Phone: 972-2-626-6800 FAX: 972-2-628-5764 ADDRESS: Muristan Road P.O. Box 14076 Jerusalem 91140 via Israel
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Christmas Lutheran Church took its site seriously long before the celebration of the year 2000. Living in the location of God's incarnation, Bethlehem Christians cannot ignore contextual, incarnational theology. Christmas Church has sought to empower local expressions of the gospel - in theology, in culture, in community and in education.
The church now numbers about 200 baptized members and is led by Pastor Mitri Raheb (pictured at left). Pastor Raheb has led the development of The International Center of Bethlehem, a locus for foreign visitors to encounter Palestinian life and thought. It is a place for indigenous culture and thought to cross-fertilize with international perspectives. The center promotes arts, music, cultural programs and conferences. Bethlehem Media Resource Center operates news and creative communications resources at the International Center. Dar al Kalima Academy, a two-year fine arts and communications college, opened in 2006 for the first class of 2008. They work in partnership with the Lutheran school in Bethlehem, The Dar al Kalima School. Built alongside the school is a Wellness Center offering fitness and health screenings to the community, in addition to a nature reserve and a garden.
At the Christmas Church campus in downtown Bethlehem the visitor will note the following buildings and their usage:
This quick tour of the Lutheran Christmas Church compound already highlights a number of the programs and ministries of the church. Three of those programs need more explanation:
Each Sunday the worshippers gather in the 110 year old sanctuary that has many interesting features:
The Stained Glass Windows: The windows in the church came from the Emperor Stained Glass Factory in Germany. They are in a unique style, similar to German windows, and made to reflect the Bethlehem and Holy Land environment. In the church chancel, at the front, are three windows depicting the Christmas story, complete with angels, shepherds and the Holy Family. At the left, in a shallow, rounded chapel, are three windows showing the life of Christ until his baptism, including the flight to Egypt, portraying Jesus and his family as refugees. This picture is particularly pertinent and poignant for the congregation of today because two-thirds of the people are refugees themselves. At the right, in another shallow, rounded chapel, are three windows portraying Jesus’ passion and resurrection, with the crucifixion in the center window. The remaining windows in the main church are related to Bethlehem’s biblical history and landscape.
Windows made by this factory in this style have been used around the world, but today the Bethlehem windows are the only ones to survive in total. This is an amazing fact for two reasons: 1) The church was bombed in the 1967 war and the roof and ceiling were damaged; and 2) The church was in the middle of fierce Israeli shooting and bombing in 2002. People were under curfew in their homes and could hear glass breaking everywhere. Pastor Raheb, who lives with his family in the parsonage on the church compound, also could hear glass breaking and feared it was the stained glass windows. No one could get out to check until a few days later. When Pastor Raheb finally went into the church he was astounded and grateful to see that all the windows were unbroken and intact. There is one small hole in the red robe of a person in the left chapel windows, which is hardly noticeable but serves as a reminder of the frightening chaos and the damaging attacks in 2002.
The German architect who designed the Christmas Church was very well-known. He made drawings of the church and the work proceeded. The architect was astonished at the precision and fine-quality work of the Palestinian stone cutters. Even today one can notice the beautiful precision stone work of the Christmas Church.
This same architect tried to think contextually, that is, he tried to incorporate Bethlehem traditions into the building. After consulting with people, he decided to design the tower or steeple of the church like the Bethlehem women’s traditional hat of the 19th century, a conical design. (The hat itself was about 20 centimeters tall, with a scarf hanging from the back.) The tower or steeple of the church, then, is high and conical with a cross at the pointed top. In February 2004 an earthquake caused part of the ring of concrete holding the cross in place to fall to the ground. The other half is still holding on to the cross at the top of the steeple. Work is in progress to repair the 110 year old tower.
The organ in the church was manufactured in Berlin, Germany, around 1890. By the 1990s the organ had developed many problems and was basically unusable. A partner congregation in the U.S., the Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took on the project of rebuilding the organ. An organ specialist came to Bethlehem and took the organ completely apart. It was shipped to the U.S. where it was completely rebuilt and repaired, and shipped back to Bethlehem to be put back together and usable in time for the 2000 Millennium celebrations. Today the 19th century organ once again leads joyful and meaningful worship in the Lutheran Christmas Church. The bells in the church tower were donated to the church by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.
Pastor Raheb is a native of Bethlehem and he grew up attending the Christmas Church, participating in its youth activities. He is third generation Lutheran, his children fourth generation. The name “Raheb” means “monk.” The family originally was Greek Orthodox by religion and the name Mitri is a form of “Demitrius”, a Greek Orthodox saint. Pastor Raheb’s grandfather’s name was Mitri.
