Phone: +972-(0)2-626-6800 Fax: +972-(0)2-628-5764 Address: Muristan Road P.O. Box 14076 Jerusalem 91140 via Israel
Subscribe | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | pre-2003 |
JERUSALEM, 25 November 2011 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has officially entered the world of Facebook! The new ELCJHL page was launched this morning just in time for Advent, and we invite you to walk with us this season.
We have new posts planned for each day this Advent with photos, videos, and invitations to be in conversation with us. And even if you’re not on Facebook, you can still view our page at www.facebook.com/elcjhl.
For those of you on Facebook, please stop by and ‘like’ our page, leave a comment, browse our ‘Intro to the ELCJHL’ album, and ‘share’ us with your friends! Check back often. And let us know what you think.
We’re excited to grow with your help!
Peace,
Rev. Elizabeth McHan
Communications Assistant
ELCJHL
Click here to visit our new facebook page right now!
JERUSALEM, 21 November 2011 – More than 40 high-school-aged youth from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) gathered in Nazareth earlier this month as part of the ongoing Sahiroon Youth Leadership Program of the ELCJHL.
From those more than 40 youth, 28 were part of the original Sahiroon group (Seniors) formed in 2009, and 15 were part of a new group (Juniors) formed this fall. The formation of this new group marks the maturation of the Sahiroon program, as the Seniors finish out their third and final year by mentoring the Juniors who will continue for the next three years.
The Seniors and Juniors gathered together each day for morning and evening worship, small group time, Faith Talk, meals, and activities. Then split up into their groups for sessions specific to their programs.
Seniors focused during this retreat on issues and complexities of Identity. One of their sessions centered around four adjectives of identity: Arab, Palestinian, Christian, and Lutheran. Seniors were invited to discuss, define, and rank these identifiers in order of importance and meaning in their everyday lives. This topic was a continuation from the last meeting that focused on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Lutheran identity.
During another session, the floor was opened up to the Seniors to address and discuss questions relating to faith and society in a safe, open, and non-judging space.
Conversations from both sessions continued long after time was up.
Juniors focused on an overview of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, working with Wartburg College Professor Emeritus Rev. Dr. Fred Strickert. They were so enthralled by the presentations that they asked to continue their sessions after their break.
The retreat also invited relationship building through a visit to the Church of the Annunciation and the city center of Nazareth (including a very long and steep walk), games, and a costume dance party.
The Sahiroon Youth Leadership Program is now in its third year of programming. For the past three years 30 ELCJHL youth between the ages of 13 and 18 have gathered to study the Bible, Lutheran theology and identity, and to develop their leadership skills.
Due to difficulties within the ongoing political situation, it can be difficult to gather the youth together regularly from the different congregations. Therefore, retreats like this are planned six times a year to gather the youth together for leadership training and equipping.
The ELCJHL is thankful to the Lutheran World Federation for its generous funding of this program.
Click here or on the photos above to view more photos from the event.
JERUSALEM, 21 November 2011 – In early November the congregational women’s leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) met to discuss the characteristics and duties of effective leadership.
They gathered together with their children for the two-day retreat in Haifa on 7-8 November, spending time together in prayer, discussion, and planning. As the congregational women’s leadership in the ELCJHL is traditionally made up of the wives of the pastors, the women also discussed new ways of sharing and equipping other women for leadership.
The women also enjoyed the opportunity to visit the cities of El-Naqoura and Akka during their retreat.
The women also began preparations for the upcoming ELCJHL Women’s Advent programs. Because of the ongoing situation, it is very difficult for women from all six ELCJHL congregations to meet together, and so one Women’s Advent program is being planned for Palestinian Lutheran women in Bethlehem on December 16th, and a second Women’s Advent program for Jordanian Lutheran women in Amman, Jordan on December 2nd.
BUDAPEST, Hungary/GENEVA, 17 November 2011 (LWI) –Lutherans offer the world “a communion of hope” in the midst of multiple challenges, Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan, President of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), said during the opening worship of the 16-18 November LWF Meeting of Officers in Budapest, Hungary.
Presiding Bishop Péter Gáncs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary presided at the service, which was also attended by some 300 students and teaching staff of the Lutheran Secondary School of Deák, one of the 40 educational institutions run by the church.
In his sermon titled “Christ – the Hope of the World,” Younan reflected on Ephesians 1:15-23. He spoke about the legacy of the 1984 LWF Seventh Assembly, the first to meet in Eastern Europe, which also gathered under that theme.
