Newsletter of the Peacemaking Committee

PEACE MEAL

Newsletter of the Peacemaking Committee

Presbytery of Philadelphia

May-June 2010

Palestinian Christian Leaders

Call on International Community

with Historic Kairos Document

An ecumenical group of Palestinian Christians issued Kairos Palestine, A Moment of Truth: A word of faith and hope from the heart of Palestinian suffering on December 11, 2009, in Bethlehem.

The Greek word Kairos refers to a moment in time, a moment when God is present in opportunity, when the world’s axis is the Word of God. The moment to speak truth is now!

Signers of the document:

His Beatitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah
His Grace Bishop Dr. Munib Younan
His Eminence Archbishop Atallah Hanna
Rev. Dr. Jamal Khader
Rev. Dr. Rafiq Khoury
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb
Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek
Rev. Dr. Yohana Katanacho
Rev. Fadi Diab
Dr. Jiries Khoury
Ms. Cedar Duaybis
Ms. Nora Kort
Ms. Lucy Thaljieh
Mr. Nidal Abu El Zuluf
Mr. Yusef Daher

Mr. Rifat Kassis – Coordinator

In a statement issued with its release, the signers declare that this historic document is the Christian Palestinians’ word to the world about what is happening in Palestine. “It is written at this time when we wanted to see the Glory of the grace of God in this land and in the sufferings of its people.

(continued on page 2)

We hear the cry of our children

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, hear the cry of hope that our children have launched in these difficult times that we still experience in this Holy Land. We support them and stand by them in their faith, their hope, their love, and their vision for the future. We also support the call to all our faithful as well as to the Israeli and Palestinian Leaders, to the International Community and to the World Churches, in order to accelerate the achievement of justice, peace, and reconciliation in this Holy Land. We ask God to bless all our children by giving them more power in order to contribute effectively in establishing and developing their community, while making it a community in love, trust, justice, and peace.

This endorsement was signed on December 15, 2009, by 13 heads of Christian churches in the Holy Land:

His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox
His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Church
His Beatitude Patgriarch Torkom Manougian, Armenian Orthodox
Very Revd Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custody of the Holy Land
H.E. Archbishop Dr. Anba Abraham, Coptic
H.E. Archbishop Mar Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox
H.E. Archbishop Paul Nabil Sayah, Maronite
H.E. Archbishop Abba Mathaious, Ethiopian
H.E. Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek Catholic
Bishop Gregor Peter Malki, Syrian Acatholic
Bishop Munib A. Younan, Luthran
Bishop Suheil Dawani, Anglican
Bishop Raphael Minassian, Armenian Catholic

Palestinian Kairos Document

(continued from page 1)

“In this spirit the document requests the international community to stand by the Palestinian people who have faced oppression, displacement, suffering, and clear apartheid for more than six decades.

“The suffering continues while the international community silently looks on at the occupying State, Israel. Our word is a cry of hope, with love, prayer, and faith in God. We address it first of all to ourselves and then to all the churches and Christians in the world, asking them to stand against injustice and apartheid, urging them to work for a just peace in our region, calling on them to revisit theologies that justify crimes perpetrated against our people and the dispossession of the land.”

The statement continues, “[W]e Palestinian Christians declare that the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity, and that any theology that legitimizes the occupation is far from Christian teachings because true Christian theology is a theology of love and solidarity with the oppressed, a call to justice and equality among peoples.

“This document did not come about spontaneously, and it is not the result of a coincidence. It is not a theological study of a policy paper, but is rather a document of faith and work. Its importance stems from the sincere expression of the concerns of the people and their view of this moment in history we are living through. It seeks to be prophetic in addressing things as they are without equivocation and with boldness; in addition, it puts forward ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and all forms of discrimination as the solution that will lead to a just and lasting peace with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as its capital.

“The document also demands that all peoples, political leaders, and decision-makers put pressure on Israel and take legal measures in order to oblige its government to put an end to its oppression and disregard for the international law. The document also holds a clear position that non-violent resistance to this injustice is a right and duty for all Palestinians, including Christians.

“The initiators of this document have been working on it for more than a year, in prayer and discussion, guided by their faith in God and their love for their people, accepting advice from many friends: Palestinians, Arabs, and those from the wider

“The decision-makers content themselves with managing the crisis rather than committing themselves to the serious task of finding a way to resolve it.”

Kairos Palestine 2009

international community. We are grateful to our friends for their solidarity with us.

“As Palestinian Christians we hope that this document will provide the turning point to focus the efforts of all peace-loving peoples in the world, especially our Christian sisters and brothers.

“We hope also that it will be welcomed positively and will receive strong support, as was the South Africa Kairos document launched in 1985, which, at that time proved to be a tool in the struggle against oppression and occupation. We believe that liberation from occupation is in the interest of all peoples in the region because the problem is not just a political one, but one in which human beings are destroyed.

“We pray God to inspire us all, particularly our leaders and policy-makers, to find the way of justice and equality, and to realize that it is the only way that leads to the genuine peace we are seeking.”

