The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL)

Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, City of Peace February-March, 2008 Welcome to Two ELCJHL Pastors!

Two new ELCJHL pastors were ordained Sunday, March 2, at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. The last ordination for the ELCJHL was in 1998, when Pastor Ramez Ansara was ordained, and there have never been two pastors ordained together at the ELCJHL.

Although the church was filled with people, many were not able to come because of tightened security due to the escalation in Gaza, where about 150 people were killed in the five days before that Sunday. The entire choir of the Beit Sahour Lutheran School, who had received permits, were turned back at the checkpoint and not allowed to enter.

In his welcome, Bishop Younan acknowledged both the joy and sadness of the day. He said that they were being "ordained into reality," where pastors are called in the midst of sadness, brokenness and violence to stand as brokers for justice and ministers of reconciliation.

Thanks to Evangelist Hani Odeh for 25 Years of Service

Mr. Hani Odeh retired from his work as Evangelist for the Lutheran Church of Beit Sahour on March 1 after serving there since 1984. During his tenure there, he renovated the chapel and built a strong community presence through youth, scouts, women's and other programs. He also built strong partnerships with churches internationally.

During most of his time with the church, Hani also served as headmaster of the Beit Sahour school, until he retired from there several years ago. Thanks, Hani, for your faithful service! . Meet the New Pastors

The Rev. Imad Haddad will serve as the Pastor at the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour, succeeding Evangelist Hani Odeh after his 25 years of service. Imad was born and raised in Beit Jala, and his mother had Catholic and Baptist affiliations. It was when he stayed for 5 years at the Boys' Home in Beit Jala that he was introduced to Lutheranism. Imad studied theology in Beirut at the Near East School of Theology, then served as vicar at the Beit Jala congregation for 3 years. He then did his year of Lutheran study at Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina last year and returned in June of 2007.

"I am excited to be in Beit Sahour with this congregation, building on Hani's hard work and foundation. The church and school are very well-respected in the community, and I look forward to developing programs and service not just for our church but the whole community. Our people are losing much these days, and we have to give them hope. Not just in words but in steps on the ground."

Imad will be teaching religion at the Beit Sahour School, which is located on the campus of the church. There is also an Alternative Travel Group on the site that could possibly become more integrated into the ministry. Imad will also serve Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem for about 25% of his time. Imad is married to Rula, who works at the Cremisan Winery, and they are expecting a baby in October. Mabruk!

The Rev. Saliba Rishwami will serve at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation with the Rev. Jedallah Shihadeh. Saliba wanted to be a pastor from very young. By the time he was 8, he was already telling people he wanted to be "a pastor and a lawyer." He was a care-taker as a young boy, caring especially for his younger sister and grandmother.

Saliba studied theology, sociology and psychology at the Bethlehem Bible College and at Makamira University College in Tanzania. He taught at Dar al Kalima and Beit Sahour as well as served as vicar for Beit Sahour and other ELCJHL churches who needed help. This past June he finished two years at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he got a Masters in Arts, Development, Theology and Evangelism.

Saliba enjoys teaching confirmation, and has especially loved his current class.

"This class is great! I love teaching them and I have been amazed at their faith and their work. A few – one girl – might even want to be a pastor! I tell them, you are not here in confirmation to graduate. I want to see you serving God in this place and in your lives. It is really the beginning."

Saliba is excited to be working with the Rev. Jadallah Shihadeh at the Reformation Church in Beit Jala because of the integrated opportunities for service there, with the ELCJHL Boys' Home and Abraham's Herberge on the same campus. He has already been teaching a "young" (30s and 40s) married group where they are examining various skills and ways of making marriage stronger. Saliba is married to Raida, who is the Director of Quality Development at the Bethlehem Municipality. ELCA Bishops Plan Annual Academy in the Holy Land in 2009

Three ELCA Bishops' and a planning delegation visited the Holy Land in February to plan their annual academy here in January, 2009, and to visit the ELCJHL and its ministries here.

The group was led by Bishop John Schreiber of the Southeast Michigan Synod (one of the two of the ELCA companion synods with the ELCJHL), Bishop Dean Nelson of the Southwest California Synod and Bishop Claire Burkat of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Bishops greeted and preached at ELCJHL churches and told of the upcoming visit, which the people here are very excited about. Pastor Eric Shafer, from Trinity Church in Lansdale, and his wife, Kris, also came and brought videographer Tim Frakes to make several short videos about the trip. See Eric's blog atwww.ericcshafer.blogspot.com for his reflections and video links. Thanks to all of those who are making this important trip happen.

Above Left: Bishop Dean Nelson and Marcia Johnson traveled through the Bethlehem checkpoint. Above right: Rev. and Kris Shafer, Bishop Burkat and Bishop Nelson listen to representatives from the Family Circle, Palestinians and Israelis who have lost loved ones and are working to end the violence and occupation.

