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From the President of N.E.S.T

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From the President of N.E.S.T ن�ســرة مو�سمية تصدر عن JUNE 2014 كلية الالهوت لل�شرق الأدنى ISSUED OCCASIONALLY by the NEAR EAST SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, BEIRUT - LEBANON FOR RELATED CHURCHES, SUPPORT AGENCIES AND A SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS P.O.Box: 13-5780 Chouran, Beirut 1102 2070 Lebanon • E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.theonest.edu.lb Tel.:(961-1) 349901 / 738639 • Fax: (961-1) 347129 FromFrom The The PresidentPresident s the Syrian crisis affecting N.E.S.T?” – A in Latakia; Peter (‘80) holds fast in Damascus, despite “Iquestion our international friends and partners random shelling; Ma‘an (’88) steadfastly remains with often ask us. Located in Lebanon, N.E.S.T. is not directly his church in Mharrdeh and Hama. Ya‘coub (’09) was and physically affected by the violence and destruction kidnapped by religious extremists, then released, but he taking place in many Syrian cities, towns and villages. remains faithfully alongside his flock in Syria, and so We have been able to bring to a close this academic year does Mufid, currently in our STM program. Mufid and peacefully and without any interruptions. Life is normal Yacoub commute regularly to Beirut, often under danger, at the Seminary; foreign students from the region and to continue their studies on top of everything else they do. from Europe and Canada have just completed 9 months To all those alumni of N.E.S.T. we say: May God bless of serious study on our campus in Beirut. To be sure, you and protect you and give you strength to continue N.E.S.T. is affected by the Syrian situation in the same serving His Church and all suffering people in war-torn measure as the country of Lebanon is – adverse effects Syria. N.E.S.T. is proud to count you among its alumni! on the political, economic, and social levels. Politically “Is N.E.S.T. affected by the Syrian crisis?” To be sure, the country is sharply divided between supporters of the in the ways mentioned above and more. Many of our Syrian regime and supporters of the Syrian opposition; activities, discussions in and out of class, and daily chapel economically, the loss of tourism due to the Syrian events services often revolve around the Syrian conflict and the and the lack of governmental effective rule that drives fate of Christians and others there. What is happening prices out of control are weighing heavily on people’s in Syria haunts our hearts and minds. Yet, our Syrian ability to cope; socially, the presence of around one and a students have demonstrated remarkable spiritual maturity half million Syrians – around one third of the population and professed profound faith. Two of our female students of Lebanon – has had adverse effects on the country. All come from Kessab – an Armenian Syrian town that was these things are felt by all of us in Lebanon, and N.E.S.T. overrun by religious extremists in March. Their families is no exception. But we are also more closely involved in had to leave the town very suddenly leaving everything what is going on in Syria. Two of our faculty members behind and becoming refugees in Syria and Lebanon are Syrian; the largest national group among our students overnight. Talar and Liza were deeply affected, sad, is Syrian; some of our employees are Syrians; many of depressed, worried, but they did not allow that to disrupt the residents in the building are Syrian students from our their commitment to theological education. Valiantly they churches who study at neighboring institutions, and last continued going to classes and participating in seminary but not least, many of our alumni are serving in Syria, life. Liza led a chapel service recently in which she spoke and we are constantly in touch with them. To them existentially and movingly about her experience as a N.E.S.T. wishes to pay a warm tribute. Bchara (’88), student whose family is now suffering in Syria. I would Houry (’88), Serop (’96), Harout (88), Ibrahim (‘97), like to end this message with her words: Yusuf (’74), and Simon (’07) are besieged in Aleppo, and “… we need to be confident that God is faithful, and he though they have the option to leave, they remain with will not allow us to be tested beyond our strength, “but their congregations: witnessing, consoling, caring and with the testing he will also provide the way out” so that providing material needs. Salam (’01) serves in Latakia we may be able to endure it. (I Cor. 10:13) This invites and manages relief work; Sevag (’05), displaced from us all, to entrust ourselves to Him; in every situation or Kessab, refuses to abandon his refugee congregation circumstance and to have hope in the midst of suffering.” 