The grandfather, Mitri, became a Schneller Boys School student in Jerusalem in 1868 when he was orphaned at six years of age, due to an epidemic. As an adult, the grandfather was a dealer in mother-of-pearl artistry in Bethlehem. The father, Bishara (an Arab Christian name meaning “feast of Annunciation”), also attended the Schneller School. Bishara established a hat factory in Bethlehem that introduced the fez into Palestine as men’s headwear in about 1908. The fez was associated with Turkey; Bishara made it popular in Palestine. He also exported his hats. By 1936, however, the fez became unpopular and Bishara changed his business, establishing the first bookstore in Palestine, in Bethlehem. He imported all the books and read them himself, becoming a very well-read man. He also sold notebooks, pens and pencils in his store. Bishara was so successful and well-known that the Stetler Company designed and sold a pencil notebook with Bishara’s photo on it.
When Pastor Raheb was thirteen years old his father died. At that age the boy took over the bookstore himself, running it when he wasn’t in the German School. At age sixteen the family decided to sell the bookstore because the young man Mitri did not see himself becoming a businessman. In secondary school he was active in the Christmas Church as well as in the whole ELCJ, particularly in youth work. He liked the discussions the youth group had about science and theology. In his senior year young Mitri studied theology, and helped as a youth leader throughout the church. He was instrumental in publishing a Youth Magazine in the church. Bishop Youan has stated that he always saw the future in the young Mitri.
Following his graduation Pastor Raheb studied for one year at Bethlehem Bible College and then had the opportunity to go to Germany for college and seminary training. He attended Hermansburg Seminary for four years. Pastor Raheb earned his masters and doctorate degrees at the University of Marburg.
In 1987 the young Vicar (intern) Raheb served at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church and was ordained in 1988. At that point he became the pastor of the Christmas Church and has continued there ever since. Pastor Raheb also helps in serving Beit Sahour Lutheran Church. He serves the Eucharist on the first Sunday each month at an early service, and also officiates at baptism and marriages in Beit Sahour.
In 1989 Pastor Raheb married Najwa Khoury and they have two daughters, Dana and Tala. Pastor Raheb has authored two books: I Am a Palestinian Christian, 1994, Augsburg, and Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble, May 2004, Fortress Press, both publishing houses in Minneapolis, MN, USA. He also co-authored several other books among which are: Bethlehem 2000: Past and Present; Rooted in the Land: An Introduction to Palestinian Christianity; and Church History of the Holy Land.
“Dar al-Kalima means ‘the house of the Word,’ but not ‘the words,’ since our people are fed up with rhetoric and speeches. The Word means the Logos, or the power which is shaping the world. It is the Word that became flesh and tanglible,” Pastor Raheb stated, referring to the passage in the Gospel of John, chapter one.
Dar al-Kalima is the continuation of the German School, established in 1860 by Bishop Gobat. The German School taught children on the site of the present day Christmas Church compound until 1999 when it was moved into a new building on Mount Murier in Bethlehem. The British Mandate had confiscated the mountain property that belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, registered under the name of the first pastor (German) of the Christmas Church, the Rev. Samuel Muller. He had purchased the mountain in 1868 from its original owners and the mountain’s name reflects that purchase. Murier is a distortion of the name “Muller.” The mountain was confiscated by the British in 1919 and after 1950 it was registered in the treasury of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. After much research regarding the ownership and speaking with various authorities, a dream came true for Pastor Raheb and the Lutheran community in Bethlehem. The Palestinian Authority President, Mr. Yasser Arafat, issued an edict designating part of the mountain to be used to build Lutheran educational institutions, including Dar al-Kalima Lutheran School and also Dar al-Kalima Lutheran Academy.
On January 6th, 1998, the cornerstone of the new school was laid by President Yasser Arafat and Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. Also present were Bishop Christian Krause, the General Director of LWF, and a large gathering of Lutheran church leaders from twenty countries. With much work and support a four-thousand meter, three-level building, along with playgrounds and gardens, was built a record time of nine months.
Today Dar al-Kalima Lutheran School, which is one of the ELCJ schools, has 240 Christian and Muslim students, ranging from kindergarten through eleventh grade. In the fall of 2004 the twelfth grade will be added and the first class of high school seniors will graduate in 2005 from the Lutheran school on the hill in Bethlehem. In many senses, Dar al-Kalima is a model school. Its purpose is to provide not only basic education for twenty-first century children but to do so in creative, dynamic, imaginative ways which stimulate ideas, discussion, research, independent thinking linked with team work and learning, moving away from traditional “chalk and talk” approaches. Another innovative way in which Dar al-Kalima is a model school is in its extra-curricular activities program. When the regular school day is over by about 1:00 pm, another structured program begins which offers classes and experiences to train a new generation in personal, family, community, societal and government development. The structure of the extra-curricular program is designed to interest and delight the students. They may choose from programs including music, art, languages, vocational education and training, physical education, health, ecology, cultural and technological education. Each student is required to take four classes in the extra-curricular program. Dar al-Kalima School is considered a pioneer in implementing this method, which suits the Palestinian vision and ambition. Many students are discovering new interests and learning what their career path may be in the future, as well as preparing themselves to be leaders in the coming Palestinian state.