Bishop Younan Urges "Prophetic Dialogue of Life" at Northwestern's Global Luther Conference

Bishop Younan presented the keynote address at the last session of a February conference at Northwestern University on "The Global Luther: Reconsidering the Contributions of Martin Luther."

The last session focused on interfaith relations and Bishop Younan's talk on "Beyond Luther: Toward a Prophetic Dialogue of Life." For a draft of his talk, see www.elcjhl.org.

Below: Bishop Younan speaks with (from left to right) Benjamin Sommer (Northwestern), M. Sani Umar (Northwestern) and Kenneth Vaux (Garrett) on the panel after his keynote speech.

. If justification by faith drives us to understand that the essence of religion is the love of God, and thus loving our neighbor as ourselves, then justification by faith helps us to see that religion is no longer part of the problem but becomes part of the solution in this theology of love. Bishop Younan Peace Pole Installed at Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah

The Ramallah Church of Hope received and dedicated a peace pole that says "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in Arabic, English, Hebrew and Finnish. The peace pole was given by the Church of the Brethren in Oakton, Virginia, which has been working on a partnership with the Ramallah Church was several years.

Pastor Ramez Ansara giving Holy Communion with the new peace pole in the background.

Redeemer Church Volunteer Attacked by Jewish Youth for Carrying Processional Cross Back to Church

It was about 8 pm on a February night when German volunteer Thorben Jeddeloh was carrying Redeemer's processional cross back from the Jaffa Street Central Bus station when he heard loud shouting from behind and felt the processional cross ripped from his hands. Shouting at him in Hebrew, the gang of 4-5 young men (late teens to early 20s) grabbed the cross and shattered it on the ground. When Thorben tried to retrieve some of the pieces, they shouted at him again and broke the pieces into even smaller pieces.

Jaffa Street is a main road in Jerusalem that leads .to Jaffa Gate, one of the larger gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. Thorben was upset but This photo from last fall's Reformation service at Redeemer not hurt. They had used the cross in shows Thorben with the processional cross that was grabbed Bethlehem during Christmas, and he and broken. was bringing it back to the Jerusalem church.

Mt. of Olives Housing Project Committee Meets

It appears that in the coming decades there could be virtually no Palestinian Christians living in Jerusalem. In 1946 there were 31,400 Christians living in Jerusalem, but today there are less than 10,000 Christians. The shortage of affordable housing in Jerusalem is a key factor contributing to the departure of many Christians. (See article on next page)

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), and the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Foundation (KAVF) are addressing the need for housing through the construction of 84 apartments on the LWF property on the Mount of Olives. These housing units will be leased to Palestinian Christian couples and families at subsidized rates, providing an affordable housing solution within Jerusalem.

The Advisory Committee of the Mt. of Olives Housing just met in early March and is receiving positive signs of investment. The total capital investment needed for the project is approximately 8.4 million USD. Over $600,000 has already been raised by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) toward its goal of two million USD for the construction of the project and 30 million Swedish Kroner have been pledged by the Church of Sweden. The Advisory Committee received positive signs for additional support from Norway, Germany and Finland, and continues to work on funding. The Advisory Committee hopes to break ground sometime in the first half of 2009. Housing and Settlements Continue as Major Problems

Recent data and reports by Israeli organizations using data from the Israeli government show harsh realities for Palestinians:

1) It is nearly impossible for Palestinians to get a building permit to build on their own land in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. The Oslo Peace agreements split up the West Bank into areas A, B and C (see map at left). Area C, which makes up 60% of the West Bank, is under full Israeli control and all construction and planning falls under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Civil Administration.

The findings show that 94% of Palestinian building requests were denied from 2000 - September, 2007, resulting in only 91 units of construction in this area for Palestinians. At the same time, 18,472 housing units in the same area were constructed in the settlements for Israelis.

2) In addition, the rate of home demolitions for Palestinians (on structures for which demolition orders have been issued) was 33%, as opposed to the percentage of demolition orders that are carried out against Israeli settlements, which stands at 7% (See www.peacenow.org.il)

Compare the facts: Palestinians Settlers No. of Construction Permits 91 18,472 housing units built No. of Demolition Orders 4,993 2,900 No. of Demolitions 1,663 199

3) Peace Now also tracks settlement growth, and it has found that in the two-and-a-half months since Annapolis "the scope and intensity of Israeli construction in East Jerusalem has increased exponentially in comparison to the past five years."