Younan noted particularly the witness of Hungary’s Lutheran community, which he said had been “tested under fire” by two world wars, communism and communist repression. “These were difficult times and yet your faith persisted. You never gave up. Together your churches continued to witness the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he stated.
When the LWF’s highest governing body met 27 years ago, Hungary was under communist rule, South Africa under apartheid and the marginalization of women in church and society was being recognized.
Younan noted that the Assembly took action on these issues, offering hope to the world. It met for the first time behind the “Iron Curtain,” two South African churches were suspended for failing to end racial division in their churches and the LWF resolved that the ratio of male and female delegates to future Assemblies would be equal.
This was also the Assembly in which the LWF took the decisive step of becoming a communion of churches. “The Assembly here voted that all the member churches should be in ‘altar and pulpit fellowship.’ This commitment has been central to LWF’s ongoing journey as a communion. From then on, no church could become a member of the LWF without entering into communion with all the other member churches,” he pointed out.
Younan said the Hungarian Lutheran church embodies characteristics which provide an example for LWF member churches throughout the world. “You are a living witness to the world today. In a world of individualism, you are community-minded; in a world of extremism, religious wars and fanaticism, you seek moderation; you avoid extremes; you are resolute but ready for compromise, yet never at the expense of the Gospel,” Younan said.
“In our situation today, we look back to 1984, to Budapest and the LWF Assembly, and we are encouraged. ‘Christ – Hope of the World.’ This is the Budapest legacy: a message of hope in the midst of challenges,” he concluded.
The LWF Meeting of Officers (previously the Executive Committee) convenes twice annually. It comprises the President, the Chairperson of the Finance Committee, seven regional Vice-Presidents and the chairpersons of the Council Committees.
Its agenda includes discussion of a proposal for the structure of the LWF Communion Office presented by the LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge. In attendance also are LWF Cabinet members and other secretariat staff. (531 words)
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY/JERUSALEM, 15 November 2011 –In early November, Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan was invited to attend and to speak at the Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands (VELKD) General Synod in Magdeburg, Germany.
While at the General Synod, Younan delivered a farewell speech for the outgoing Presiding Bishop Johannes Friedrich, whom Younan first met during the 1980s when Friedrich was serving as Propst at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. Younan spoke to the spirit of accompaniment in which Friedrich has lived his life, and his lifelong commitment to both intra-church relations and ecumenical relations.
“Bishop Friedrich, from my view, you have set a benchmark for leadership within the German Churches… Whatever your position, we know that we will always have you as a brother in Christ—a brother to whom we can always turn, not because of particular interests, but because of our mutual love in Christ Jesus.”
“Bishop Friedrich, your humility, your clarity, and above all your love shown to all of us has touched our hearts."
With great appreciation for his years of service, Younan presented Friedrich with a Mother-of-Pearl representation of the Holy Communion from the village of Beit Sahour—the village of the Christmas Shepherds—as “…a reminder of the centrality of our shared communion as we continue to grow together around the table in all our communion throughout the world/"
Younan also assisted in the installation of new Presiding Bishop Gerhardt Ulrich, from the Nordelbischen Evangelisch-Luterische Kirche (NEK).
On Friday, 4 November, Younan addressed the General Synod on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), speaking on grace, peace, and the prophetic call of the church in our world today both in Germany, in the Middle East, and as a global communion of churches.
Younan also spoke to the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation and it’s continuing influence and importance for the Lutheran church, thanking the VELKD and the German National Committee of the LWF for the anniversary preparations already underway, and for the active support and initiatives by regional and federal German authorities.
“The reformers’ view of the gospel’s importance for the Christian faith and the freedom of the Christian have remained an integral part of the Lutheran witness ever since [the reformation], and gives shape to our ecclesiology even today. It is appropriate, therefore, that the [500-year] commemoration has been designated by the LWF Council as Luther 2017: 500 Years of Reformation.”
In closing, Younan called upon the church to continue to “look toward the future of the church universal in the perspective of how our memories of conflicts, persecutions and divisions may continue to be healed.”
“Let us work diligently together,” Younan said, “so that the Christian World Communions, of which the LWF is one, may be given inspiration, hope and vision to seek the unity in that gospel which is ‘the church’s true treasure’ (Martin Luther).”
JERUSALEM, 14 November 2011 – On Sunday evening, 13 November 2011, the East Jerusalem Conference 2011 of the International Network of Leaders in Faith Based Health Care opened at the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) on the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Jerusalem campus on the Mount of Olives.
