Phone: 972-2-626-6800 FAX: 972-2-628-5764 ADDRESS: Muristan Road P.O. Box 14076 Jerusalem 91140 via Israel
Beit Sahour
International Center of Bethlehem
Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem
International Center of Bethlehem
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| ELCJHL 50th anniversary celebration dinner, May 18, 2009 |
Rev. Numan Smeir, first pastor of the ELCJHL Church of the Good Shepherd, Amman, Jordan
Thank you for inviting us to the jubilee of the Lutheran work in the Holy Land. On this occasion, the family of Rev. Smeir sends their blessings and best and warmest wishes, and asks God to prosper the church.
Congratulations. God be with you, bless you, bless the bishop and the congregations of the ELCJHL. Peace be with you.
Signed,
Rev. Numan Smeir and family
Dr. Hans-Jürgen Abromeit, Bishop, Pomeranian Evangelical Church, and president of the Jerusalem Society
It is my pleasure and honour to bring my warmest congratulations to you on behalf of the Jerusalem Society and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church from northeast Germany. To celebrate this triple anniversary names three good reasons to give praise and honour to Christ Jesus. All together we celebrate a quarter of a millennium of Lutheranism in the Holy Land. Hallelujah!
The Lord of all creation who called Abraham to bless all peoples, who called the people of Israel to bring his will to the world, and who came himself in Christ Jesus to reconcile man with God may bless the work he started in ELCJHL and may lead his people on his path into his kingdom. God bless.
Click here for the statement in English (MS Word).
Rev. Mark B. Brown, regional representative, The Lutheran World Federation, Jerusalem
Dear Bishop Younan, President Azar, and members of the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land:
The commitment of the ELCJHL to the faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ, the steadfast promotion of justice and peace, and the expansion of vital ministries related to education, the environment, interfaith dialogue and pastoral care is indeed an inspiration to me and to countless Christians around the world. The difficult circumstances under which the ELCJHL must work makes its accomplishments all the more remarkable.
It is a privilege at this moment in history to have the opportunity on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation to work with you on important new initiatives, such as the Mount of Olives Housing Project, and to cooperate together in relation to decades-old ministries, such as Augusta Victoria Hospital and the vocational training program.
May God bless you in these days of reflection and celebration and strengthen you for the tasks ahead.
In Christ's service,
Rev. Mark B. Brown
Elias El-alabi, associate general secretary, Planning Evaluation and Follow-up Department of the Middle East Council of Churches
Your Eminence Bishop Younan:
Greetings from Beirut. I would like to congratulate you on the celebrations of 170 years of evangelical witness in the Holy Land, 50 years of the existence of the ELCJHL and 30 years of its Arabic bishopric.
May you always be celebrating God's faithfulness, especially in this tormented part of the world, for many, many years, your Eminence.
Yours,
Elias El-Halabi
Beirut, Lebanon
Dr. Bernard Sabella, executive secretary, Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches
Your Grace Bishop Munib Younan:
The 170 years of evangelical mission in these Holy Lands and places; the 50 years of royal recognition of ELCJHL synod and the 30 years of faithful service through the ELCJHL bishopric are all enshrined in our people' s minds and hearts and on our landscape as the continuing committed service of the Evangelical Lutheran communion has impressed on all of us and on our history.
Allow me as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council to send Your Grace and the Evangelical Lutheran communion in the Holy Land my most sincere congratulations on these multiple happy anniversaries and to assure you that I and my colleagues in the Palestinian Legislative Council hold you and the work of the Lutheran church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land with the highest esteem.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you and the church communion on this happy occasion.
With best wishes,
Dr. Bernard Sabella
Jerusalem
Rosangela Jarjour, General Secretary, Fellowship of Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches
We all wish very much that we were with you at this blessed occasion indeed! Nevertheless we are with you in spirit, dear bishop!
Click here for the letter in Arabic (MS Word).
Rev. Gottfried Brezger, Johannes Kirchegemeinde, Berlin
Dear Bishop Munib, dear sisters and brothers in the Church of Hope, dear friends in the ELCJHL:
We congratulate you for your great threefold jubilee: 170 years of evangelical witness in the Holy Land, 50 years of the existence of the ELJCHL and 30 years of its Arabic bishopric.
We praise our Lord for his grace who preserved you through all the dangers and the darkest valleys and who leads you in right paths for his name's sake (Psalm 23). We hope and pray for you that he will lead you beside still waters.
May our Lord bless you and your celebrations in Beit Sahour, Bethlehem and Jersualem on Saturday and Sunday.
Yours in Christ,
Gottfried Brezger, Christiane Jenner and the elders of
Johannes
Brother Peter Bray, Vice Chancellor, Bethlehem University in the Holy Land
Dear Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan:
I wish you well for the occasion of your ceremonial worship service on Sunday 17, May 2009, and pray that God's blessings will be obvious to you during the celebration and through the course of the Jubilee year.
With best wishes,
Brother Peter Bray, FSC, Ed.D., Vice Chancellor, Bethlehem
University in the Holy Land
Rue des Freres, Bethlehem, Palestine
Bishop Dr. Johannes Friedrich, Presiding Bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) and Prof. Dr. Hartmann, President of the VELKD General Synod
It is an honor and a deep joy for us to congratulate the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land on its anniversary celebrations of 2009 on behalf of the Church Council of VELKD. ... Let our celebrating together be a witness of our communion in Christ and of the present and future commitment of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany to accompany its sister church in Palestine in God's mission.
Click here for the letter in English (PDF).
Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, General Secretary, Lutheran World Federation, Geneva
In this month of anniversaries marking 50 years of your church, 30 years of its Arabic bishopric and 170 years of evangelical mission in the Holy Land. I send you greetings on behalf of all members of the global communion of the Lutheran World Federation. As you celebrate these landmarks in the life of the church in the Holy Land, you are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses from around the world and from throughout the church's history, thanking God for his steadfast love and praying for his continuing guidance and blessing of your ministry.
Click here for the letter in English (PDF).
Dr. Emil Tarazi, Jerusalem
Heartfelt congratulations on 170 years of work in the Holy Land, 50 years of the royal recognition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and 30 years since the establishment of the Arab bishopric. I wish you and your esteemed council further progress and prosperity for the lifting of the church and for the increase in believers.
Click here for the letter in Arabic (MS Word).
Dr. Uwe Gräbe, Propst, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
On behalf of the German-speaking Protestant ministries in this country, I would like to extend my warmest greetings and sincere congratulations to our Lutheran partner church, the ELCJHL. ... We have found a framework to live side by side as partners, within our own respective church structures and with our own respective leadership, while supporting each other as two churches who share this one incredible love for Jerusalem, for the Holy Land and its people, and who strive side by side for a better future, for justice and peace in this country. On behalf of your sister church, I wish you God's abundant blessings for your living witness in this country.
Click here for the letter in English (MS Word).
Sven Oppegaard, Deputy General Secretary, Council on Ecumenical and International Relations, Church of Norway
In Jerusalem the Lutheran church serves both its own people and the worldwide Christian community by testifying to Jesus Christ through prayer, preaching and service in the city where Jesus Christ himself preached, was crucified and rose again. ... On the occasion of the anniversaries, the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations wishes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and its bishop Munib Younan God's blessing and continuing strength in their witness and service.
Click here for the letter in English (MS Word).
Lutheran World Federation reports on the ELCJHL anniversary
ELCJHL anniversary on the home page of the Evangelical Church in Germany