The Dar al-Kalima Academy is already functioning, part of the larger dream of providing education for post-secondary
students. The mission of the Academy is lengthy and multi-faceted, including interreligious and intercultural studies.
Using the campus of Dar al-Kalima Lutheran School as well as the downtown facilities on the Christmas Church compound
allows the Academy to develop its particular emphases on music, art, communication and theology. Here are four of the
eleven statements describing the mission of the Dar al-Kalima Academy:
To encourage active communication and the establishment of a network between educators, theologians, journalists, musicians and artists from Palestine and the rest of the world;
To create a forum where encounters between people from different backgrounds and religious faiths can take place, which is essential for strengthening pluralism in the future Palestinian state as well as realizing peace in the region;
To provide needed vocational training for young people, and hence creating job opportunities for young and qualified Palestinians; and
To provide an infrastructure for national and international conference, cultural events and workshops.
Before the visitor leaves the mountain and Dar al-Kalima, a visit must be paid to the Health and Wellness Center, located in the lower level of the building. Dedicated in September 2003, the center now serves children in the school and families and adults in the community with the exercise equipment, aerobic exercise classes, swimming lessons and swimming exercise in the beautiful pool, classes in nutrition, health awareness and preventative medicine as well as auditory testing to locate hearing problems in children. Other medical clinics are also being developed. Afternoons and evenings are busy times at the Health and Wellness Center, now serving over 3000 people each month. The Center was created with the aim of bringing hope and healing to a suffering community, and that includes a plan for outdoor facilities, gardens and a natural reserve open for the community as a place for picnic, rest and exercise.
In terms of the formation of a congregation, the Lutheran Christmas Church is the oldest Lutheran church in Palestine. It was formed in 1854 by German missionaries, which means the ministry is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The Anglican Church Missionary Society had been helping the small congregation initially but ran into financial difficulties. In 1860 the second Anglican Bishop in Palestine, Bishop Gobat, invited a German (Prussian) organization to help – the Jerusalemsverein (Jerusalem Society). The Jerusalemsverein purchased land on the western edge of Bethlehem. The land was in the Muslim quarter of town in an area called the Madbaseh, which means “place where grape syrup is made.” This is a process of boiling the graxpes to produce sweet syrup. Pastor Raheb commented that this sweet syrup is the “honey” in the reference to the “land of milk and honey.” The land purchased for the church in 1860 was where the fire was built and the grapes were cooked in big pots.
Bishop Gobat of Palestine (from the Swiss Reformed Church) was a visionary church leader, serving for thirty-three years. In that time Bishop Gobat established thirty-two schools in Palestine, including the well-known and highly effective Schneller Boys School in Jerusalem and later the “German School” in Bethlehem that was the forerunner of the present day Dar al-Kalima Lutheran School.
In 1860 the first building on the church land in Bethlehem was constructed. This was the “German School” and it was the first “secular school” in Bethlehem, meaning that it offered subjects such as math, science and language, rather than only religion and liturgies as in other schools operated by Bethlehem churches. There were no public schools at the time. The German School in Bethlehem was also the first school to admit girls, which it did from the time of its opening in 1860. The school continued in the original building until 1998 when plans were made to build a new school structure on Mount Murier in Bethlehem. (See the section on Dar al-Kalima Lutheran School for more details!)
In 1886 the construction of the sanctuary of the Evangelical church was begun by the Germans. Some Americans of German origin, living in Philadelphia, PA, gave financial help. The church was completed in 1891 but could not be used for worship until it received a permit from the ruling government in Istanbul, seat of the Ottoman Empire. In 1893 Empress (Kaiserina) Augusta Victoria of Germany (wife of Emperor [Kaiser] Wilhelm II) visited Istanbul because there was a relationship between Germany and the Ottoman Empire. She was able to obtain the necessary permit for the Bethlehem church. The sanctuary was dedicated in 1893. The actual permit document exists today in the church; it is beautiful, written in the Ottoman script. In 1893 the church name was Evangelical Christmas Church (it was connected to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions). Not until 1947, through the efforts of Lutheran World Federation (LWF), did the church become named and recognized solely as a Lutheran church. The official name of the church since 1947 is the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church.
“My hope is that twenty years from now, most of the artists, musicians, journalists, religious educators and communication specialists in this area will be graduates of the Dar al-Kalima Academy. The symbols of a society are shaped by these people. Developing an identity is like an olive tree which is deeply rooted but whose branches grow out and spread in different directions.”
Mailing Address: The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church P.O.Box 162 Bethlehem, Palestine via Israel Phone: Office: 972-2-277-0047 Direct line: 972-2-2764696 or 972-2-2764697 Home: 972-2-2770271 Fax: 972-2-277-0048 Website: www.annadwa.org