Rev. Mark Brown, Regional Representative for the LWF in Jerusalem, set the context for the conference with a summary of the history of the LWF work in healthcare in the region and reflections on the AVH mission and its continued commitment to caring for the whole person.
Bishop Dr. Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), who also serves as Chair of the AVH Board of Governance and President of the LWF, further elaborated on context and identity by delving into a Lutheran theological and diaconal understanding of the Church’s call in relation to health and wellness.
Referring to Martin Luther’s November 1527 response entitled “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague,” Younan approached the role of the church in holistic healthcare from a “theology of neighborliness” and Jesus’ call to pastors and leaders to be as shepherds who are willing to lay down their lives for their sheep (John 10:11).
Younan further expanded on the diaconal roots of the ELCJHL that go back to 1851 and the arrival of four Daconesses from Kaiserwerth, Germany, and their mission to begin a school for the uplifting of young girls name Talitha Kumi.
Keynote Speaker Dr. Beate Jakob, from the German Institute for Medical Mission (DIFAEM) in Tübingen, Germany, provided an entry point for further discussion, raising questions of the role of the church in the field of health, the Christian understanding of health and its implications for a greater understanding of healing, and Christian health service examples from both the Global South and the Global North.
Under the motto of Faith in Leadership, the conference will continue through 16 November with a focus on the challenges of Context, Identity and Innovation. The conference includes global keynote presentations on the individual themes, multi-faith witness and worship. Subcategories of the conference will include streams on “Faith Base, Values, Diaconal Identity and Religious Health Assets;” and “Leadership and Capacity Building.”
This conference brings together praticipants gathered from around the world, including Germany, Great Britain, India, Mozambique, Norway, Palestine, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States of America, and Zambia.
The Faith Based Health Care Network was founded on 3 November 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia as “a network of leaders in Faith-based healthcare focusing on local expressions of practice.” The network brings together many different types of actors and organizations for the purpose of mutual support and inspiration.
To view more photos from the opening session and reception, click here or on the photo above. To learn more about the conference, or the Faith Based Health Care Network, click here to visit the conference website. To learn more about the AVH and the regional work of the LWF, click here.
JERUSALEM/BETHLEHEM, November 11, 2011 – On October 29th, Palestinians from Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala, along with international visitors, gathered in Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to celebrate the 11th Annual Olive Harvest Festival.
The tradition of the Olive Harvest Festival began as an initiative of the Environmental Education Center (EEC) in 2001 as a way to encourage personal and societal care for the land and olive trees, and to highlight the work of local Fair Trade and Cooperative Organizations working in the Olive industry. Ten years later, it has grown to showcase not only the Olive industry, but also various agricultural cooperatives and traditional Palestinian arts including embroidery, wool products, glasswork, painting, music, and dance.
The Festival draws both local and international visitors each year, and has grown to be well known in the community. Local organizations are offered space to showcase their products and teach visitors about themselves. All profits from sales go directly to the organizations and cooperatives involved. Local choirs and dance troupes are highlighted in performances throughout the day.
Dr. Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) was on-hand to officially open the festivities with Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) at his side.
Fayyad brought greetings from PA President Mahmoud Abbas, as he encouraged all Palestinians to continue to remain steadfast to their land, despite the barriers present in the ongoing situation that can make accessing land and caring for trees very difficult.
Younan also spoke at the opening, calling to mind both the national and religious meanings of the olive tree to the Palestinian people. Younan spoke of the olive tree as a tree of blessing, a tree of peace, and a tree that, in its persistent green leaves reminds us all that the promise of peace is always alive and present.
Younan also spoke to the ongoing dedication of the ELCJHL to educational and ecological awareness in Palestine that has spanned more than 25 years. Younan highlighted the work of the EEC throughout the West Bank in the Environmental Clubs that it supports in more than 30 schools, as well as its work in curriculum development. Younan also spoke of the shared responsibility for the land for all Palestinians—in farming, as well as in supporting the farmers in their work and in their harvest.
Also present at the festivities were Dr. Kholoud D’aibes, PA Minister of Tourism; Abdel Fatah Hamayel, Governor of the Bethlehem Area; Victor Batarseh, Mayor of Bethlehem; Ziad el-Bandak, Christian Adviser to the PA President; Sulaiman Qandil, Leader of the Bethlehem District; and Father Attalah Hanna.
Click here or on the photos above to view more photos from the event.