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Programs

For more reports on Sabeel's programs, please see Snapshots of Our Activities in each issue of Cornerstone.

Local Department

Sabeel Center: our foundation is rooted in Palestinian soil. Our ministry seeks to make the gospel relevant today to Christians here in the land where Jesus first preached a message of love and freedom for all people.

The Local Department at Sabeel embodies the spirit and perseverence of the Palestinian Christian legacy present in Palestine since the time of Christ. Both the Jerusalem and the Nazareth branches ensure that the core of the ministry will always be about people, who empowered, can help develop a holistic pluralistic society. .

Women's programs at Sabeel are one of the anchors of the ministry. Through ecumenical meetings, pilgrimage trips, and group discussions among communities of women throughout Palestine and Israel, the Local Department aims at empowerment through education, partnership and coordination. Local and internationally renowned feminist theologians, both local and international are invited to speak. Pilgrimages to biblical sites relevantly link our roots and traditions with today's historical and faith context. The program provides the opportunity for leadership training of committed responsible members of society, and support in fellowship and friendship.

Sabeel Youth Programs challenge and encourage local youth through various opportunities for developing leadership skills while exploring the meaning and roots of the Palestinian Christian identity. Issues of peace and justice, human rights abuses and other relevant, contemporary topics are discussed during seminars, pilgrimage trips, and summer camps. Sabeel encourages exchange visits, and facilitates international volunteer work within the country. As such, Sabeel is part of a Youth Action Plan for human rights, justtice and peace, initiated by the Church of Sweden in Lund. Sabeel facilitates the coordination of ecumenical youth groups, representing their own denominations by bringing together about 50 such groups from the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Galilee - whenever the political situation allows it.

Clergy Programs was initiated in 1995. Working ecumenically within the thirteen indigenous denominations in Jerusalem, Sabeel helps to facilitate solidarity, brotherhood and mutual understanding within the family of clergy in Palestine. Unified by their faith in Jesus Christ, parish priests are invited to monthly meetings to discuss common concerns, spiritual needs, pastoral care and ways of better serving their congregations. In addition to monthly meetings, two ecumenical Clergy Conferences, annual clergy retreats and trips, personal visits to clergy and churces are an added blessing as the facilitate unity for the "shepherds" of the land - the clergy - to be true "servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries" (I Corinthians 4:1).

The Parish priests have become even more fully involved in the community during the last months of deteriorating situation due to the siege that has disrupted lives of the Palestinians, socially, culturally and ecummenically. They have been instrumental in facilitating support for the needy families and have participated in solidarity marches and non-violent demonstrations against the ongoing occupation.

Sabel's "Palestinin Christian Testimony" as expressed in the Arabic version of the Jerusalem Sabeel Document: "Principles for a Just Peace" is evidence of Sabeel's role in promoting non-violent direct actions as a mean to acheive a just peace. Other examples of this concept, rooted in our faith, are: statements, vigils, days of prayer and fasting, and a series of Bible studies as well as public lectures on issues and problems facing the whole Christian and Muslim community during these difficult times.

Local Department email address: local@sabeel.org

International Department

The International Department at Sabeel is a team of international and local staff and volunteers. They contribute to: the Ahlan wa Sahlan program: six opportunities for visitors and pilgrims in Jerusalem to meet local people and enjoy the culture; Special Projects such as the Sabeel calendar, Christmas cards and photo exhibit; Cornerstone, the quarterly Sabeel newsletter; and www.sabeel.org, the Center's newly updated website which now includes an activism report concerning political and human rights issues from within the Occupied Territories and Israel.

Ahlan-wa-Sahlan, Arabic for welcome - "when you cross our threshold you are one of the family and you have stepped on even ground”- is a program geared toward increasing international awareness of the Palestinian existence, political situation, and culture. In addition to lectures given by members of its Speakers Bureau, Sabeel now offers 6 new programs: the Contemporary Way of the Cross, Our Story - the Sabeel photo exhibit, ecumenical worship with local Palestinian Christians, a Palestinian meal, and a cultural evening including dabkeh dancing or a performance by local musicians. All of the programs are designed to educate and inform while providing the utmost in Palestinian hospitality. Groups of 10 to 200 can sign up for these programs by emailing us at: visit@sabeel.org, or by phone, fax and mail.You may also fill out our online registration form.

