we say and do as American Christians does matter, so I am reminded to approach it all with great humility.

We have been reminded that most people that come to this place come to see the ancient stones-- and we have enjoyed these opportunities.  But we have been invited to not just see the ancient stones, but also to hear the stories of the living stones, the people.  Here's some stories from the living stones we heard from today:

Shepherd's Field YMCA, Beit Sahour
Nader Abu Amsha, Director of Rehabilition Center

 This YMCA has all of the usual aspects of a Y that we would expect-- camping, swimming pool, work-out facilities and sports teams that about 200 family units use.  However, because of its context, it also has unique programs that focus on people with
physical disabilities and people with psychological disabilities. This Y produced the first document of rights for persons with physical disabilities in Palestine-- and the document is now legislation. Besides the mental barriers against people with disabilities, they are also working on physical barriers by helping persons make their homes accessible by building ramps and making adjustments to the interior of homes.  Regarding the psychological rehabilitation we also heard that because of the militarization of the region and Israeli occupation, trauma for persons is a continuous phenomena so they work to heal these wounds and build resilency in the Palestinians.  They offer a holistic counseling approach that is based on a thorough assessment and a shared list of goals that is developed by the counselor and the beneficiary.  The Y offers programs specifically for youth (age 12-17 years old) that have been imprisoned and their families as well as families and persons that have been displaced by home demolitions.
The work of the Rehabilitation Center has been supported by your generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

Christmas Lutheran Church and Diyyar Consortium, Bethlehem
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor and president of Diyyar

We had a wonderful lunch and conversation with Mitri where we learned about the congregation and its outreach program.  Diyyar (home in Arabic) was founded in 1995 and currently serves about 60,000 people on an annual basis in one of its program areas:  1. civic engagement & culture program, 2. health and wellness, and 3. education/college.  All these programs seek to transform and empower people so that they can go from spectators to actors in their lives.

Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI),
Bethlehem Malena and Sophie

After lunch, we boarded the bus with two EAPPI volunteers joining us-- Malena from Colombia and Sophie from Sweden. The EAPPI program was started in 2001 by the World Council of Churches at the request of the Jerusalem churches.  Participants in the program monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy and, in general, stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the occupation.  The persons we met were part of the Bethlehem team who's primary role is to monitor one of the three entrances/check-points into the area.  The work of EAPPI has been supported by your generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

Tent of Nations, Bethlehem
Daoud Nassar
 

Malena and Sophie took us to the Tent of Nations then to the village of Al-Wallaja.  Tent of Nations is a beautiful farm on the top of a scenic hill that has been in the Nassar family for four generations-- back to the Ottoman Empire.  It's beauty was in the land as well as the people and their story.  In 1981 Israel declared this farm to be state land and the family has been fighting for their rights to the land in the legal system ever since.  The family's motto is "we refuse to be enemies".  They created the organization of the Tent of Nations as a nonviolent response to build bridges between people and people as well as between the land and people.  It was a powerful testimony of choosing not to be a victim in an oppressive situation but instead to be empowered as advocates for peace, justice, and the conservation of creation.  They invite people from around the world-- including the Israelis, to come and see each other as neighbors instead of enemies.  We were fed by the family's story as well as by some delicious grapes that were harvested from the farm just that day. On the way back into town we stopped at the village of Al-Wallaja to hear the impact on the village of the construction of the security barrier. It was then back on the bus to the Bethlehem check-point which we crossed on foot to see what the Palestinians experience when they cross over going to/from Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

A Place to Call Home...

It occurred to me as we traveled today how easy it is for me to take home for granted.   Certainly home means many things, but certainly these would be at the top of my list:  a place where one enjoys safety, is free from fear and free to move around, an environment that fosters creativity and where one is fashioned by love.   These are at least the beginning points of home, fairly easy to name...equally easy to take for granted...often hard to forge.

Sometimes a pilgrimage has the power to shake one out of complacency and look deeply.  So it was that our day began with a rapid pace briefing at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  In our hour and half, briefing there were more statistics than can be posted on a blog (for a more complete picture you can go to www.ochaopt.org). 

In summary, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are Palestinian territories that are occupied by Israel.  Walls literal and social foster a challenged and broken sense of home. Unemployment is at thirty percent, housing needs exceed 40,000 units in the Gaza strip alone, domestic violence is on the rise as three to four families share one apartment due to the fact that construction materials are not allowed through the checkpoints that are monitored by the Israeli army.  The desire for a place of freedom and self-determination for the Palestinians is key for an emerging and lasting sense of home.  

