There are many wonderful resources that are readily available regarding the Holy Land. I want to make you aware of just a few.The favorite tour book of our travelers was Jerusalem & the Holy Land of the DK Eyewitness Travel series. It contains lots of useful background information, highlights of all of the sights and best of all, loads of color photographs.
There are two books that I feel are especially important to us as Lutheran Christians and deserve a very wide reading. The first is Witnessing for Peace: In Jerusalem and the World by Munib Younan, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. The second is Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble by Mitri Raheb. This powerful book was written by the pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. These books will help you understand the conflict in the Middle East, the role of Palestinian Christians and how the church can work for justice.
I also want to remind you that there are many resources available on the ELCA website. If you are not already, familiarize yourself with the "Peace Not Walls" initiative. Check out http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls.aspx.
Finally, some of us who traveled are willing to make presentations in your Northern Illinois Synod congregation. My wife and I have prepared two presentations. One is basically a travelogue using photos that we took and the other attempts to discuss the history of the Holy Land and the current peace efforts utilizing ELCA resources. If you are interested in having a speaker come, please contact me (or June while I am on sabbatical) at the synod office. I will be available to come after the middle of April. Others may be available sooner. --JC
No comments:
Post a Comment
You don't need an account to leave a comment. Just click anonymous below. Please remember to include your name and congregation when posting a comment. Thanks for joining the conversation!