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["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Monday, October 24, 2005

Jerusalem's coadjutor bishop-elect outlines vision for the diocese

By Matthew Davies

ENS102405-02

[Episcopal News Service, Jerusalem] The Rev. Suheil Dawani was elected
Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem in June 2005. In an interview
at his parish -- St. Andrew's Church, Ramallah, in the West Bank --
Duwani outlined his vision for the future and spoke about some of the
political challenges that face the Episcopal Church.

ENS: Could you tell me about your background and the history of the
Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem?

DAWANI: I was born in Nablus in the West Bank in 1951 and I was raised
Anglican. After 1967, I did part of my education in Nablus. I went to
Beirut and graduated in theology in 1975. After that, I came to Jerusalem
and served the community of the Anglican Church. In 1976, we had the
inauguration of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. From 1977
until 1985 I served the community at St. Andrew's Church in Ramallah
and St.  Peter's in Bir-Zeit. At that time I went to Virginia Theological
Seminary in the United States and studied for my master's in theology.

After my graduation [from Virginia] the church moved me to St. John's
Church in Haifa where I served the community for six years until 1992
and then I returned to Ramallah to serve this community for a second
time. I was here for five years until 1997. By that time I was elected
the general secretary of the diocese and I moved to serve the church at
St. George's Cathedral ...  in Jerusalem for six years. In 2004 I was
moved for the third time to Ramallah. In June this year I was elected
as bishop coadjutor of the diocese.

ENS: What are the responsibilities of a coadjutor?

DAWANI: Usually the coadjutor means that, little by little, I have to
take over the responsibilities of this diocese. I have started working
with some institutions here. The bishop has given me the responsibility
to work with our hospital in Nablus and I am having meetings with the
board. I hope that after my consecration I will take responsibilities
regarding our parishes and the pastoral work.

ENS: How do you hope to lead this church in the future; what will be
your mission priorities?

DAWANI: I will concentrate my work on youth, women and families. This is
a priority, because our people need pastoral care, especially at these
difficult times.

I hope to enhance the work of the institutions, so administrative work
is very important. I am looking to cooperate with professional people
who help me and assist me in these institutions.

We have to work regarding institutional regulations, which are very
important and part of our structure as a church here.

Public relations are very important also. I am looking to strengthen our
ties with the Anglican Communion, the central synod and with our partners
in the U.S., in Britain, and anywhere we have an Anglican presence. Of
course I would like to strengthen the work of St. George's Cathedral,
because it is the mother church of the Anglican Communion, so I hope
that we will have more people coming there and having direct contacts
with the community in Jerusalem and other parts of the diocese.

Another priority is the centrality of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is very
important and I will work to promote peace and justice in the city and
to be sure that the city is open for all believers.

ENS: You spoke about strengthening the partnerships with the Anglican
Communion. How can the international community help to serve the
Palestinian people better?

DAWANI: When we have groups and churches come to visit the local
communities this is very important. The personal contacts are really
important. When they see that brothers and sisters have come to be with
them, to worship with them. I think this enhances our relationship and
our oneness in Christ.  Also, [it will help] if we sponsor projects
together as the Anglican Church in this country and this region. We have
35 institutions throughout this diocese, and they are very important
and our arm of witness to Christ in this country. If we offer support
together through these institutions it means we are serving the church
and at the same time working in the ministry of healing and teaching
and preaching the Gospel of our Lord.

ENS: There appears to be concern about the declining population of
Christians in the Holy Land. Could you explain some of these challenges
and how you intend to prevent the numbers decreasing?

DAWANI: The political situation affects the Christian community very much.
The continuation of occupation in this country and the hardships that
our people are facing as a result are an enormous challenge. Forty-five
percent of our people live outside the walls of Jerusalem. We want to
keep the living stones in this land and we are witnessing that many
young people are leaving this country. They are looking for a better
education and better future.

What the church in Ramallah has done is to start a housing project 10
years ago to help Christian couples stay here. If we can provide them with
decent apartments at least we help them to stay in the country because
here renting an apartment is very expensive. Also, if we support education
locally we help our young people to stay in the country. We would like
to support more, but the budget is limited in this regard. I hope in the
future we can start a housing project for our young people in Jerusalem.

ENS: So you'll make education one of your key priorities during your
episcopacy?

DAWANI: Yes, education is very important. If people are equipped with a
better education they can serve the community and the church and they
can have a better future for their families. This is a very important
aspect of my ministry.

ENS: There is a wall surrounding Ramallah. What purpose does it serve?

DAWANI: Well, it is a political wall. I don't think it will serve the
security and these walls are really dividing families and friends from
each other. I don't think that these walls will promote peace and they
will not maintain justice in this land, so I hope that the walls will
be taken away in the near future. We are destined to live together as
Palestinians and Israelis. We should work together to promote coexistence
and peace. The church can play a great role in this regard because we
see ourselves as a bridge for peace and reconciliation in this country,
and this is part of our mission in this region.

ENS: Do you believe the wall will be taken down? It looks fairly
permanent.

DAWANI: For the Israelis these walls are permanent, but for the future
coexistence and a better understanding it must be taken away. No walls
in these days must divide people and neighbors and I pray that it will
be taken away and both peoples will live in peace together and as good
neighbors.

ENS: Will there ever be a viable Palestinian state?

DAWANI: This is the hope of our people. After Oslo and after the peace
process, people were very optimistic. I'll never forget seeing young
people giving flowers to the Israeli soldiers and they used to put
these flowers in their guns. I saw this in Bethlehem, I saw this in
Jerusalem. It was really moving. Unfortunately, those scenes have gone
away. So we still believe that an independent Palestinian state will
help peace and it will calm down the difficulties in this region. But
it needs to be a democratic one where Christians will fully have their
rights as citizens of the state.

[Dawani will be consecrated at St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem, on
January 6, 2005.]

-- Matthew Davies is international correspondent / multimedia manager
for Episcopal News Service.

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