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Statement from the Steering Committee

of the IsraelPalestineMission Network

South Africa’s transition to a multi-racial democracy was unexpectedly peaceful due, in large part, to international economic, political, and diplomatic pressure. This process was aided by a call from South African Christian leaders who challenged the legitimacy of the official “state theology” called Apartheid.

Palestinians are also facing a de facto (official) state theology that de-legitimizes their rights as children of God in the land of their ancestors. Christian leaders in Palestine and Israel are now calling for a similar international response of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to help end the occupation and achieve a just peace in the Holy Land.

Their call, Kairos Palestine, is based on a serious theological commitment to the prophetic challenge belonging to all three monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It is also based on the conviction that without international Christian awareness and solidarity, the indigenous Christian Church in Palestine and Israel may cease to exist. 

‘Presbydelphians’ Share a Day at the United Nations

By David V. Yeaworth

Co-Moderator, Peacemaking Committee, Presbytery of Philadelphia

As part of the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program – Peacemaking – the Believers’ Calling – 35 participants from the Philadelphia area visited the United Nations headquarters and the Presbyterian UN Office, in New York on May 11. With represen-tatives from 13 of the presbytery’s churches, the group embarked early by motorcoach from the Church on the Mall, arriving at mid-morning for the day’s activities.

Sponsored by the Peacemaking Committee, the day’s schedule was coordinated by Jessica Hawkinson, Associate for International Relations and Education (and a member of the WallingfordChurch).

Three outstanding presentations during the day focused on the vision of the UN and the contributions made by religious groups such as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The Keynote was sounded by Gillian Sorensen, Senior Advisor at the United Nations Foundation and former Assistant-Secretary General for external relations under Kofi-Anan. Her career in the work of the United Nations has largely been responsible for outreach to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as the contact point with parliamentarians, academics, religious leaders, and other groups committed to peace, justice, development, and human rights. (Her husband, Ted, is known to many as an author and associate of President Kennedy.) Among many interesting points was her comment that the USA has at last paid its UN dues!

Sara Lisherness, Director of Compassion, Peace, and Justice Ministries for the PC(USA) “put a face” on our General Assembly leadership as she presented the Biblical basis for our peacemaking efforts and presence at the United Nations. She referred to the surpassing vision of Isaiah 2 and Micah 4, when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Joseph C.Donnelly, a permanent delegate to the United Nations representing the Roman Catholic agency, Caritas Internationalis, related the ways that the various religious denominations are able to work together to promote endeavors for justice and peace. (His office, together with the Presbyterian and other major denominational missions, is in the ChurchCenter just across the street from United Nations Plaza.)

Following lunch at the Church Center, the group crossed the streets for a tour of the United Nations complex, revealing its scope and idealism in gifts of artwork from various nations and exhibits of specific topics (land mines, poverty, water, malaria, a “school in a box,” the Middle East, and the work of the General Assembly and the Security Council).

The schedule concluded with a brief worship experience led by Co-Moderators David Yeaworth and Don Maclay, with participants sharing “one-word prayers” of thanks and intercession, and singing (to the tune Finlandia:

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine;

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

After dinner “on our own” in nearby restaurants, the motorcoach returned home, accompanied by a DVD presentation of excerpts from a variety of productions about the situation in Israel and Palestine, compiled for the new Steadfast Hope study guide, copies of which are provided for each church in the presbytery by the peacemaking committee.

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“The peace of God, which passes all understanding,

will keep your hearts and your minds

in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:7

Peace Meal, the Newsletter of the Peacemaking Committee of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, is published for distribution at each stated meeting of the Presbytery and subsequently mailed free to subscribers and, as requested, in multiple copies to each church in the Presbytery. Peace Meal is circulated without charge and may be reprinted. Peace Meal is also on the Presbytery’s website: Contributions and letters are welcome. Address all correspondence to the editor, Don Maclay, 936 Church Road, Springfield, PA19064-3935; e-mail .

34 Churches Contribute $30,805

to 2009 Peacemaking Offering

Thirty-four churches in the Presbytery of Philadelphia contributed a total of $30,805.40 to the 2009 peacemaking offering, of which the presbytery received $5,811.34. The offering is traditionally received the first Sunday in October, World Communion and Peacemaking Sunday.

The number of contributing churches has been consistent for the past three years although they have not always been the same 34. The amount received by the presbytery in 2007 was $6,520.23. In 2008 it was $7,202.35.

In general, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program in Louisville receives 50%, the local church retains 25%, and the remainder is split between synod (5%) and the presbytery (20%). Not all churches, however, follow this formula, and figures reported by the presbytery and by Louisville are not always consistent.

Contributing churches in 2009 and the amounts they received are listed below. The figures are totals, in the first column total contributions calculated from amounts received by the presbytery, which appear in the second column.