The following are the numbers for the construction starts of residential units under the auspices of the Israeli government in ALL of Jerusalem (East and West combined) for the years 2002-2005, according to the Jerusalem Statistical Abstract, 2006-2007 of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (2006 numbers are not available): 2002: 315 units 2003: 365 units 2004: 64 units 2005: 728 units 2006: not available Since Annapolis, we have seen the issuance of government tenders for several major new projects in East Jerusalem (around 400 units in East Talpiot, 300 in Har Homa, at least 50 in Gilo). While there is a distinction between the commencement of construction and the issuance of tenders by the government, it is also clear that these two are intimately linked. We have also heard reports from senior Israeli officials that there will be tenders for hundreds if not thousands of additional units, which are not part of the above analysis. The above map, which appeared in HaAretz on Feb 12, shows the municipality's longer-range plans for these Jerusalem settlements, although some have allegedly been suspended.

Peace Now is also the group that released the report – again from Israeli data –that 1/3 of the settlements have been built on private, confiscated Palestinian land. This figure does not include all of the settlements and infrastructure built on land that was Palestinian that was reclassified as "state land," a large portion of which was also confiscated from Palestinians and their villages.

See www.peacenow.org.il for these reports. ELCJHL Schools and Educational Programs

Environmental Education Center Featured in Local Publications

The Environmental Education Center and its educators have been featured in local publications in Palestine recently. EEC Director Simon Awad wrote this article for the 2007 summer issue of Sabeel's Cornerstone:

The Impact of the Occupation on the Environment by Simon Awad of the EEC

As a result of Israel’s continuous illegal occupation, there are many obstacles facing the Palestinians that are directly challenging their ability to protect their natural and cultural heritage. This is because the importance of protecting the environment and natural resources has unfortunately taken a back-seat to the victims of Israel’s 40-year occupation.

Israel’s apartheid tactics are clearly damaging the Environment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There are infinite eye-witness accounts verifying this from Palestinians, who constantly live in a state of harassment and threat regarding their personal safety and the security of their land. Common counter-productive environmental campaigns of the Israeli Occupational Forces (IOF) includes the uprooting of trees, land annexation, building new settlements on illegally confiscated land, restricting the freedom of movement, garbage dumping, and the construction of the Apartheid Wall. All of these actions not only affect the daily-life of the average Palestinian, but also the physical environment in which they reside. For the rest of the article, see: 2007 Sabeel Issue on the Impact of the Occupation on the Environment http://www.sabeel.org/pdfs/Corner45final.pdf">CornerstoneSummer

The February issue of This Week on Palestine focused on the Environment and included three interesting articles from the EEC and one by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem:

Can We Protect Our Environment? By Buthina Hannuneh and Dua’ Salameh

We often ask ourselves many questions: Is it our role to protect the environment, or is it up to our government, or to rich people, or to owners of factories? Can we as individuals help to save the environment?

As Palestinians, we notice that we have a double standard regarding the environment. We help and give support to each other, and we participate in voluntary work during the olive-harvest season. We are simple people who are strong, who want to survive, and who believe in our cause. Yet most of us are able to routinely throw trash and garbage in the streets or anywhere at any time.

People everywhere seem to cause a lot of damage to the earth - often irreversible damage. But we believe that each person, whether old or young, male or female, rich or poor, has a specific role to play in caring for and protecting the environment.

We work at the Environmental Education Center of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; it is a pioneering initiator in the field of environmental awareness and education, where we strive to save the environment. We have noticed that some of the environmental problems in our country are caused by a lack of awareness among the citizens. Through our activities and projects, we seek to address these problems and raise awareness of environmental issues among various groups within our society, especially students.

Youth are the primary target of our programmes. If we provide the necessary information and motivation, youth will grow in their sense of responsibility for the environment. To this end, the EEC began to establish youth environmental clubs in the year 2000 in private, public, and UNRWA schools in various areas, including Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah.

One of the EEC projects, “Integrated Solid Waste Management,” aims to minimize and manage the solid waste at 12 schools. The project also aims to equip students with new skills that would enable them to learn how to produce good-quality recycled paper, how to reuse glass in creative ways, and how to collect organic waste in order to produce organic fertilizer (compost) by using the food residue at schools (sandwiches, fruits, and vegetables) to enrich school gardens.

Our work at the EEC enables us to say YES! We can protect our environment, and now is the time to show our loyalty to our country by choosing to stop littering and burning the garbage and to start conserving water and planting trees, and to make more of an effort to use public transportation when possible.

Buthina Hannuneh and Dua’ Salameh are educators and project coordinators at the Environmental Education Center/ELCJHL. They both have broad experience in planning and coordinating awareness- raising, capacity-building, and media projects. They can be reached at [email protected].

Other articles in This Week in Palestine (Go to www.thisweekinpalestine.com and search for February 2007 issue)

Robin Visits EEC for the Fourth Time by Riad Abu Saada http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com

Myths and Facts about Hyenas by Simon Awad http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com

The Israeli Separation Plan by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php

Congratulations to the EEC on their work.