wfn.org | Palestinian: 'God is Not Tribal'

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3121 notes).

Note 3118 by UMNS on Aug. 12, 1996 at 16:21 Eastern (4455 characters).

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CONTACT: Thomas McAnally                       404(10-21-71){3118}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470           August 12, 1996

God is not tribal, Palestinian Christian 
tells world gathering of Methodists

by Thomas McAnally*

     RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The resurrection of Jesus Christ
was like an atomic bomb that tore down barriers between people, a
Palestinian Christian told a responsive audience of world
Methodists here Sunday night, Aug. 11.
     "God is not a tribal God," declared the Rev. Elias Chacour, a
Catholic priest from Galilee who received the 1994 World Methodist
Council Peace Award for his work among the shrinking Christian
minority in Israel.
     Interrupted several times with applause and words of
encouragement, Chacour said his ancestors were those who, after
the resurrection, needed the Holy Spirit to give them the courage
to go out and share the good news.
     Waving his hand toward the Methodists representing many
countries and races, he observed, "Your forefathers have done a
good job."
     The good news then and now, he said, is that privilege no
longer exists for one group over another -- Jews over Gentiles or
men over women.
     "Not being tribal, God can no more be the God of Israel or
the church or even Christianity," he said. "To become God-like,
that is our vocation, our responsibility. We do not have a
monopoly over God or the Holy Spirit."
     Chacour shared his personal story of watching as the land of
his ancestors was confiscated by the Israeli Government and the
home of his grandparents destroyed.
     "I am a Palestinian," he said as he opened wide his suitcoat.
"See, I have no bombs, despite what your media have portrayed me
for four decades.
     "I am an Arab Christian, a citizen of Israel," he said. "All
these facets of my identity are not at peace together. I am
crucified."
     Lamenting that the Holy land is being emptied of its own
Christians, Chacour said those that remain are powerless and
voiceless.
     He described how he has struggled to open a library and
school in his community of Ibillin and repeated an invitation made
earlier in the meeting that the next World Methodist Conference in
2001 be held in Galilee. "We need you to come as an act of
solidarity," he said.
     He criticized Christian tourists who visit the "holy land"
but miss the indigenous Christians there. "Living stones are more
important than holy shrines," he declared. "Travelers visit the
sand and stones but don't want to share the faith with their
brothers and sisters."
     If they should come to Galilee, he told the Methodists they
wouldn't hear of Wesley, founder of the denomination. "If visitors
come from the Vatican we won't speak of the Pope. If visitors come
from Geneva, we won't speak of the World Council of Churches. We
in Galilee are obsessed about speaking of the man Jesus Christ."
     "Don't use Christ to promote your church," he challenged.
"Use your church to make Christ known."
     When Israeli officials belatedly agreed to accredit his
university, he said they asked if he would accept Jewish students.
     These students, he explained, would be those who had
completed their military service.
     "Of course I agreed," he said. "We will show them that only
the power of love and forgiveness can make reconciliation
possible." The school now has 200 students, 20 of them Jewish.
     Attending the World Methodist Conference, which opened here
Aug. 7, are more than 2,700 people. Meeting in conjunction with
the larger conference is the World Methodist Council, a 500-member
delegated body. Headquartered in Lake Junaluska, N.C., the council
represents 71 Methodist denominations, 30 million members and 107
countries. President is the Rev. Donald English, a British
Methodist clergyman. Staff executive is the Rev. Joe Hale.
     Before adjournment Aug. 16, new officers will be elected to
five-year terms. Location of the 2001 conference and council
meetings will not be determined until a later annual meeting of
the council officers.
                              #  #  #

     * McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service,
headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.

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