October 14, 2009
I have just returned from the United Kingdom where I was one of several speakers at the Annual Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham (27-30 August). Greenbelt (www.greenbelt.org.uk) describes itself as an “independent Christian festival working to express love, creativity and justice in the arts and contemporary culture in the light of the Christian gospel.” It was a great honor and privilege to be with thousands upon thousands of people seeking to discover how we can truly live God’s word in today’s world.
Palestine Summer Encounter is a one to three month service learning and cultural immersion program in Bethlehem, Palestine. Participants study Arabic in and outside of the classroom setting, live with a Palestinian host family, volunteer and meet with both Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers.
http://www.palestinesummer.org
The April 23rd registration deadline for the Palestine Summer Encounter program is rapidly approaching. We encourage anyone hoping to join us this summer to apply as soon as possible to reserve their spot in the program.
There will also be some exciting changes this year:
1) We are now awarding a limited number of needs-based scholarships in the amount of $1,000. Info. and the scholarship application is at:
http://www.palestinesummer.org/peacefellows
These scholarships are still available! Please encourage anyone you think might be interested to apply.
2) We’re extending the academic focus of the program beyond Arabic. Participants will now also be able to participate in academic tracts like Nonviolence, Theology and the Land and the Politics of the Region. These tracts can be taken instead of, or in conjunction with, the arabic class.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SPREAD THE WORD!
a) Print out flyers
http://www.palestinesummer.org/download-flyer
b) Post it to your profile
On your profile page next to “update status” click on “Post Link” and then add this URL:
http://www.palestinesummer.org
We are also running a parallel volunteer program in Syria this summer. More info. at:
http://www.syriasummer.org
Thanks guys! Keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Peter Ryan
Middle East Fellowship
http://www.middleeastfellowship.org
(714) 529-1926
peter@middleeastfellowship.org
Father Manuel Musallam, the Parish Priest of Gaza has written to the wider Church of God. His letter was made public in January 2009. It has inspired Garth to write this song, and others to help him put together these images to the go with the words and music. …
In this period I did not take on an opportunity to travel to the peace research village in Tamera Portugal and be with a group of close friends that are engaging in a deep process to build what will be a Peace Research Village (PRV) in the Middle East…. For many reasons I was not able to travel, today I sent them the following reflection:
Dear beloved, dear community…
… I acknowledge that I am doing nothing and acknowledge that my presence here is not providing any relief to those in Gaza who are suffering or in the West Bank who are growing in hopelessness.
My presence here is mostly important for my internal development and growth and in preparing for the future, a future where real opportunities for peaceful coexistence based on equality are made available to all. Since this war on Gaza began, I have been in a deep process to distinguish my own emotions and reactions and even interpretations and identity from the reality, but more important it has been a process to distinguish the nails in my feet from my responsibilities for the future.
I hear and sense the pain and my heart breaks with the cry of every mother or father that lost a child or a child that lost a parent. At one point every time I saw a child from Gaza on television I saw the face of my daughters, Layaar or Larina.
Our hearts weep to see so much suffering in Gaza. Violence will never lead to any peaceful solution to any conflict. All violence must stop and all negotiations must stop as well. The only success for achieving real results is found in the re-establishment of the grassroots nonviolence resistance movement in Palestine. This will not be easy and will not be welcomed by the enemies of peace, but we believe is the only way…
This past Friday Santa Clause stood in solidarity with and attempted to go where fewer and fewer Palestinians are able to go, their own farm lands in the southern hills of the Beautiful little town called Bethlehem. For the second year in a row, taking time away from his main work in this very busy season, Santa decided to come to Bethlehem to support the farmers in reaching their land in order to maintain it and plant it… For the second year in a row (as happens every week when Santa is not there), the Israeli soldiers barricaded and prevented the villagers from reaching their land.
Barbed wires were placed on the main road leading to the farming lands and soldiers with heavy guns stood in a line pouting the whole time at the Palestinian farmers, their international and Israeli friends, and of course… Santa…
Sami Awad from Holy Land Trust, Saskia Breithardt and Andrea Regelmann from Tamera in Colombia
I just returned from an incredible experience. From the 25th of September to the 10th of October and for the first time in my life I traveled to Latin America, more specifically to an incredible area in the north of Colombia, where the absolute beauty and tranquility of God’s creation and the majesty of Mother Earth become one. It is also a place where those commitment to be agents of peace clash with those who are addicted to greed, power, control and violence, and who are willing to destroy everything in their path in order to fulfill their craving.
