Posted on 01/06/2009 6:33:39 PM PST by SmithL
Dozens of American and Canadian Lutheran bishops arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday for their annual Academy, a meeting for theological discussion.
Planned many months in advance, they gathered in the shadow of the war in Gaza.
Bishop Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, called for a cease-fire ahead of his visit, urging "officials of both parties to the conflict to... refrain from all violent acts, which only bring destruction and tragedy, and urge them instead to work to resolve their differences through peaceful and nonviolent means," the church said in a statement.
The church believed "a cessation of all hostilities and a return to negotiations is important," and is "interested in a permanent two-state solution," explained ELCA spokesman John Brooks.
The delegation of 40 bishops from the ELCA and five bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is here "primarily to show support for and encourage our sisters and brothers" in the local branch of the church, according to ELCA spokesman John Brooks.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has just 2,000 members in five congregations in the West Bank and one in Amman. Indeed, the precariousness of the Christian minorities within the Arab towns will be a major focus of the Academy.
The bishops were invited by the local branch "to come walk with them in this difficult time," Rev. Robert Smith, continental desk director for Europe and the Middle East in the ELCA's department of global mission, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday.
"With the decline of Palestinian Christian communities in the land where Jesus was born, died and resurrected, that call is not something we can ignore," Smith said.
The leaders of the two churches are slated to meet with government officials, including President Shimon Peres and Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger.
According to Dany Haimovich, head of the Israeli Center for Jewish-Christian Cooperation and Friendship, the visit is a sign that the Lutheran World Federation, and particularly the American and Canadian churches, "respect the State of Israel and the moderate side of the Palestinian Authority."
According to Haimovich, the government should learn from the visit "that developing and helping the Christian community in Israel is a top priority for encouraging support for Israel in the Christian world. It's crucial for advancing the interests of the Jewish people and the State of Israel."
The cease-fire wasn’t as important when it was only Israelis being killed.
Christ is Born, Glorify Him!
I have long been searching for an appropriate Epiphany greeting and have yet to find one, so instead let me convey this wish from the Solemn Seasonal Blessing from the Episcopal Book of Episcopal Services:
May Christ, the Son of God, be manifest in you,that your lives may be a light to the world!
And for how many years have they been working to establish peace in the Mideast?? - since before Carter's short lived accord.It has been a continuous effort between a sincere Israel and the insincere Palestinians.
The fact is the only peacemakers in the region are the ones wearing the uniform of the U.S. Armed Forces - God Bless them all.
A pastoral letter from Bishop B. Penrose Hoover:
Monday, January 05, 2009
Dear Co-laborers with Christ,
As many of you already know, Sharon and I, after much prayer, deliberation, consultation, and sleepless nights, have decided not to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank with other members of the Conference of Bishops at this time. This has been a difficult and heart-wrenching decision, but we feel that it is the right choice at this time.
It is my belief that, under the present circumstances, the stated purpose of the trip has been compromised. An ELCA news release states that this visit “…is intended to show support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), led by its bishop, the Rev. Munib A. Younan, and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The bishops (visiting from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada) also want to learn more about the complexities in the region, and to promote just and peaceful solutions to the conflict. ‘This is a tragic yet opportune time for North American Lutherans to visit their partners in Palestine,’ said Younan, also an LWF vice president, in a news release. ‘They will have a unique opportunity to witness the challenges of living in this disputed land.’” The stated purpose is worthy and important. Still, I believe that heightened security and travel restrictions will result in the disintegration of our original agenda which was to learn about the ongoing struggle of Christians in the Middle East and to accompany our brothers and sisters in the ELCJHL. I see little or no opportunity for substantive discussions with pre-occupied political leaders, and I fear that our movement throughout the region will be greatly restricted.
Given the military and political situation in the region, personal safety and security is, of course, a large concern. But it is not my major concern. It seems to me that the stated purpose of the trip can better be accomplished if the journey is postponed.
About ninety bishops, spouses, staff, and others (approximately half of our original number) are proceeding with the trip as scheduled. It is their view that there is no better time to accompany our sister church than in a time of crisis. This is a compelling argument and a large part of what made my decision so difficult. Still, I am concerned that our presence at this time will be open to a great deal of misunderstanding. I suspect that persons on all sides will attempt to use our trip for their own purposes. I frankly believe that the struggles facing the Middle East are too critical to allow myself and this office to be used in that process.
I deeply hope and pray that there will be another opportunity to make such a visit to come to know and accompany our sisters and brothers who continually live out the via dolorosa. In the meantime, please join with me in prayer for our colleagues who are making the visit, for our fellow Christians in the Holy Land, for all in harm’s way and who are pressed by the suffering of war and oppression, and for the dawn of understanding that might lead to justice and peace.
Faithfully, your bishop,
+B. Penrose Hoover
NO MUSLIMS, NO TERROR!
):^(
I heard this dingbat preach quite few years ago. Classic liberation theology clap-trap complete with somekind of moronic hymn (a loose term) that even had phrases like ‘economic justice’ and ‘great creator’ in it. Luther would barf his guts out if he knew . . . on second thought, he’d just nail 90 indictments of this nitwit and those like him on the ELCA HQ door.
I think a lot of folks ought to read their bibles, it’s in there. They don’t know who they’re dealing with.
I guess I’m lucky to be an ‘ol conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran! (I just wish we used the “Song of Simeon” more often at my congregation, though.)
I guess I’m lucky to be an ‘ol conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran! (I just wish we used the “Song of Simeon” more often at my congregation, though.)
Oh, good. They are calling for Hamas to quit firing rockets into Israel, right?
A close friend of mine goes to Israel frequently to visit Arab Christians. There treatment by the Isralis is abysmal. An example:
“In this past year their village of Al Walaje struggled with two months of water cut-off during the summer. Each day it was the eldest’s chore to fetch water from the spring. The eldest was 15 at the time. He was met at the spring by Israeli soldiers who forbade him to take water, put him in the back of their truck, drove him down into a valley, dropped him off and left him to find his own way home.” The father’s permit to travel to Jerusalem for work was withdrawn (no reason was ever established) and he lost his job. The Israelis are planning a settlement in Al Walaje, and it appears that the family will lose their home.
Remember these are Christians (if that should make a difference).
yup. they didn’t go there to learn about the problems of Israel, they went there for a photo op.
it sounds like he lives in the west bank, not israel.
The failure of water suggests that the local authorities are the problem. No one can bother to dig a well and provide a pump?
Al Walaje is part of Israel, not the West Bank. The community village is being used to set up Israeli settlements.
Leni
As long as radical Muslims are allowed to remain in the region of Palestine, there will be no successful ‘cease fire’. I heard on the radio this morning that Hamas couldn’t even manage to observe a lousy three hour cease fire for humanitarian reasons.
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