“Peace in the Middle East?”
4-week study to become more knowledgeable about the Palestinian situation and the PC(USA) position “that Christian Zionism does not represent the majority of American Christians and the faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” And considering Ephesians 4:31-32 “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
Co-facilitators: Marjolein van der Veen and Carla Shafer
To sign-up, contact: church office or Carla Shafer – phone: 360-961-2320 or email to Carla at: chuckanutsandstone@gmail.com
Intensive Study #1 – Webinar at home: April 18, 2024,
Thursday at 9 AM PC(USA) interested SJPC folks are invited to register for a local St. James Intensive Study linked to a PC(USA) national webinar helping Presbyterians to become knowledgeable of the Middle East situation and its history and people. The webinar will focus on educating participants on how the Zionism ideology contributes to the violence Palestinians have experienced and the consequences of the settler colonial experience. You will be able to do this from home and must register individually. There may be a way to pick up a webinar recording later.
[Participants can let us know that they have signed up for the webinar and also sign up at church for the books and the 3 gatherings at the church that follow from 9-10 AM on 4/21, 4/28, and 5/5].
Local Intensive Study # 2: Sunday, April 21, 2024
Meets at church at 9-10 AM.
The discussion will be facilitated by Marjolein van der Veen (visiting from Holland and staying with Mary and Peter. The discussion will include talking over the webinar and open a discussion on the book The Other Side of the Wall – A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope by Munther Issac (one of the panelists on the 18th.) Co-facilitator: Carla Shafer.
Local Intensive Study # 3: Sunday, April 28, 2024
Meets at church at 9-10 AM.
The discussion will be co-facilitated by Carla Shafer and Marjolein and will include continuing to talk over The Other Side of the Wall and introduce a discussion on Decolonizing Palestine, The Land, The People,The Bible by Mitri Raheb a Palestinian Christian and Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem (who Carla heard speak in 2012? at G.A.)
Local Intensive Study # 4: Sunday, May 5, 2024
Meets at church at 9-10 AM.
The discussion will be co-facilitated by Marjolein and Carla and will include continuing to talk over Decolonizing Palestine,The Land, The People,The Bible by Mitri Raheb and we will share current info with each other about Gaza refugees processes for relocating in Holland and the USA and Canada.
About the Webinar: This webinar comes from the 216th General Assembly (2004) approval of the “active opposition” by the PC(USA) “to Christian Zionism and the development of a plan to communicate the theological and political ramifications it engenders within our denomination, in the mass media, and among U.S. government officials.” The overture directed the Stated Clerk to inform government officials that Christian Zionism did not represent the majority of American Christians and the faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It also recommended the promotion of resources so that Presbyterians can become knowledgeable.
Background on PC(USA) Webinar: Panelists invited to contribute to the webinar include the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian who is the academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour; the Rev. Marietta Macy, associate pastor of Christian Education at the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston in West Virginia; and Rabbi Brant Rosen of Tzedek (Justice) Chicago Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, an intentional Jewish congregation based on the core values of justice, equity and solidarity. The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Holder Rich, a Presbyterian pastor and member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, will facilitate the conversation among the panelists.
About the books….
The Other Side of the Wall – A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope by Munther Issac $13.99 each 12 copies with 8% discount = $167.88 (available this week) “The book is full of memorable personal experiences and biblical exposition that is grounded in serious scholarship. It is well documented, thoroughly up to date, and amazingly readable. I can’t think of a more powerful and moving account of what it means to live out the Sermon on the Mount in an impossibly difficult situation. In the end we are presented not just with spiritual insights but with a realistic vision of how this seemingly endless conflict could actually be resolved.” Colin Chapman is lecturer in Islamic studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut.
Decolonizing Palestine,The Land, The People,The Bible by Mitri Raheb = $23 each 12 copies = $219.(No discount and used copies are available in time at about $14 each. “Decolonizing Palestine challenges the weaponization of biblical texts to support the current settler-colonial state of Israel. Raheb argues that some of the most important theological concepts –Israel, the land, election, and chosen people – must be decolonized in a paradigm shift in Christian theological thinking about Palestine…is a timely book that builds on the latest research in settler-colonialism and human rights to place traditional theological themes within the wider socio-political context of settler colonialism as it is practiced by the modern nation-state of Israel.” from Amazon.com