Ambler1,078.60215.72

Ardmore838.70167.74

Aston420.0084.00

Bensalem1,000.00200.00

Bryn Mawr4,265.55853.11

Calvary Wyncote268.9053.78

Carmel118.0023.60

Cedar Park706.90141.38

Doylestown1,308.00261.60

Falls of Schuylkill66.7013.34

First African 637.00127.40

First, Philadelphia1,636.00327.20

Germantown First489.3097.86

Good Shepherd1,008.00201.60

Gwynedd Square1,340.00268.00

Holy Trinity Bethlehem134.0026.80

Llanerch1,168.15233.63

Macalester-Torresdale133.3026.66

Mayfair85.0017.00

Morrisville277.3055.46

Neshaminy Warwick917.15183.43

Newtown2,622.00174.66

Old Pine1,561.00312.20

Pottstown416.0083.20

Princeton337.7067.54

Ridley Park547.65109.53

Southwestern133.3026.66

Summit800.00160.00

Swarthmore3,300.00660.00

T.M. Thomas100.0020.00

Valley Forge2,508.90501.78

Wallingford213.3042.66

Wynnefield176.0035.20

Yeadon193.0038.60

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Steadfast Hope Study Resource

To Go to Each PresbyteryChurch

A copy of Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace, a publication of the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is being mailed to each church in the Presbytery of Philadelphia (unless the copy was picked up in person at the May meeting of the presbytery).

These 48-page color illustrated booklets with a free 80-minute DVD are available from the Presbyterian Distribution Service for $10 ($5 in quantities of 20 or more). Distribution of one to each church is courtesy of the peacemaking committee of the presbytery.

The committee suggests that the booklet be referred to the church’s peacemaking, mission, or social justice committee and ultimately be placed in the church library.

Designed for use as a study resource, Steadfast Hope has already been used in an eight-week Christian education course taught by a team of Christians and Jews at the CentralBaptistChurch in Wayne. Similar teams are prepared to tailor a program or series of sessions for other churches.

Readers of the booklet are encouraged to start by watching the DVD in the pocket inside the back cover. Maps and captions under the pictures in the booklet will then be helpful in understanding the nature of the occupation as shown in the DVD. Also inserted in this second printing of the booklet is a copy of Kairos Palestine 2009: A Moment of Truth, a document further described in the story on page one of this issue of Peace Meal.

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“Let us then pursue what makes for peace

and for mutual upbuilding”

Romans 14:19

Holy Land Pilgrimage Planned

For October 31-November 12

Optional Extension to Petra, Jordan

First-time travelers to the Holy Land are invited to join the Israel Palestine Mission Network pilgrimage October 31 – November 12 with an optional extension to Petra in Jordan.

Travelers will visit major holy sites in Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Galilee, and Jerusalem. They will meet Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians, as they learn about the complex current conflict through their eyes. And they will travel to a rural area of the northern West Bank, a major source of Palestinian olive oil, where, if the timing is right, they will lend a hand in the olive harvest and participate in a regional harvest festival.

The trip will feature visits with Palestinian Christians and long-term partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Tour leaders are three Presbyterians with experience in the Middle East. Marthame Sanders is a pastor in Atlanta who spent three and a half years earlier in this decade as a missionary in Zababdeh, a village in West Bank. Donald Mead, is a retired economics professor from MichiganStateUniversity now living in Glen Arbor, Michigan. His intro-duction to the region came through work with Palestinian refugees in Cairo in the late 1950s. Peter Mann, from Lake Shore, Minnesota, is the founder and president of Import Peace, a fair trade olive oil partnership.

The cost of the trip with departures from Atlanta is $3,299. The two-day extension to Jordan is $699. Funding assistance is available from the peacemaking committee. For a trip brochure and information on funding call David Yeaworth (610-525-2776).

Full details about the trip also are available from the tour leaders: (404-233-5469 x222); (231-334-8161); (612-839-6990).

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That which is hateful to you,

do not do to your neighbor.

That is the whole Torah.

The rest is commentary.

Now go and study.

-- Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Did You Know

That EVERY DAY

The United Nations

Provides food to 108 million people in 74 countries?
Vaccinates 40% of the world’s children, saving 2 million lives a year?
Assists over 34 million refugees and others fleeing war, famine, or persecution?
Fights climate change and leads a campaign to plant 1 billion trees a year?
Keeps the peace with 116,000 peacekeepers in 17 operations on four continents?
Fights poverty and helped 300 million rural poor achieve better lives in the last 30 years?
Monitors, promotes, protects, and develops human rights worldwide?
Mobilizes $7 billion in humanitarian aid to help people affected by emergencies?
Leads international efforts in clearing landmines in over 30 countries?
Promotes universal primary education, reaching 88% enrollment coverage in developing countries?

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Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Began

in 1944, Remains a Vital Force for Peace

In 1944 the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship was formed to give support and aid to the conscientious objectors of World War II. They made a pacifist witness, as did the Southern Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, founded in 1949. These two groups formally joined to form the present Presbyterian Peace Fellowship in 1983 when the two Presbyterian Churches united.

The Peace Fellowship was instrumental in persuading the church to add a national Peacemaking Program as part of its mission, beginning in 1980 with the General Assembly adoption of “Peacemaking, the Believer’s Calling.” As a volunteer group, the Peace Fellowship continues to pioneer new avenues of witness.