According to UN officials, in order for real home to come closer there will need to be an end to Israeli demolition of homes, evictions and forced displacement, and the ensuring of unencumbered transportation. The wall that surrounds the occupied areas will need to be dismantled and there will need to be protection from violence and harassment.  These things are, of course, only a beginning, but important steps toward home.

Following our briefing at the United Nations, we headed to meet with Dr. Bernard Sabella, sociologist, director of the Middle East Council of Churches’ Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees, and Member of the Palestinian Parliament.  Sabella observed that the situation between Palestinians and Israelis is not encouraging due to the fact that Palestinians and Israelis know each other less and less.  Though he expressed that a political solution is key for a Palestinian state to be established he did not see that it was likely to happen given the current configuration of leaders and relationships.  He expressed great disappointment and fatigue that dialogue had not yielded concrete results in terms of a Palestinian homeland.  He discussed at some length the "catch 22" of the Palestinian possibility of going to the United Nations in September to call on the world to act for a permanent, unobstructed homeland.  He was not hopeful.  Home can feel so far away.

The next stop on our journey took us to visit Yosef Daher, Director  of the Jerusalem Inter-church Center.  A ministry growing out of the World Council of Churches, the JIC seeks to bring together Christians from throughout Jerusalem for joint work in the area of justice for the Palestinian people.  Their most important work has been the development of the Kairos Palestine document.  Kairos kind of time might be defined as the fierce urgent now of God's transforming love.  The document is an urgent challenge to the global church to be engaged in the struggle for Palestinian Homeland justice.  The full document can be found by going to www.kairospalestine.ps.

Three important words are named in the document:  A word of faith calling the whole church to address the profound sin of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land; a word of hope that does not give into evil; and a word of love which calls forth resistance to evil through creative non-violence.  Certainly these also are foundation stones of home.

Finally, we headed to a meeting with Rabbi David Rosen, the International Inter- religious Relations Director of the American Jewish  Committee. There we learned that there is not currently much interest in political leaders engaging religious leaders around the Palestinian statehood issue.  A critical problem is lack of trust on both sides that leads to alienation.  So what about the way the home for both Palestinians and Israelis?  Rosen shared that all parties must get out of  the zero sum mentality, the assumption that if it good for "the other" it is bad for me.  Actually, the opposite is true.  There is only going to be flourishing if both sides will see the good for the other.  We need parallel love that understands both need to be cared for.  Rosen also named that there is a need for an inter-religious council in Jerusalem protecting everyone’s rights.  Surely these also are key dimensions of assuring home for one another.

But there are also many questions.  Chief among them seems to be who in leadership will have the courage to take the steps necessary to put these foundations stones of home together so that a new reality may be built?  On this question the whole construction of home for both Palestinians and Israelis seems to rest.

The Cathedral’s pastor, a recent graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, reflected on today’s text from Matthew 16 and then joined in celebrating communion with Bishop Dawani. In his English summation, he reminded us that our faith is not to be self-centered, we are called to care for others beyond ourselves.

Echoes of his words filtered through our day as I pondered them knowing that I would be writing today’s blog. How do we live this out in this context?  

Here three great Abrahamic faiths intersect in a matrix of relationships and conflicts perpetuated over the centuries.  Last night and again this afternoon we visited the plaza in front of the Western (or Wailing Wall).  There Israeli young people gathered in their military uniforms with their machine guns to gleefully be photographed in this Holy space.  The sight in this place for prayer and devotion was incongruous and jarring.

Our day was mostly spent touring in and around the Old City.  In an ancient tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,  our guide shared the story of how the eight groups in charge of the church lived with a “status quo“ agreement. Apparently the light bulb in an ancient tomb had burned out.  It provided the only light. Two of the eight Christian overseers of the property called the Jewish staff person at the government ministry to complain.  Neither Christian caretaker group could do the obvious.  The staff person, in turn, contacted the Muslim key-keeper and the key-keeper and the Jewish staff person replaced the light in the middle of the night. The next morning the staff person called the two Christian overseers to say there was “no problem,” the light is working.

The analogy to the present realities in these sacred lands is obvious…how can our ungodly behavior toward one another be replaced through dialogue, cooperation and collaboration with light?

