Stations of the Resurrection Pilgrimage
Travelogue
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April 30, 2007
Monday
Day Six
After breakfast at the International Center in Bethlehem (ICB), we heard the story of the many and varied program coming out of this Lutheran community centered in the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem by its director Dr. Nouha Khoury. With a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan, Dr Khoury eagerly told us of the challenges and opportunities here.
The ICB's Mission is based on the passage from John where Jesus says "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Dr. Khoury says that it is not just "breathing," but abundant life in mind, body, and spirit. Some of their programs include: 1) authentic tourism, including Palestinian female guides; 2) A guest house (renovated in 2001); 3) An Art & Music Program, with stained glassmaking, ceramic crafts, and a School of Music; 4) Clinics specializing in audiology and diabetes; 5) a two-year college begun last Fall with an Art & Music Program, where graduates can be hired for schools in Palestine.
The data of hardship is astounding: 38% unemployment rate among college graduates in Palestine; less that $400 per month is a teacher's salary, and with no money available from the government, the teachers went on strike for three months in 2006. 54% of the population is under the age of fifteen. The Palestinian unemployment rate is 25-30%. The Bethlehem unemployment rate is 60%. The International Center is the third-largest employer in Bethlehem, after the cash-strapped government, and Bethlehem University. The ICB employs 77 employees.
On to another Lutheran program in Bethlehem, the Dar al-Kalima School, which is a first through twelfth-grade school. There we met the principal, Naila Kharroubi, who told us about their daily morning prayer. Dar al-Kalima means "House of the Word." While the curricula is the same as other schools meeting common criteria, the school here also offers Christian Religious Education for both its Christian and Muslim Students. The class size is no more than twenty-five. The sense was that Dar al-Kalimi's facilities and program was astounding. The offer an extra-curricular program that includes sports, such as the unicycling, basketball, and ping-pong that we saw today, and a swimming pool. Downstairs Dar al-Kalima has a Health and Wellness for the community, including yoga, a fitness center, the pool, and a psychotherapist, massage. With so much trauma and stress living in a situation where travel beyond Bethlehem can be difficult, this program is an oasis for many.
On to Beit Sahour, an adjoining community to Bethlehem, which means "Shepherd's Field." We had morning prayer in one of the cave chapels, singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Angels we have Heard on High," and hearing the Nativity Gospel. We were enabled to shop at a nearby store for craft items before heading to Dheisheh Refugee Camp.
Dheisheh is the largest refugee camp in Bethlehem, with a population of about 12,000. The camp has been here since 1945, the first 7-10 years in tents, then in 3 meter-square concrete structures erected by the U.N., then able to building their own dwellings in the 1970's. The homes were close together, and like many low-income neighborhoods in the US in terms of challenged housing conditions. Our guide, Atallah Salem is a resident who took us to the roof of his home where we could see settlements being constructed in the only open land left in Bethlehem. We were able to greet many children and wonder how a better life could be found, how the "right to return" to the villages (40 villages are represented in the camp) where the refugees had homes could be at all realized.
On to Wi'am in Bethlehem. Wi'am means "Cordial Relationships" in Arabic, and is a Palestinian Conflict Resolution founded and run by Mr. Zoughbi Zoughbi, who bases many of its principles on non-violent reconciliation. Mr. Zoughbi and many volunteers run a grassroots organization that resolves conflict mostly on the local level, such as domestic violence, family strife, while empowering women and developing community centers for youth. Mr. Zoughbi is a Palestinian Christian who is married to an American, and is a long-time friend of the Thomases. From the brochure:
As the challenges to building a progressive civil society mount, and as we are becoming increasingly cut off from our neighbors in the region due to political climate and the construction of the Separation Wall, the need for conflict resolution, mediation, and civic education has increased more than ever before. To respond to the needs of the community, we activate more people, enhance activities, and foster an already established network of peace-advocating organizations.
Returning to the IBC, we were led in devotions cross-legged and back-to-back with a partner encouraged to share breathing and warmth, hands over our hearts and hearing the question from the Emmaus passage: "Did not our hearts burn within us?" We prayed for the many needs we have witnessed, while praying for the continuing witness for hope.
Dinner was traditional Arabic offering of salads (hummus, coleslaw, Bana Ghounoush, eggplant, cauliflower, tahini with parsley, and pita. The main dish was Sachan: Arabic-spiced chicken on a bed of rice. The vegetarians were served stuffed zucchini.
With a quiet evening to unwind, we are heading to Hebron tomorrow and will return to Jerusalem at day's end.
We ask for your continuing prayers as we are finishing our first week on our pilgrimage, and thank you for your prayers to this point.
Tim Keyl
Christ the King Lutheran Church
Nashua, New Hampshire
Click here
to see Pastor Tim's photos of the Pilgrimage on Flickr.
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