JERUSALEM, April 14, 2000 – 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:
- Where do we stand vis-à-vis reconciliation at the threshold of the third millennium?
- Before dwelling in general epithets and maxims like “reconciliation,” “peace-making” “conviviality,” “dialogue”, and so on, are women at peace with themselves and with their immediate communities?
- How does the church relate to women’s mental, spiritual, and physical health needs?
- How does the environment affect the well-being of women?
- What does it mean to reconcile with oneself and the “Other”?