It has been remarkable to see our 11 person delegation of UCC’ers move through this experience…we have repeatedly climbed in and out of the bus…disassembled and reassembled Bob Molsberry’s wheelchair and marveled at his skill in overcoming obstacles…eaten unfamiliar foods and gathered each day to share devotions and reflection.  Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of our group.  Many thanks to Wider Church Ministries and Peter Makari for sharing his experiences and contacts with us.

Day 4
Phyllis Richards

After a long but fruitful week in Lebanon, our group of 11 bid fond farewell to Ken and Betty Frank and began the next leg of our journey Saturday morning with a 6:00 am departure from the Casa D’Or Hotel, in Hamra, Beirut.

While we arrived at the airport early, we still found ourselves in line behind 100 or so others who arrived before us. Outside of a little pushing and folks jumping the line -- we caught our 8:30 am flight to Ammon, Jordan with no major complications.

The next part of the journey was to be a bus ride to the border, clear customs, board another bus to cross the bridge and then board yet another bus to take us to our new hotel.  The group came up with two different titles for our adventure. The first was “The people on the bus go on and off (sung to the tune of that famous children’s song, The wheels on the bus go round and round). The second title, and the one I believe is most suitable, was “The Eleven Americans”.

Although we got on and off the bus several times, as the security officials worked to figure out what to do with us, it was the same bus that picked us up at the airport. Peter reported that because it was Ramadan and Saturday, the security post we tried to use to enter into Jerusalem was closing at noon. They wanted us to go all the way up to the North Bridge, an hours drive away, but, after a few attempts (on and off the bus), and a phone call, they decided to let “those eleven Americans” go across the bridge on our shuttle. Peter also told us, that to cross in your own vehicle is not the usual practice, and each time we were stopped at a check point we were asked, are you the eleven Americans?

Now, it wasn’t just because we were Americans that we got through, Peter and a friend who met us at the airport, shared with them that we arrived prior to the bridge’s closing. In addition, 2 buses filled with 78 Indonesians arrived at the same time as our group of eleven.  Between the two groups, they agreed to let us cross.

Instead of having to drive an hour or so north, and back an hour or so, we arrived at the St. George’s Guest House 20 minutes later, with plenty of daylight to spare.

It is a beautiful place, located adjacent to the St. George’s Cathedral. And for many, it was our first chance to take naps, relax, or to check out the old city of Jerusalem. After dinner, most of us enjoyed an early start to a good night’s sleep.

Day 3
Barbara Kershner Daniel, Evangelical Reformed UCC, Frederick, Maryland

Morning devotions began with a sharing of favorite psalms and together we wrote our own psalm for the day, each person around the table adding a word to compose the following:

    Praise God always in your heart of hearts.
    Give thanks for all living creation.
    Praise God for steadfast mercies.
    Hope prevails always and evermore.
    Lift my eyes to God.  Amen.

We traveled into the mountains for an experience of Lebanese culture with a visit to Beiteddine.  The Beiteddine palace complex is Lebanon's best example of early 19th century Lebanese architecture and within its walls is an extensive collection of Byzantine mosaics.  The largest of them come from the ruins of a Byzantine church in the coastal city of Jiyyeh, south of Beirut.

On the way back to Beirut we were received by Sheik Ali Zain El-Din and Sheik Sami and learned a little more about the Druze, a sect of Islam. Druze reside mainly in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.  Sheik Ali Zain El-Din is an active participant in the Arab Christian Dialogue group and considers it a tenant of the Druze religion to have good relationships with their neighbors, wherever they are.  The Sheik related that if he doesn’t dialogue with others, he will lose his existence.  I found these words a challenge to all of us as a reminder that as human beings we are connected and dependent on one another.
As we departed, the Sheik invited us to come back on a different day and at a different time of the year (it is now Ramadan) when it is not so busy so that we can enjoy dinner in his home.

We shared lunch and conversation with Dr. Mary Mikhael, President of the Near East School of Theology.  Mary has been president of the school since 1994 and will be retiring as president at the end of September. 

In her welcome, Mary reminded us that the Near East School of Theology (NEST) is one of “our” schools, started by Congregationalist and Presbyterian missionaries in 1876 but classes were held before then.   A group of missionaries felt that there ought to be a school to educate the Protestant church that was born in this part of the world.

NEST has four primary partners in the region – the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Lutheran Church of Jordan and Palestine, and the Armenian Evangelical Union.   95% all pastors and church educators serving in these four denominations gave been trained at NEST.

