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Note #7464 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Moderator 'continues gospel where it started'
02390
October 8, 2002

Moderator 'continues gospel where it started'

Delegation brings communion, fellowship to Palestinian Christians 

by Alexa Smith

JERUSALEM - Five hours before most Presbyterians were out of bed Sunday,
their moderator was serving communion to Palestinian Christians in a Lutheran
sanctuary that is literally just around the corner from the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, the cathedral that marks the site where Christ was crucified
and rose from the dead.
	"We are experiencing this morning Holy Communion, the most powerful
event in Christian worship, " Fahed Abu-Akel told about 40 - and a delegation
of 10 Presbyterians from the United States - sitting in the vaulted stone
sanctuary of the Church of the Redeemer. "Imagine as we come around the table
to take the bread and wine that God Almighty is our host. And you all, as
Palestinians, as Americans, are guests around that table. May we experience
your suffering. May we experience your truth.
	"May the gospel continue where it started. God bless you."
Abu-Akel, the moderator of the 214th General Assembly, wore a white alb, his
moderator's cross dangling from his neck.
	It was a crisp morning, with plenty of sunshine and blue sky. But it
was a bittersweet homecoming for the moderator.
	A Palestinian-American born in a town 25 miles north of Nazareth,
Abu-Akel emigrated to the United States in 1966 when he was 22 years old. He
is an Israeli citizen, no stranger to Jerusalem. But this time, he has a
purpose beyond visiting relatives. This time, he comes as the highest elected
officer of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and represents 2.5 million
Presbyterians back home.
	Yesterday's crowd was sparse, even though Lutherans in the East were
celebrating a day of thanksgiving for the harvest. The altar was overflowing
with tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers and corn. It was a day of thanksgiving,
at a time when Palestinians here have few blessings to count. After over two
years of violence and conflict, at least 1,500 Palestinians are dead, as well
as 600 Israelis.
	 Amnesty International issued a 29-page report this fall, documenting
the deaths of 322 children - 250 of them Palestinian, 72 Israeli. In the
first seven months of 2002, it says, more than 100 Palestinian children have
been killed by Israeli gunfire. Forty-eight percent of them are 12 years old
or younger.
	Unemployment on the West Bank and Gaza is running at 70 percent. Some
clergy here estimate that 53 percent of Palestinians there live on $2 a day.
	Because of a spate of suicide bombings, Palestinians are routinely
quarantined in their homes for indefinite periods. In Nablus - the worst-case
scenario - the quarantine, which is called a curfew, has lasted more than 100
days.
	Such grim conditions have contributed to another phenomenon, the
exodus of indigenous Christians from Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other cities
where they have lived for centuries. In 1944, there were 29,350 Christians
here; in 2000, church leaders say 10,000 is a generous estimate, and the
number seeking U.S. passports is escalating exponentially.
	"To look at that large sanctuary and the small congregation "
Abu-Akel said shortly after the service. "The reports of dwindling numbers of
Christians here became real in my eyes when I saw all of the empty seats. I
think it had to be a comfort for us to be present physically there with them,
which said that, as Americans, are with you during this time of closures 
and suffering."
	Abu-Akel said that the church's pastor, the Rev. Ibrahim Azar, told
him to expect many worshipers to arrive late - those who'd been standing at a
military checkpoint awaiting permission to pass.
	Worshipers did filter into the sanctuary as the service progressed.
	In his sermon, Azar tackled the issue directly. "You may wonder why
we should be thankful in the midst of conflict, suffering and war," he said.
"We are thankful that Jesus tasted our pain, and that suffering is not the
last word."
	Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Jerusalem, who co-officiated at communion with Abu-Akel, told the
Presbyterian News Service that the irony of giving thanks at such a time
isn't lost on his flock.
	"Yes, it is hard to be thankful," he said, describing the lives of
his parishioners and of many Palestinian Christians whose children and
grandchildren are emigrating at an unprecedented rate. "You see death,
distress, closures, and it feels like the whole world is against you. It is
hard to find ways to be thankful. It is easier to grumble 
	"But you know what I told them last week? I am thankful that they are
still steadfast in God, that they can see they are following in the footsteps
of Christ in their suffering. I am thankful that they didn't emigrate.
They're still here. And I am thankful that they are being a witness,
catalysts for a just peace."
	Younan said the small crowd also reflected fatigue, and fear of
harrassment or trouble on the way to church.
	"It is a hard time," he said, explaining that many church-goers,
although they have papers to be admitted into Jerusalem, have to stand in
long lines at checkpoints. Their children may have to stand pressed against a
wall with their hands in the air while a soldier inspects their documents. 
	"There's fear, natural fear," he said. 
	And does that affect attendance? "Of course."
	Abu-Akel remembered that, back home in the United States,
Presbyterians and other mainline worshipers were celebrating World Communion
Sunday. 
	"It keeps going through my mind how much Palestinian Christians need
our support, solidarity and our feeling of their pain," he said, describing
his first day in the Holy Land as "emotional."
	Younan shared Abu-Akel's sense of the importance of maintaining ties
between East and West.
	"The prayers of partner churches are a source of hope for us  We
keep hope alive by prayer  We know what is going on cannot go on forever,"
he said, walking through the city's winding medieval streets after the
service. "Even in South Africa, as hard as it was, the system ended. And it
will end here one day  but it doesn't look like that will be very soon."
	"We as Christians are bearers of the cross, as well as the light of
resurrection," he added. "The resurrection gives us hope. Christ spent three
nights in the tomb, and it seemed there was no light at the end of the
tunnel. The resurrection gave light, however, in a strong way. That is our
hope."
	Abu-Akel is being accompanied on his trip by a nine-member
Presbyterian delegation, including his wife, Mary Zumot; Doug Dicks, a
missionary in Jerusalem;  Doug Fletcher, pastor of Westlake Hills
Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas; Jerry Hughes, also of the Westlake
church; Sara Lisherness, coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program;
Victor Makari, Middle East and Europe area coordinator for the Worldwide
Ministries Division; Donald Smith, director of regional ministries for the
Synod of Southern California and Hawaii; Ross Turner, a member of the Young
Adult Volunteer Program at the Stony Point Center in New York; and David
Young, a photographer working for the PC(USA) Office of Communications.
	The delegation will be in Israel/Palestine until Oct. 16.

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