Luke 2: 41 – 52

…Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers…

On a cold February evening Sabeel Nazareth held its first bible study in Nazareth on “the boy Jesus at the temple” for the youth group. The bible study was interactive with the youth and encouraged them to ask questions and develop their faith with inclusivity, justice and nonviolence.

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Sabeel kicked off its 2015 Christmas celebration with the theater production of “Frescoes” on 17 December 2015, and successfully presented the show again on the 21 of December in ShefaAmr. This production was written and directed by Faten Khoury, and performed by Vida Tabar, Maria Helou, Alaa AbouRahmoun, Sama Mazzawi, Nicole Michael, and Basel Far. As a play, Frescoes included all kinds of art, music, dance, poetry, readings(from scriptures of the Old and New Testament), its own Nativity scene, and even Michelangelo’s Frescoes (recreations, of course)

“Frescoes” is a nontraditional Christmas play that leads the audience to question the meaning of Christmas, love, and simplicity of nature. It called us to renew our inner-self, and to search inside ourselves for the meaning of life. The play also took us on a journey through different ages, moving from the time of creation to present day.

Sabeel is grateful for this production, which drew an audience from all ages and backgrounds. We were able to reach around 300 people with this production, spreading the deep and profound message of Christmas. For the Salesian Sisters, to whom we are grateful for providing us with a location to perform, they expressed that this was the best event in their hall since it had been built more than 20 years ago. The community’s response was also overwhelmingly positive, demanding productions from Sabeel in the future. In this way we are thrilled by the type of gift we were able to give people, and both humbled and determined to continue doing so.

A Solidarity Visit Sabeel, in collaboration with Al-Liqa’ Center, organized a solidarity visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque in order to respond to the recent attacks against it. We initiated invitations to all Christian leaders in the Holy Land to demonstrate their solidarity with Muslims in 2015. Three Bishops, a representative for the Custodian of the Holy Land, and a representative of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch attended this stand of solidarity, and were received by both the Mufti of Jerusalem and the head of Awqaf. Sabeel was overjoyed to see its very own Reverend Naim Ateek present a public statement for the occasion. Although Sabeel had the honor of reading such a statement, it was again co-drafted with our friends from Al-Liqa’ Center. In this way, our work towards solidarity is both powerful and true to the meaning of partnership.

On Friday September 18 a Sabeel Community program headed by Sawsan, took a group of 39 to visit and learn from the Maftool Festival being celebrated in BirZeit just north of Ramallah. This group mostly of Christian Jerusalemites was able to see and experience first-hand the many crafts, products and heritages of many mostly Muslim-populated Palestinian villages. Thanks to the Rozanna Association who brought them all together under one roof, the social cohesion and role of women was particularly highlighted.

We thank God for the continuing opportunity to learn from each other, to further Christian-Muslim dialogue, and to strengthen Palestinian identity despite the ongoing stress and strain throughout the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem.

“Do not be afraid…to you is born…a Savior” (Luke 2:10-11)

Sabeel Christmas Message 2015

“Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8-9)

Dear Friends,

When we look at the state of our world today and the messy situation we find ourselves in, it seems ludicrous at this Christmas season to talk about peace on earth, love of neighbor, compassion for others, and joy and goodwill to all.

Tragically, we have been witnessing on a daily basis terror vs. terror, military power vs. military power, revenge and counter revenge, a hundred eyes for one eye, and inhuman behavior among people. Jesus Christ seems to have no place in the raging conflicts, and justice does not seem to stand a chance.

Yet it is precisely in the midst of this terrible world predicament, political turmoil, and human devastationthat we must proclaim our commitment to the above virtues. As Paul wrote, we need to continue to dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,whateveris commendable…” We need to think about these things and act on them and “the God of peace” will be with us.

At this Christmas time, we, therefore, insist that the God in whom we believe and trust is the God of peace and love and not war and hate. We cling to our faith in a loving and compassionate God who calls us away from hatred and violence and into justice and reconciliation.

We believe that the birth of Jesus Christ represents God’s commitment and personal involvement in the life of our world and its people. Jesus Christ continues to inspire us to re-commit ourselves to the work of justice and peacemaking and to a life of sacrificial service to others especially the weak and oppressed among us. Christ continues to be our Emanuel. He is with us in our joys and in our sorrows. And we believe that his way is the way of peace and nonviolence; and we will continue to walk in his footsteps because it is the way of life.