2 NEST President’s USA trip n December 2013 President ISabra travelled to the U.S.A. at the invitation of the Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven., to lecture on “Christian Mission in the Wake of the Arab Spring.” His presence in the US was an occasion to visit the headquarters of the PCUSA in Louisville, KY, where he met with several leaders of the Church, spoke about N.E.S.T. and promoted its programs for expatriate students and pastors. While in Louisville, Dr. Sabra visited Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and met with faculty member, Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick (former Stated Clerk), Dean Sue Garret, as well as President Michael Jinkins, and discussed With Grayde Parsons, Stated Clerk, PCUSA possible ways of cooperation between the two institutions. The next stop was California, where Dr. Sabra visited Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento and delivered an address on the situation of Christians in the Middle East and the work of the N.E.S.T. Dinner with Fremont Mission Committee NEST 3 From Sacramento he went to Berkeley where Ms. Carole Dolezal had organized a rich program of meetings and lectures. At the Graduate Theological Union Dr. Sabra met with several presidents and deans of the GTU, informing about NEST’s programs and answering questions about the situation in the Middle East. Later that evening, Dr. Sabra delivered an address on “The Impact of the Arab Spring on the Christians of the Middle East”. That same address was delivered in the Adult Education class of Moraga Valley Presbyterian church, where Dr. Sabra attended worship along with his hosts, Faiz and Rima Makdisi, and gave a word of greeting in the Service. President Riess, Sabra, Dolezal With Faiz Makdisi at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church In Berkeley, Dr. Sabra visited the Rev. Ben Weir – longtime Presbyterian missionary in Lebanon and member of the N.E.S.T. Board. Rev. Ben Weir 4 NEST Christian-Muslim Dialogue and Relations anel discussion on “The ‘Gospel’ (al- Pinjil) in Christianity and Islam” was held on January 14, 2014. Speakers were Dr. Mohammad an-Nuqari and Dr. Johnny Awwad. A Panel Discussion on “The Role of Christ at the End of Times” was held on March 20, 2014. Panelists were Sheikh Mohammad Ahmad al-Hijazi (Shi‘ite scholar), Fr. Anotine Mikhael (Maronite Kaslik University), and Dr. Hilal Darwish (Sunni scholar). Nuqari, Sabra, Awwad Mikhael, Darwish, Hijazi, Sabra Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Sidon .E.S.T. Faculty and students were invited to Ntake part in a one-day conference in Sidon in January 2014 on the topic, “With Christ (PBUH) in His Life and Teachings”. The conference was organized by the Islamic Jinan University in Sidon. Two faculty members, Awwad and Ford, along with some students, attended. Dr. Ford gave a lecture on “The Positive Portrayal of Christ by the Egyptian Muslim Modernist ‘Abbās Mahmūd al-‘Aqqād.” Life at NEST Christmas 2013 NEST community celebrated Christmas with a Communion Service in which Re. Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of Haigazian University, preached. A Christmas dinner was held after the service during which a love offering was collected for a home for battered women in Ras Beirut – Beit el Hanan. Dr. Haidostian Christmas Service Christmas Dinner N.E.S.T. Choir Life at NEST Easter Service Holy Week and Easter were observed in one Communion Service, as is the custom at N.E.S.T. on Holy Tuesday. The preacher was the newly installed pastor of the French-speaking Protestant congregation in Beirut, Rev. Pierre Lacoste. The celebrant was the Rev. Dr. Habib Badr. Rev. Lacoste Day Trip to Anjar The Spiritual Life Committee organized a one-day retreat in the form of an excursion to Anjar on Saturday May 10, 2014. The visit to Anjar was not simply to enjoy a day in the country or to visit the historical ruins, but to meet with displaced Syrian families and listen to their experiences and pray with and for Worship at Anjar The NEST group them. After a worship service celebrated in the Armenian Evangelical boarding School, students and faculty members divided themselves into six groups that visited six displaced Armenian families from the Syrian town of Kessab. Special thanks goes to our alumnus, Rev. Hagop Akbasharian, pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Anjar, for hosting and organizing the visits. Lunch Visiting the ruins 8 NEST Public lectures Receiving His Holiness Catholicos Aram 1 receiving a gift of recognition he January Public Lecture entitled “40 Years of the TEcumenical Movement in the Middle East: What Remains to be Done?” was delivered by His Holiness Aram I Keshishian, Catholicos of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Cilicia. It was an occasion for N.E.S.T. to recognize and honor one of its most distinguished His Holiness Catholicos Aram 1 graduates and a great ecumenical leader.
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