High-profile minister to discuss Christianity’s vital presence on the West Bank
When the Rev. Mitri Raheb’s Greek Orthodox grandfather was orphaned at age 8 in Palestine’s Bethlehem, Lutherans took care of him.
For the past 27 years, Raheb, 52, has served as senior pastor of the 165-year-old Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in the West Bank city, about six miles south of Jerusalem.
“There are many people in this country who would not know that there are Christians in Palestine,” Raheb said in a phone interview on Wednesday while traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania. “Two percent (of Palestinians) are Christian.”
On Sunday at 4 p.m., Raheb will speak at Tellus 360, 24 E. King St. His talk is being presented by Lancaster’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. A freewill offering will be received.
An Arab Christian who visits the United States three or four times a year, Raheb will share his perspective of life in Palestine under the Israeli Occupation.
“It’s important for (Americans) to know that the church was not founded by missionaries, but that there has been an active Christian presence in Palestine for 2,000 years, despite all the wars, oppression and turmoil that our region has been going through.”
Raheb also will share his vision for the Diyar (“house” or “homeland” in Arabic) Consortium, a Lutheran-based organization that serves all Palestinians. He is founding president of the 10-year-old consortium, which includes the Dar Al-Kalima Health and Wellness Center and the Dar Al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, both in Bethlehem.
“It’s the only university in Palestine that focuses on the arts, contemporary art, design, dance, theater, music, graphic design, jewelry making,” says Raheb.
“This week one of our students will be receiving an award for best documentary film at a convention in Abu Dhabi. (The film) is about the process Palestinians have to go through to go to work in Israel. Going through check points at 2 or 3 a.m. Sometimes it takes two or three hours to cross check points to get to work on time.”
Raheb’s visit to Lancaster was arranged by Mary Ann Johnson, wife of the late Rev. David L. Johnson, senior pastor of Holy Trinity from 1998-2005. They met when David Johnson was serving the Lutheran World Federation’s Department of World Service, overseeing the operation of Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, which served Palestinians and others.
“I’ve known him since 1989, when he was a young pastor in Bethlehem with this wonderful vision of what church ministry can be for community,” says Mrs. Johnson.
“As the years went on, with the walls going up, he recognizes the continuing tradition of a culture that is becoming jeopardized. So many Palestinians, especially Christians, are emigrating. He gives Palestinians, especially the young, hope that their lives can go on.
“He’s just a wonderful example of a visionary, with all these organization that he runs. He is the third-largest employer in Bethlehem.”
Raheb co-founded and serves as president of Chicago’s Bright Stars of Bethlehem, a nonprofit ministry created in 2003 by a group of Americans who visited Palestine to support the Diyar Consortium.
He also is the author of 16 books, including his latest, “Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes.” Amazon recently listed it as its No. 1 bestseller in the Christian liberation theology category.
His hope is that when Americans visit the Holy Land, they will stop by the church or school “and meet some Palestine Christians face to face and hear their stories.”
One of those stories is about the first Palestinian female soccer team, started 15 years ago by a young woman at the Diyar Center.
“To see women, Christian and Muslim, forming one team is to see how we can empower women through sports. Fifteen years ago, it was totally unthinkable that women would play soccer because some come from refugee camps or remote villages. Now they are in the newspaper every day. Through that, we were able to transform the image of women in Palestine.”
Source: lancasteronline.com