wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Palestinian Christians want a peace lamp in every church

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>For immediate release - 26/05/2009 11:41:16

PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS WANT A PEACE LAMP IN EVERY CHURCH

By Emma Halgren (*)

Its population may be dwindling, but the Palestinian village of
Taybeh is striving to maintain normality in the midst of
conflict, and hope in the midst of oppression.

Taybeh, 14 kilometres north east of Ramallah, is one of the few
predominantly Christian villages in Palestine. Like villages all
over the West Bank, it is suffering as many of its people decide
to emigrate, seeing no other choice given the economic and
physical hardship they suffer under Israeli occupation.

In the 1960s the town had a population of 3,400. The population
today is 1,300. Unemployment stands at around 50 per cent.

But for Father Raed Abusahlia, priest of the Latin (Roman
Catholic) church of Taybeh, the grim situation only adds urgency
to efforts to empower the local people spiritually and
economically, as he explained to an ecumenical delegation
visiting the village in March. 

The delegation – a Living Letters (

http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)team travelling on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC)
– visited churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society
groups in Israel and Palestine from 7 to 14 March.

There are three congregations in the village – Greek Orthodox,
Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic. The congregations worship
together at Easter and Christmas, and are all actively involved
in local projects.

The Latin parish runs a school, a medical centre, a hostel for
pilgrims, and numerous church services and youth activities.
These projects are designed to give the people hope, and a reason
to stay in Taybeh, says Fr Abusahlia.

Its Peace Lamp initiative makes use of an abundant local product
– olive oil – to promote peace and justice in the Holy Land. The
lamps are produced in a workshop in Taybeh, providing jobs to 20
young men and women. 

The goal is to place a Peace Lamp, with accompanying olive oil
and a small candle, in every church in the world, and in this
way, to encourage prayer and solidarity with the people of
Palestine. All revenue from the sale of the lamps goes to
charitable organizations like the Caritas medical centre and Beit
Afram, Taybeh's home for senior citizens.

Around 50 young people aged between five and 15 sing in the
parish youth choir. The choir has produced a CD called With One
Voice,and in 2006, eight children from the choir participated in
a musical tour of France, performing 14 concerts throughout the
country.

Around 100 groups of pilgrims visit Taybeh each year. Fr
Abusahlia says that visitors can play an important role in
breaking down the stereotypes that exist about Israel and
Palestine.

"Maintaining the Christian presence in the Holy Land is the
responsibility of all the Christians in the world," he said.
"When people visit, they can see that Taybeh is a place of peace.
We encourage them to talk about Taybeh to their friends and
family when they return home, and promote products like our Peace
Lamps. That is the best sign of solidarity."

Nancy Adams, a member of the Living Letters team from the
Scottish Episcopal Church, said the Peace Lamp that she took away
from Taybeh was a powerful symbol of peace, and a reminder of the
courage of the people she met there. She has already had
opportunities to talk about her experience in Taybeh with church
groups in Scotland, using the Peace Lamp as a focal point.

"I told them of many of the sorrows I had heard, seen and
experienced. But I was also able to share with them the joy of
the inspirational work going on in Taybeh," she said.

"Another message I took home from Taybeh is that Christians,
Muslims and Jews working so desperately for peace depend upon the
international community to reignite the flame of peace with
justice for the people of Palestine and Israel."

>Determined to live in peace

David Khoury, mayor of Taybeh, remains hopeful of peaceful
coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Khoury is also co-founder of the Taybeh Brewery. Palestine's
only brewery, it was established in 1995 and now runs under
license in Belgium, exporting from there to other European
markets. In 2007, a non-alcoholic beer was launched. Each year
the brewery runs an Oktoberfest celebration featuring local
musical and dance acts.

Khoury says that while business is stable at the moment, there
have been difficult patches – particularly after the beginning of
the second intifada, when the business almost closed. 

Road closures and checkpoints are a daily reality, and while
Israeli products, including beer, flow tax-free into the West
Bank, Palestinian export products can be delayed for hours at
checkpoints and often sent back, meaning no income is made that
day.

Khoury and his brother Nadim – both born in Taybeh – had been
living in Boston for 20 years when they decided to return to
Palestine to set up the brewery.

"We came back to Taybeh because we wanted to contribute to the
economy," said David Khoury. "Palestine had never had its own
brewery before – we wanted to provide local beer to the people,
and to travellers to the area. Now tourists come every day to
Taybeh. We're proud that we come from this little village."

He is realistic about the challenges facing the village. "Very
soon we'll have empty churches in Taybeh," said Khoury. "The
moment people have a chance, they leave. They are sick and tired
of the way things are."

But he hopes that activities like the brewery can provide some
hope to the people of the region. "The Palestinian people live on
hope. We're determined that we want to live in peace, and stay in
this Holy Land."

>[918 words]

(*) Emma Halgren, WCC Communication intern, is a member of the
Uniting Church in Australia.

>Taybeh Latin Parish:
>http://taybeh.info

>Taybeh Brewery:
>http://www.taybehbeer.com

Feature: "Israeli occupation puts strain on Palestinian
Christians":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/israeli-occupation-puts-s.html

Feature: "Palestinian Christian family counters harassment with
openness"
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/palestinian-christian-fam.html

Photo gallery (high resolution versions available upon
request):
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/index.php?id=6727

>WCC member churches in Israel/Palestine:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4746

Sixty Years of WCC Policy on Palestine/Israel, 1948-2007 (in
brief):
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3628

World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, 4-10 June 2009:
http://worldweekforpeace.org

>###

>SIDEBAR

>Peace tourism

Taybeh is one destination on the itinerary for the Alternative
Tourism Group, a Palestinian non-government organization
specializing in tours and pilgrimages that provide a critical
examination of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy
Land.

It works to encourage tourism operators to abandon exploitive
mass tourism and to adopt practices that are beneficial for the
local population. It seeks to promote a positive image of
Palestine and its people, and to contribute to the establishment
of a just peace in the area.

The Alternative Tourism Group ( http://www.atg.ps/index.php )is
part of the Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism (
http://www.atg.ps/index.php?page=1178694470.1227355353 ), a
network of organisations in the Holy Land working to overcome
some of the difficulties and threats that the Israeli occupation
poses to tourism, to promote a balanced and enriching experience
for travellers and to achieve a more equitable distribution of
tourism revenue.

These organisations have developed a Code of Conduct for Tourism
in the Holy Land (
http://www.atg.ps/site_files/File/PIFT/Code_of_Conduct_Nov_2008n.pdf
), which provides guidelines both for travellers to the Holy Land
and for the Palestinian tourism sector.

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
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