First and foremost, welcome. As you may have been directed here from my website www.crossandcrescent.org you will realize that this blog is a place I will use to share with you my experiences and journies in the area of intereligious dialog/events in Madison Wisconsin and beyond. My hopes are that you comment, ask questions, perhaps even begin to challenge OUR presumptions (Yours and Mine) regarding the possibilities of peace in the world, waged by people of faith.
Who am I? I am a midwesterner, a Roman Catholic, 30 years old, married (to my soulmate Abby), progressive citizen of the USA, and have become interested in interreligious dialogue and in making new friends from different faiths.
Who are the Palestinians to the world?
Last weekend I had the privilidge of attending a “Friends of Sabeel” conference in Cleveland Ohio.
Sabeel is an arabic word which means “the way” as well as “flowing spring of water.” Both are referenced in the New Testament and in early Christian history. “The Way” was a phrase to describe the teachings of Christ among early Christians, and the “flowing spring of water” finds itself within the story of “living water” that Jesus offers the Samaritan women at the well.
New Friends
I was honored and grateful to have been taken very good care of by my new friends Samir and Maurlene who picked me up at the airport in Cleveland. Both had glowing and enlightened faces and greeted me as if I was family. They also exemplified “hospitality” as they made me very comfortable in their vibrantly decorated and warm home with a soft bed, filling breakfast, and engaging conversation. If you read this Samir or Maurlene: God Bless You! Abby and I look forward to visiting you sometime, hopefully sooner rather than later.
The Conference
“Arab Christians?, I didn’t know there was such a thing?” This comment represents a widely held world-view that the conflicts in the Middle East (The Holy Land included) are between Arabs and Jews, or put another way, between Muslims and Jews…or between one religion and another…you get the idea.
The Sabeel Conference, of which there are many all over the country, focused on what is called Palestinian Liberation Theology. For my Christian friends the phrase “Liberation Theology” should ring some bells as a great movement of liberation theology was born in Central and South America. The idea behind it is that Christ gives Christians examples on how conflict is to be dealt with not only internally but externally, even politically, as well.
Well…despite what you may or may not know about the conflict in Israel-Palestine, corruption, oppression, and dehumanization are three words that apply and have been applyed by militant parties on many sides (there are more than two) of the conflict.
Liberation theology for Christian Palestinians, which by the way equal 140,000-150,000, is about equipping people with the resources to bring about a just peace. The conference provides fabulous speakers from around the USA and the world who were able to discuss the difficult issues such as ending the occupation, identifying the religious dimensions that lead toward violence and militancy, as well as reviewing the history(ies) that have come to inform our culture and society on the conflict from 1948-present
Why was this conference, why is Sabeel Important?
In short: The conference supplied its attendants with examples of non-violent, pro-active, love-embracing, Christ- centered ways in which the conflict WILL be resolved and in what ways we as citizens of the United States contribute to the problem, and how we may be a part of the solution.
What did I gain from this Experience?
You know, the older I get and the more experiences I have I become more sure everyday that relationships are the best teachers and the greatest treasures we may ever find in this earthly life. I not only learned more about the human-God relationship that is forged in buidling the Kingdom of God through non-violent resistance and intereligious dialog but also and more importantly…
I gained some new friends: Samir and Maurlene, Jeff, Don, Mahaba, and many more who struggle to bring a just peace to the conflict in the Holy Land. I met Jews, Muslims, and Christians who are able to profess together the belief in ONE God, that demands justice, but only through peaceful life-producing ways….some from Sabeel would say through, “The Way.”
