wfn.org | United Methodist missionaries share Middle East dangers

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 7, 2002    News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71BP{087}

NOTE:  Photographs are available with this report.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

When the latest round of Israeli bombs fell on Bethlehem at 5:10 a.m. on
March 7, the impact knocked a sleeping Sandra Olewine off her living room
couch.

The second blast shook pictures off the wall, blew open the front door of
the apartment house, dropped shrapnel on the roof and showered glass from a
neighbor's home onto her balcony. When the explosions stopped at 5:45 a.m.,
Olewine, a United Methodist missionary, found that homes and businesses on
the street that also contained a Palestinian police station had been ruined.

The Rev. Alex Awad, another United Methodist missionary who serves as a
pastor in East Jerusalem and teacher at Bethlehem Bible College, also awoke
March 7 to the sound of renewed bombing in Bethlehem. It was a sound that
"is becoming the norm here rather than the exception," he wrote in an e-mail
to United Methodist News Service.

Despite the danger - to his family, to his congregation, to the college
students and everyone else - Awad is thankful that he can continue his
ministry. "Our congregation in Jerusalem has not cancelled or missed a
Sunday," he wrote. "People have taken chances and made it to church to
worship God."

But he expressed sorrow for the Palestinian and Israeli victims of a
conflict that has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, as did Bob May,
another missionary assigned to the area by the United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries.

"I think the biggest effect of the escalation in violence has been the
discouragement and frustration of the people," May said.

He has been documenting some of the damage, and photos can be found at
www.bobmay.info, his Web site. "Violence and the threat of violence
unavoidably dampens our spirits," he told the news service. "It's hard to
remain optimistic about the future when you hear missiles firing, see
buildings exploding and learn of more people dying. It's hard to keep
spiritually and mentally focused when you have to worry about the dangers of
bullets and bombs."

The violence also has further weakened the Christian presence in the Holy
Land, according to Awad. He estimated that at least 500 Christian families
already have left the country.

"As a pastor, my greatest concern is the safety of my congregation," he
said. "Any one of our members can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We keep calling on Almighty God to protect each individual, not only in our
congregation but also all other congregations. And every Sunday we pray
earnestly for peace and justice to prevail in this land."

Awad added that his congregation was encouraged by a recent Sunday visit
from two U.S. bishops, Bishop Ann Sherer of the United Methodist Church's
Missouri Area and Bishop Clifton Ives of the West Virginia Area.

The personal risk is great. Awad and his wife Brenda spend hours crossing
the checkpoint in Bethlehem, a few miles from their home on the outskirts of
Jerusalem. Their 17-year-old son, Randy, attends the Anglican International
School, located in one of the most dangerous areas of West Jerusalem. Basem,
their 22-year-old son, commutes to Ramallah, where he works for a United
Nations project.

"Of course, our suffering doesn't compare to the thousands of Palestinians
who are fired on or prevented in cases of emergency from even getting to a
hospital or doctor," Awad noted.

Despite the obstacles, Bethlehem Bible College is experiencing its highest
enrollment ever. Although there has been property damage, no student or
faculty or staff member has been injured by a bombing. "Often the students
come terrified to class as a result of bombing, but they continue to come,"
Awad said. "We miss very few teaching days."

The Christians that do remain are crowding into the churches. "The Christian
communities have used their skills and resources to minister to the physical
and emotional needs of the communities, thus bringing glory to God through
their good deeds to both Muslims and Christians," he said.

But Awad added that the "overwhelming majority" of Christian leaders in the
Holy Land are dismayed with the Bush administration's position on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "They are frustrated by what they perceive as
Bush giving the green light to Sharon to crush the Palestinians, or perhaps
Bush's lack of courage to stop Sharon," he explained. "Such a policy will
only prolong the conflict, causing more death and suffering on both sides."

Olewine criticized the United States for blocking the call for an
international protection force. "How many Palestinian and Israeli lives
might have been saved if an international body could have created space
between them, allowing for security for both and the return to the
negotiating table?" she wrote in her March 7 e-mail. 
May noted that hope is a tenuous commodity these days. "People do not need
an intensification of violence to further depress and discourage them," he
said. "I'm afraid that when all hope is gone, then everyone has lost." 

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*Bloom is news director of United Methodist News Service's New York office.

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United Methodist News Service
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