Rev. Said Ailabouni, Director of Europe and the Middle East, Division for Global Mission
Palestinian Lutheran Rev. Dr. Said Ailabouni will speak two times December 1 on the urgent situation in the Holy Land as Israel's"separation barrier" splinters Palestinian communities, making it impossible to maintain normal family, economic and human relations, and the occupation's impact on Lutheran-supported schools, social services
and hospital which serve thousands of Palestinians, Christians and Muslims.
"The daily suffering of Palestinian families - the separation from their land, work and loved ones and the demolishing of their roads, homes and hopes - is rarely shown by U.S. media," says Ailabouni. "But their stories are close and real and personally known to us because of our Lutheran ministries there. Part of building bridges, not walls, is seeing the pain caused by the Israeli occupation so that we can work for justice and peace."
"Peace Not Walls - Stand for Justice in the Holy Land" is the title of Ailabouni's presentations and also the nationally adopted campaign of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ELCA which represents 5 million American Christians (www.elca.org/middleeast).
On December 1, Dr. Ailabouni will speak and answer questions from 3-5 pm and preach at the 7 pm worship service. The gatherings, which include refreshments, local advocates and informational materials, are sponsored by the Oregon Synod ELCA (www.oregonsynod.org) and hosted by
Central Lutheran Church, 1820 NE 21st Ave., Portland. The events are free and open to the public. Please RSVP to the church by Nov. 29 for the afternoon session: 503-284-2331.
Dr. Ailabouni, Director of the ELCA Global Mission Europe and the Middle East, comes to Portland following an international conference in Bethlehem, "Shaping Communities in Times of Crisis - Narratives of Land, Peoples and Identities". It was held at the International Center in Bethlehem, a ministry of Christmas Lutheran Church
(www.annadwa.org).
Rev. Kathleen Neeley of St. Luke Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Southwest Portland will be also be available to share about her congregation's November delegation to the Holy Land. She and three members of St. Luke traveled to the Bethlehem area to begin a long term relationship with a small Lutheran congregation in Beit Sahour. St. Luke chose the congregation partly because their village is cut off from much of its land and neighboring Palestinian communities due to Israeli settlements, the wall, checkpoints and permit systems.
"We are privileged to live in communities where our children are free to play without fear, where we are free to live, work, and worship as we choose," says Neeley. "We are grateful for that gift, and realize that not all people enjoy the same privilege. With the privilege comes responsibility. We all share the responsibility to work toward freedom and human dignity for all persons. At St. Luke we live that out by building relationships, sharing our resources, and giving our voice to advocacy on behalf of those whose voices are seldom heard."
Palestinian Lutherans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, with worldwide help, serve Palestinian Christians and Muslims by providing a major hospital, mobile medical clinics, K-12 schools, vocational training, a senior center and an orphanage, a school for the blind, meals-on-wheels, scouting and other youth programs, an interfaith conference/guest house, and a center for culture and media.
Rev. Dr. Ailabouni grew up in Nazareth and spent his first nineteen years in the Middle East. His family fled their home village of Ailaboun in 1948, before he was born. He graduated from Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago with a Doctor of Ministry degree in
Pastoral Care and Counseling. Before doing churchwide work, he served two congregations.
Rev. Ailabouni will also speak during the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Collins Lecture "When Faiths Unite - Religious Perspectives on Peacemaking in the Middle East" on December 2 (www.emoregon.org). |