The Contemporary Way of the Cross is one of the most compelling of the 6 Ahlan wa Sahlan programs. It is a "real-time" opportunity for visitors and pilgrims to witness the reality of occupation and its effects; the Contemporary Way of the Cross seeks to make relevant the conditions Palestinians live within every day such as checkpoints, refugee camps, home demolitions, the confiscation of property by the Israeli Government, and the segmentation of the land. The first Contemporary Way of the Cross was created as part of the Sabeel International Conference in 1998. Conference delegates were moved and shocked, in some cases, as they talked to families standing amidst the ruins of their demolished homes. In conjunction with the real-time issues, Sabeel has constructed a photo exhibit entitled "Our Story, The Palestinians." It is a photo journalistic journey through the history of the indigenous people beginning with pre-catastrophe Palestine, through the wars and massacres of 1948 and 1967, to the uprising of the Intifada, into military occupation and the present day struggle for justice and peace. The photo exhibit has toured internationally. It's content is so moving and powerful that a book consisting of the photographs from the exhibit is now available (see publications). From the words of Canon Ateek, "... this book of photographs stands as a warning to all of us because of our propensity to oppress others, as a constant reminder of our need for the mercy and forgiveness of God, and the ever present urgency to commit ourselves to the doing of justice."

Watering the roots of the local community, and then nurturing the fruit that grows from a participatory tree of attendees internationally has proved to be a blessing toward furthering the cause of justice and peace. On both international and local levels, men and women are being informed, educated and motivated through conference participation. They are being equipped to share both the good news - that Christ is at the center of justice and peace - and the bad - that occupation and its consequences still exist in Palestine. During the whole of 2000, and under the theme "Together, Towards New Horizons," the local conferences were held in various locations through Palestine and Israel.

Upcoming Conferences :

• Ending Israel's Occupation of Palestine
  March 14-15, 2003, Livonia, MI

  This conference presents the role for Americans in ending the Israeli occupation.

• Sabeel Solidarity Visit 2003
  

Previous Conferences :

• What Makes for Peace in the Holy Land?
  A Christian Perspective
  November 15-16, 2002

• Sabeel Solidarity Visit Statement
  This statement was adopted by participants in the international Sabeel Solidarity Visit held in Jerusalem from April 6-13, 2002.
  

• Alternative Assembly: Speaking Truth, Seeking Justice
  Fourth International Conference, Jerusalem, February 21-24, 2001.
  

• "Together, Towards New Horizons?"
  Local Conference (in Arabic).
  Bethlehem, March 11-12, 2000
  Nazareth, April 8-9, 2000
  Jerusalem, May 5-6, 2000
  
  
• "The Challenge of Jubilee: What Does God Require?"
  Third International Conference, Bethlehem, February 10-15, 1998.
  
• Holy Land - Hollow Jubilee: God, Justice and the Palestinians, edited by Naim Ateek and Michael Prior. Melisende, 1999 (proceedings).
  
  
• "The Significance of Jerusalem for Christians and of Christians for Jerusalem",
  International Conference, Jerusalem, January 22-27, 1996:
  
• About the Conference: "A City that Belongs to God" by Cedar Duaybis (from Newsletter No. 4)
• Conference Message
• Conference Feedback (from Newsletter No. 4)
• Publication of conference proceedings: Jerusalem: What Makes for Peace! (from Newsletter No. 8)
  
  
• "First International Symposium on Palestinian Liberation Theology"
  Bethlehem/Jerusalem, March 10-17, 1990.
• Faith and the Intifada: Palestinian Christian Voices, edited by Naim Ateek, Marc Ellis and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Orbis, 1992 (proceedings).
  

Ahlan wa Sahlan

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Contemporary Way of the Cross - Photo Exhibit
Ecumenical Worship Service - Meet the Palestinians | Dinner - Cultural Evening
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