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Women's Leadership Conferences | World Day of Prayer | Activities: 2006 2005 (Downloadable Powerpoint) | New Journal For Women | Encounters on Reconciliation
Women of the ELCJHL are like women everywhere, busy with trying to develop themselves and find balance in faith, life, work and family. But they have complications most people would never even think of. Living under occupation with 550-plus road blocks of some kind (checkpoints, gates, earthmounds) and the wall rapidly closing you off from your school, doctor, family across the street. Having to walk football fields in distance with your shopping or sick mother. Imagine:
Nevertheless, there is obviously no choice if you want to stay here, and the women of the ELCJHL are the backbone of the family and the church, standing fast in faith, hope and spirit, and seeking support from other women when they need it.
These disconnected years after the 2nd intifada, it has been a challenge to continue an ELCJHL-wide women's ministry. Mostly, each congregation's women's group organized and worked on its own because of movement restrictions, checkpoints and the difficulty in getting permits. For years, it has been impossible to gather together from all congregations even for a few days. So in February of 2007, it was a truly a celebration when almost 100 women from Palestine's 5 congregations gathered in Jericho for a 24-hour retreat. The presence of their sisters from Amman's Good Shepherd Church was missed, however, as the Israeli IDF refused them permits to attend.
The formation of an established women's committee consisting of pastor's spouses and women leaders helped to systematize our work, organization and implementation throughout these years.
Meetings of women are documented, letters circulated, reports written and accounts balanced in conjunction with the ELCJHL's accounting unit. The members of our women's committee act additionally as liaisons with their home congregations bearing the following goals in mind:
Ten women from the ELCJHL attended the "Women in Leadership" Conference of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) in late October,
2005, in Amman, Jordan. More than fifty women attended from different evangelical
traditions such as Lutheran, Presbyterian and Evangelical Armenian, from Egypt,
Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Kuwait. A psychologist and a representative
of the Permanent Peace Movement in Lebanon led sessions on effective communication,
empowerment, conflict management and building teamwork. Lutheran women from
Amman and the ELCJHL churches in Palestine worked hard together to develop
ways to enhance the role of women and their leadership in the church.
The members of the women's committee are involved in the preparation of the activities for the World Day of Prayer. Each year, these services have a different theme which is celebrated throughout the world. Women from churches throughout Jerusalem work together to plan these services. We hope that such gatherings are signs of a growing ecumenical awareness. We also pray for wisdom and guidance in our quest to find a better way to do ministry in a divided region with a multitude of socio-economic difficulties.
What is the role of women in strengthening the ministry and mission of the Church? Is it possible to develop a core group of key lay women in a region where many of the churches have not seriously sought to strengthen lay leadership, and are predominantly patriarchal, clerical and hierarchical? Can women leaders develop better skills in a church which is depleted by the political conflict and emigration? These questions and more are asked every now and then as part of a healthy evaluation of the work process and its objectives. It has not been easy, when circumstances in our region have reached dangerous boiling points and when people have endured a long history of suffering and unrest. Yet we believe that the establishment of bonds - through encounter meetings and other forms of exchange - is an essential element of confidence-building and healing.
The political climate has indeed hindered our frequent meetings and encounters as women of the ELCJHL, but it has not prevented us from coming together to hear each others stories. In addition to the activities and social involvement of ELCJHL's congregation-based women's core groups, women from each congregation come together for joint encounters and workshops as part of ongoing initiatives and process. Our encounters provide a common platform for sharing and for focusing on education and spirituality and for exploration of ways for active engagement in Church life.
After months of uncertainty, joint encounters resumed at the request of the Church to go deeper into some of the issues which women found very helpful and applicable in their daily lives and experiences. The most pressing need was for self empowerment, personal growth and conflict management, specifically because the women come from a conflict situation. Issues like violence, roles, conflict analysis, communication, team work, decision-making and creative resolution conflicts are boldly addressed.
A two-day workshop was held recently and only close to sixty women could attend out of seventy five because the Israeli military sealed off Ramallah from neighboring villages and towns and from Jerusalem. For those few women from Ramallah who dared to break the siege to reach Beit-Jala, the trip lasted seven hours back and forth. Beside the workshop, which was led and facilitated by a female specialist in conflict resolution, the program provided time for bible reflections, discussion of the foundations of reconciliation, sharing personal stories and experiential exchanges.
As entertainment, Dar Annadwa International Center was gracious to show a film, recently produced by a Palestinian producer, addressing the realities of Palestinian Marriage customs. A discussion about the values and social codes which the film tackled followed the show. These kinds of workshops aim at:
Two new methodologies were introduced along with the training workshops:
Two encounters will take place in 2005: One in Jerusalem and will provide participants with additional opportunities to gain knowledge and skills in the field of conflict management, peace education, intercultural learning and active church membership and civil citizenship. In October 2005, in coordination with the FMEEC (Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches) who will nominate professionals and experts in Church management, a training program for young women leaders will take place in Amman Jordan.
The main focus will be on organizing activity planning and operating women's groups in congregations. Some of the methodological tools which the women will acquire are:
We hope that concrete outcomes will emerge that can help us advance in a more hopeful direction.
Based on a report prepared by Suad Younan.
Domestic Violence
Our women's committee chose "violence" as a main theme for the year 1999 and held a conference on domestic violence in Haifa 21-23 June. The conference was sponsored by the Department for Mission and Development, Women in Church and Society, Lutheran World Federation.
Stemming from a pressing need for investigation and education, the subject of domestic violence emerged in the light of increasing incidents of abuse and violence reported in the media and narrated by individual women. The 1999 programs included one-day encounters, women's activities in the congregations, and the three day summer conference.
Eighty-five women participated in the conference in Haifa. Seventy-three were Lutherans representing all of the congregations in the ELCJHL. The others represented Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Episcopal Churches from Haifa.
The guest speakers included a woman lawyer, Ms. Halima Abu Sulb, who is a Muslim. She is a feminist suffragist and works at the Women's Center for social and legal counseling in Jerusalem. The other guest speaker was Ms. Rana Salfity, a Christian, who is a social worker who works in the counseling and rehabilitation field with battered women. A full report of the conference is available.
Two one-day encounters took place in the Redeemer Church on the subject of "Reconciliation," one on 19 November 1999 and the other on 14 April 2000. Both programs were launched with brief worship services that were followed by sessions that included expositions and logical disputations on this highly-discussed subject. Women's physical and mental health issues were explored with the help of professionals in the field of spirituality, psychology and psychiatry. The leaders were Dr. Amal Merizian Khazen, head of the Nazareth Hospital Nursing School, and Dr. Vivica Hazboun who manages the Family and Child Counseling Center in Bethlehem.
Guideline questions for the two encounters were as follows:
The Women of the ELCJHL have just begun a new women's journal to be published in Arabic and include writings from women from all sectors of the community. The first issue includes such articles as "He created them male and female," "A community based on healthy foundations," "Women's Ordination," "Reflections on child rearing," "Statistics and briefings about world poverty," "Violence against women in suburban communities," and a report on the ELCJHL women's conference on domestic violence. The publication will appear twice a year.