NEST does more than teach ministers and church educators.  The school has established a one year theology program for primarily German but also other seminarians to study Islamics, the history of the oriental churches and they learn Arabic.  To date 50 have graduated from the program including students from Germany, Sweden, Norway, and a few from USA.

The school also has a Christian-Muslim Thought Forum to discuss theological matters on which Christians and Muslims disagree.

Ken and Betty Frank, serving as missionaries for 30 years in Turkey, shared their thoughts about the rich history of our work in that country.  We celebrate their many years of service in Zambia and Turkey.  The graduates of our schools appreciate the education they have received and want their children to be educated in that same vision and values.   Our Turkish partners have named a building in honor of Ken and Betty’s long-time service to the schools.

Day 2
Rev. M Ann Molsberry, Pastor First United Church of Christ, Marysville, OH

4:10 AM.  The call to prayer drifts hauntingly through the cool morning air.  I am reminded in the depths of my sleep that I am not in Ohio anymore; I am in Beirut, Lebanon—a predominately Muslim country. Our visit happens to fall during the religious season of Ramadan. The call to prayer is a reminder for devout Muslims that daylight is coming and the daily fast will begin again soon—if you want anything to eat or drink, it must be taken now before the sun rises.

The day breaks and it is splendid, it is gorgeous…again here in Lebanon.  At break-fast Peter (Makari), our group leader, shared a story with me that the people of Lebanon often tell each other:
“We are so blessed here in Lebanon! God, how is it that you have created for us the beauty of the Mediterrean Sea, the majesty of the mountains and in the valleys between the mountains and the sea…such rich and fertile soil that it produces for us the most delicious fruit?! Why God, why did you give us so many blessings…it is too much like heaven!”
But then God said, “Yes but you haven’t met your neighbors yet.”

It is Thursday, August 25. Our day today in Lebanon is full of these very same contrasts of heaven and hell on earth. Today we spent most of the day with Ms. Sylvia Haddad.

Sylvia was a hoot to say the least.

To be able to maintain such a sense of humor and justice in the face of such overwhelming poverty makes her nothing less than a saint. Sylvia keeps a vocational training school, a pre-school, afterschool tutoring, and an elementary school all operating on a shoe string. We were able to witness a blessing being bestowed on the Palestinians through our One Great Hour of Sharing by Sylvia’s hand.

I was struck most by a phrase that was often used today, but I never thought much about it until my visit to the two Palestinians refugee camps Sabra and Shatilla.
To me the word “camp”
…means something…pleasant…like summer camp;
or…means something…dark…like concentration camp;
But mostly, it means temporary.

When we visited Sabra and Shatilla, I was expecting something totally different than what I saw. I was expecting temporary housing; I was expecting maybe shacks of cardboard; maybe canvas tents hastily thrown up in the desert, maybe a squatter’s village made up of plastic sheets.

But what we saw were permanent, huge, concrete, six and seven-story tall apartment buildings with several families living on top of each other with narrow alleys and streets knitting them all together.

To me, these were not camps.
To me, these looked like neighborhoods.

I had to wonder…and ask:
What does it do to families to tell them they lived in “camps”?
What does it do to their self-esteem…to call their homes “camps”?
 (These refugee “camps” were birthed soon after the 1948 United Nations resolution that created Israel.)

Why…after 63 years…do we still call their homes “camps”? How long must a pilgrim people live in a place before they can call it home?

1 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the willows in the midst of it
We hung our harps.
3 For there our captors demanded of us songs,
And our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

   4 How can we sing the LORD’S song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget her skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

           Psalm 137:1-6

Day 1
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Peter Makari

With a tight one-hour connection at London Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, we made our flight to Beirut, which was also delayed, and our bags made it too!  Flying over southern Turkey, the northeast tip of Cyprus, and the eastern Mediterranean as the sun was beginning to set, we could see the coastline of Lebanon from the left side of the plane, as well as the mountains on the other side of which is Syria.  We are aware that our visit coincides with struggle in Syria and debate and preparation for the issue of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly meeting in September.  As we landed in Beirut, the sun was closer to the horizon, and we were aware of the fact that Ramadan is in its last several days, as traffic was light on our way to the hotel.  After dinner, our group could finally sleep in beds.