A proper response at this Christmas Season is the need for humility, contrition, and repentance. Some of the western powers have allowed the rise of ISIS and the world is reaping what has been sown. The Government of Israel has allowed the empowerment of the extremist settlers and many Palestinians and Israelis have become the victims. The illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories continues unabated; the Israeli lust for land and settlement building is unrelenting; and the monopolizing and Judaizing of Jerusalem continues unchecked. Such tragic facts cannot be glossed over but must be faced, admitted, and taken into account. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

As people of faith – Christians, Muslims, and Jews, we need to double our endeavors to build a world where Justice, truth, and mercy can find a home.
As people of faith – we need to hold our governments accountable for not doing enough for the poor and the underprivileged in our societies; while massive expenditures are spent on arms that destroy and kill instead of being used for food, health, and education. The cry against such crimes must be louder and stronger.
• The prophetic cry against the Israeli government’s continued disregard of Palestinian political and human rights and its infringements on international law have become subdued and muted. It is the responsibility of our church leaders, Imams, and Rabbis in Jerusalem and throughout the world to take a stronger and clearer stand against Israeli oppression of the Palestinians.
• As people of different faiths, we have a responsibility before God to make each of our religions contribute towards building greater religious tolerance, respect and acceptance of others so that people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds can live in harmony and peace.
• As people of different faiths, we have based our theologies on selected texts from the Bible and Quran that reflect a narrow, exclusive, and fundamentalist understanding. Instead of promoting the love of God and neighbor, our interpretations have encouraged racism and discrimination and the exclusion of the other.
It is time to turn the tide of injustice and oppression into the peaceful waves of justice and peace so that the God of peace, love, and compassion can be glorified and all of our peoples can live in peace and security.

A PEACEFUL Christmas to all

Naim Ateek
President of Sabeel Board
December 2015

Sabeel Ecumenical and Interfaith Outreach and Visit to Druze Community July 2015

On Tuesday July 28 a group of 20 clergy, 13 with their wives, from Syrian Orthodox, Syrian
Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Franciscan, Baptist, Anglican and Greek Catholic, and from Palestine
and Israel met together for a Sabeel experience of incarnational, contextual theology. They each came from their own Christian and liturgical traditions, but on this day they walked together, talked together and reached out as Jesus often did to others.

In this case the ‘other’ was the Druze community in northern Israel village of Hurfeish.
The Druze form a religious minority in Israel of more than 100,000, mostly residing in the north of the country. In 2010, the population of Israeli Druze citizens grew to over 125,000. At the end of 2014 there were 140,000. As well as their distinctive theology and faith throughout the Levant, they have centuries of experience of preserving their identity while living with others.

As the Rev’d Suheil Bathish, Chaplain of the Nazareth Hospital EMMS reported;”

Our visit to the Druze khalwa was the first time that as a Christian I have visited their prayer sanctuary where we were given a talk about their faith and beliefs by their Sheikh (though we did not see any sign of their Holy Book).

The Druze Sheiks themselves were thrilled with the intentional visit of the Christian clergy and
practised their ministry of ‘hospitality’. They asked to involve them more in our interfaith programs. Thus relationship and reaching out in seeking to understand as Jesus did, the Holy Spirit was at work in all.

Some other force was at work on the bus drive back south when it broke down for over an hour.
But even then, according to Father Bathish:

‘This provided us with the opportunity to enjoy another hour of fellowship as representatives from various church traditions on the side of the road which helped to strengthen our relationships across denominational divides. God indeed has ways and means of building unity at this challenging time for Palestinian Christians’.

To: Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry
Dear Bishop +Michael: Please know that I join with all those who congratulate you on your election as the Episcopal Church’s 27th Presiding Bishop. Your election is a new sign of hope to many people who wish to see the Church speaking prophetically for a just world. Already, many Palestinians in the Episcopal diocese of Jerusalem have said to me that as the first Presiding Bishop of African descent, you know firsthand about racism, oppression and the importance of being a prophetic voice for justice. This gives us hope.
Read More

Interfaith Trumps Justice
Naim Ateek’s response to the Episcopal Bishops’ vote
July 13, 2015

Although I expected disappointing results from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA, I was, nevertheless, heartbroken when I heard the news and discovered that our Bishops, yet again have failed to take a stand for justice. Read more