wfn.org | Communion Ware Journeys from Bethlehem to Orlando ELCA Assembly

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 5, 2005

Communion Ware Journeys from Bethlehem to Orlando ELCA Assembly
05-146-KB*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Communion ware made in the Holy Land will
be used during the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Churchwide Assembly's worship services Aug. 8-14 in Orlando, Fla.
     Using communion ware from Bethlehem is "to remind people
that God's desire for the whole world includes justice and peace,
even in the Holy Land," said the Rev. Michael L. Burk, director
for worship, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries.
     When looking for a certain quality of communion ware for the
assembly, the International Center of Bethlehem (ICB) -- a
Lutheran-based institution serving the whole Palestinian
community through developing human resources, cultivating
artistic talents and facilitating intercultural encounters -- was
able to provide communion ware.  ICB's involvement would also "be
a very helpful reminder that we are partners in mission with
brothers and sisters all around the world," Burk said.	Choosing
communion ware made by Palestinian artisans at the ICB was not
done simply because it was from the Holy Land, but it was of the
quality level that "something as important as Holy Communion
deserves," Burk said.
     At the close of the assembly each of the ELCA's 65 synods
will receive a set of communion ware made in Bethlehem as a gift
from the ELCA Division for Global Mission.  Each set of communion
ware will "journey" throughout the synod, congregation to
congregation, for use during worship.
     "We are concerned about the body of Christ hurting in the
Holy Land," said the Rev. Said R. Ailabouni, director, Europe and
the Middle East, ELCA Division for Global Mission.  The communion
ware is to connect us (members of the ELCA) with the Christians
there and the Muslim and Jewish communities in which they live,
he said.
     By using "communion ware from where Jesus took flesh," we
hope "to bring prayer for peace and reconciliation to come to
that land," Ailabouni said.
     The giving of the Bethlehem communion ware is helping to
launch the ELCA's new campaign, "Peace Not Walls: Stand for
Justice in the Holy Land," Ailabouni said.
     "Utilizing these things is a nice reminder that we are a
church that is a lot bigger than the ELCA," Burk said.	"It is
God who is in Holy Communion and who causes us to long for God's
own justice in the world."
     With each set comes a "communion ware journey" packet,
Ailabouni said.  In it are resources for worship, such as hymns,
prayers and suggested readings.
     Three goals for the communion ware are:
+     "Use these vessels in Holy Communion as a reminder of and a
witness to our partnership in mission with our brothers and
sisters in the Holy Land"
+     "Learn about and pray for Palestinian Christians and their
Muslim and Jewish neighbors"
+     "Learn how to advocate for peace with justice in Israel and
Palestine."
     "Now the journey begins," said Ailabouni.	"We hope each
congregation will have the opportunity to use the communion ware
in their worship services and will pray for peace and
reconciliation in that land."
     Some communion ware sets arrived early and were used at ELCA
synod assemblies in spring and early summer, Ailabouni said.
-- -- --
     Information on the communion ware and the campaign is
available at http://www.ELCA.org/peacenotwalls on the Web.

* Kirsten H. Boettner is a senior communication major at Luther
College, Decorah, Iowa.  This summer she is an intern with the
ELCA News Service.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news