During the service we were given the chance to speak to a packed audience. The pastor spoke about the difficulties for the historical Churches to collaborate with the Evangelical churches in Palestine. He is himself the president of the Council of the Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land. He said that “Before the Resurrection there was Good Friday. There should be a way to get rid of certain practices in the Church”. As a member of the Middle-East Forum of Christian Churches, he has the hope that the march towards 2033 will give the occasion to improve relations.
On the way back passing through the village of Taybey, his son Michael, who revealed his musical talents during the service, spoke about his enthusiasm for the vision of JC 2033. He dropped us off at the boarding house of the “White Sisters” near the Damascus Gate, where some young Christians of various Churches in Jerusalem were waiting for us.
With the Baptist pastor Munir Kakish
Andrew and Tony Moubarak work together in a travel agency. They come from the Maronite church, and they also attend services at a Jerusalem Baptist Church: The Missionary Alliance Church. They came with Sam Kawaney, a young pastor from the Arabic-speaking community of Malek El-Molouk which holds its meetings in the big building of the King of Kings congregation.
There were also two leaders of the youth movement “Seeds of Better Life” who we met at the end of the evening: Chad, a Syriac Orthodox, and Gabi, a Greek Orthodox.
When he heard about the project JC 2033, Tony said straight away: “it is a brilliant idea, it is now the time to start marching on this route by uniting together”. As for Andrew: “we need an impetus coming from outside. It will be a teamwork from the rank and file”.
Seeds for a better life
Afterwards Gabi and Chad take us, via the Damascus Gate, to the Centre “Seeds for a Better Life” situated in the Christian quarter of the old town where a dozen youngsters are expecting us.
At the "Seeds of better life" center
This Centre has been in existence since 2002 and is run by youngsters from various churches who organize feasts and ecumenical meetings. They also arrange the decorations for the various feasts in the neighborhood.
When Oliver was asked to present the vision of JC 2033, he requested that Gabi, whom we had already met at the evening of the Arabic Orthodox Club, should do it instead. He presented it in Arabic with assurance and conviction. He did it so well that Sami immediately declared his support: “a really good idea. You did not come here by chance. It was God who brought you. We believe it was His Will.”
Sami had the idea of a theatrical open air performance where people could speak about their personal experiences with Jesus. Someone else speaks of a creative event with the “holy fire” of Easter. Everyone agrees that the celebration should be made in a new way: with every Christian who believes in the Resurrection, including the Evangelicals and the Messianics.
Our meeting lasted more than two hours in an atmosphere of joy straight from the heart. Towards the end of this surprising and unexpected meeting Louay Saeed, who is in charge of the Centre, asked “How can we carry on together? We are embarking on an undertaking and shall contact the young members of each church. You have come to heal us as we are currently going through a difficult period. Let us put this project in the hands of the Lord.”
For all the Churches!
The following day we went to the Beit Hanina quarter, the location of the Palestinian Bible Society. There waiting to meet us was its General Secretary Nashat Filmon.
Nashat Filmon, director of the Palestinian Bible Society
He told us “when I received your mail I thought that the idea was a miracle, but it would also need a miracle for it to become reality! JC 2033 should not just be a single event, but should last an entire year. Emphasis should be put on the Bible because it tells the story of Jesus. One will have to make special editions, together also with the Israeli Bible Society”.
He then showed us the book “My brother’s keeper” published jointly with the Israeli Bible Society, which proposes texts for day to day meditations on the subject of fraternity in Jesus written by Palestinian Christians, Israeli Arabs, and Messianic Jews. “We publish them every morning on Facebook. People appreciate them a lot as they look for a message of justice, peace and reconciliation. One can see the force of the word of God. The church is a shining light, and it should be open to everyone.”
We then go through Jerusalem onwards to Bethlehem where we partake in a delicious meal with Jack Sara, Director of the Bethlehem Bible College, and his wife.
Jack Sara and his spouse
The college provides theological education for Palestinian Evangelicals, training for the tourist guides and the media. J. Sara told us that they have relationships with all the people we had seen. He also said that: “in the year 2000 the celebration did not include the Evangelicals. The vision of JC 2033 is for all the churches. We wish to participate in this grand project. We trust that this little seed will grow!”
A future full of hope?
In order to prepare these visits I worked with Yusef Daher, who is the secretary of the Inter-Church Centre of Jerusalem. We visited this centre located near the St Anne convent in Jerusalem. But he was not with us and we met Zoughbi Zoughbi who is in charge of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and in Israel (EAPPI) with the support of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
He invited us to speak in an ecumenical prayer service for peace facing the wall on the other side in Bethlehem, during the week of World Prayer for Peace in Palestine and Israel organised by the WCC. We accepted this invitation but we did not have enough time to go to Bethlehem.
However, after spending some time in the Bethlehem Bible College, we went to Beit Sahour, near the “Sheperd’s Field”, to see Nidal AbuZuluf, a colleague of Z. Zoughbi. He welcomed us in the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) where he is working for the “Joint Advocacy Initiative”. He is also the coordinator of the Palestinian Movement of Christian Students. Also present were Areej Masoud, a Syriac Orthodox who works for Bethlehem Bible College, and Jasmine Rishmawi, a Greek Orthodox from Beit Sahour.
Nidal Abuzuluf Jasmine Rishmawi and Areej Masoud
After having listened to them talking at length about the sufferings brought by the Israeli occupation and the construction of the wall surrounding Bethlehem and their engagement for justice, we shared of our vision of JC2033.
Jasmine said: “today I cannot go to Jerusalem which is just a few kilometers from Jerusalem. Will I be able to go in 2033? This is the first thing that came to my mind! It is a great suffering not being able to have access to the holy places”.
Nidal asks if there will still be any Christians left in Bethlehem in 2033. Just a few hundred if their exile is still in force! “It is a great idea, but it should be on a global basis and involve all the churches. For me resurrection rhymes with liberation.”
Areej added: ”let us go onwards to 2033 with the vision to make this region a better place! The situation is becoming worse and worse every day; politically speaking there does not seem to be any solution. Our hope lies in the support from all the worlds’ churches.”
If you go onto Jasmine’s Facebook page, you will see under the cover photo the following words from the prophet Jeremiah: “Yes, I the LORD know which projects I am making for you. I do declare: they are not projects of misfortunes but of happiness. I want to give you a future full of hope”.
Let us be confident that the march towards 2033 will bring some signs of this hope which will not disappoint us!