This morning (Wednesday, Aug. 24), our group had opportunities to engage with partners in Lebanon.  We began with a bus ride to a Syrian Orthodox facility in eastern Beirut where the Forum for Development, Culture, and Dialogue is working with colleagues from the Middle East Council of Churches to provide food and medical assistance to Iraqi refugees.  Today there are roughly 60,000 Iraqis in Lebanon as a result of the continuing instability and insecurity there.  Since 2003, more than two million Iraqis were forced out of their country, and another more than two million were internally displaced.  The FDCD, with assistance from Global Ministries and One Great Hour of Sharing, has been able to provide some basic needs.  However, as we heard from three Iraqis directly, there is no current hope to return to Iraq, especially as Christians there are being targeted by radical groups.  Those from whom we heard told of the circumstances of their hasty and frightened departure from home, and their hope for resettlement in another country, particularly the US.

The Bishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Beirut, Metropolitan George Saliba, shared with us his church’s ecumenical witness, and some history of the church’s presence in the region.  He commented on the role of the US in Iraq, saying that it “destroyed the life of the church there” by “giving a chance for Islamic fundamentalism” to appear.  He lamented the difficult situation of Christians in the region more generally as well, offering this plea: that Christians in the US and Europe would offer Middle Eastern Christians some hope by learning about and acting consistent with their concerns.  That is a challenge our churches in the US can certainly heed!

Following our time with His Eminence the Bishop, we met with members of the Lebanese contingent of the Arab Group for Muslim Christian Dialogue.  Among those present was Mr. Mohammad Sammak who was present at this summer’s UCC General Synod.  Mr. Sammak shared with the group the impact the UCC’s resolution condemning actions against Islam and the Muslim community has already had.  From Synod, he went to a large meeting in Mecca of Muslims leaders, and shared with them the text of the resolution, which surprised them.  He reported that they couldn’t believe that American Christians would speak out as the Synod did, and acknowledged that in their meeting’s closing statement.  We presented him with this year’s Global Ministries’ Award of Affirmation for his—and the Arab Group’s—work for the sake of better understanding among Christians and Muslims.  The discussion continued on the state of the Christians in the Middle East with acknowledgement of the ongoing trend of diminishing Christian presence, and concerns Christians have in light of the movements for change expressing themselves in the region this year.

We continued the day by participating in a panel discussion at Haigazian University entitled, “Remembering 200 Years of American Board Mission, and Looking Forward.”  The panel included Rev. John Deckenback (Central Atlantic Conference Minister), Kenneth and Elizabeth Frank (personnel in Turkey), Rev. Dr. Megrdich Karagoezian (President of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East), Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian (President of Haigazian University) and me.  We reflected about mission in the Middle East, especially Turkey, heard about the American Board’s work in the Pacific Northwest, discussed the impact of the mission on partners, and concluded with a hope that such engagement and exploration about our common histories would continue.  A poignant moment was when our colleagues in the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches affirmed the history of the American Board as part of their own history, and implored us to celebrate the good that has been done. Read more about the discussion.

For dinner we were hosted by Haigazian University at the Union’s camp facility, called KCHAG, up on a mountain outside of Beirut.  The camp had been occupied by various armies and militia during the Lebanese civil war and beyond, but was recovered by the Armenian Union following final withdrawal by one of the armies.  The camp is being restored, including efforts to make it environmentally friendly, with solar power as a source of energy (supported by OGHS).

For a first day, it was indeed full, but allowed for deep engagement with partners, their context of ministry, and their work.  We were tired at the end of the day, but filled with much to ponder, and much to celebrate in the ways we are able to engage in the region, and the ways our partners are in fact having much impact—impact we are proud to be part of and indeed celebrate!

Preparing for the Journey
Jan Aerie

Our pilgrimage to the Middle East has begun. After arriving in Newark to spectacular clouds, incredible winds and rain, by air, train or car, our group gathered over a quiet meal to get acquainted. We learned that many have visited Israel/Palestine before, but most have not been to Lebanon or Jordan. Barbara, our fellow traveler making us eleven, has already flown to Beruit for a few days of visiting with friends and will meet us there.

Our orientation/training began with a recognition of the 200 years of mission and how it has shaped mission today. We reflected and shared about what is pilgrimage, it's meaning, contrast to tourism, and our expectations for this pilgrimage. We spoke of the journey of the soul and the importance of relationship building with those we meet along the way.

Monday was spent in training to be mission interpreters once we return, and exploring the ways we might inspire others with the stories we will have to tell. Each of our action plans expresses ways we will do that. We also spent several hours learning all about the Middle East region and our partners there, what to expect and how to get the most of our time together.

The adventure has begun, and with prayers and thoughtful preparation we anticipate the soul-searching, and soul-enriching days to come.