MIDDLE EAST: Youth ministry, education are priorities for Ramallah parishes
Episcopal News Service. September 30, 2010 [093010-03]
Lucy Chumbley, Editor of the Washington Window, the newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Rev. Hanna Daly, rector of St. Andrew's, Ramallah, and St. Peter's, Birzeit, met his wife, Anita, when they both taught at the School for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan.
The couple and their three school-age children moved to Ramallah in 2009 from Amman, where Daly subsequently established a successful youth ministry. They are now set on building a strong youth program at St. Andrew's.
"This is what I like," Daly says, sitting in his office on a late summer Tuesday in relaxed khakis and a polo shirt. "I feel this is the future of the church."
These are tumultuous times in the Holy Land, and Daly believes now more than ever it is important for young Palestinians to connect with their Christian identity.
His goal, he says, is to refocus on Christian education, and to move the youth program away from "social hour and games" and toward a deeper understanding of the faith. This shift has upset some people, he concedes, but points to the success of the Amman program.
"This is what we are planning to achieve here," he says. "Not to give up very easily. I believe in the next two years [the program] will be full." It is important to be clear about what you stand for, he adds: "If you are, they will follow. If you are not sure, they will be not sure too."
Daly is from Kufur Yasif in Galilee, and was taken to church as a child, where he was greatly influenced by visiting evangelical preachers from Cairo and by the beautiful feeling he got from worship. It is this feeling, he says, he wants to pass on to the young people in his congregation.
At Ramallah's Arab Evangelical Episcopal School, where Daly conducts daily chapel and teaches Christian education to grades 11 and 12, he engages his students in spirited discussions. Sometimes he pretends he is a stranger and peppers them with questions about Christianity. He wants them to think about their faith; to be able to articulate what they believe.
In Palestine, politics are omnipresent and unavoidable -- even in church. The phrase "God of Israel" is particularly problematic for Palestinian Christians, Daly says, noting that some members of his congregation have even stopped attending church for that reason.
Jacob was given the name Israel because he was loyal to God, he explains: "It's a beautiful meaning, but it's not easy to teach them. They are hurt." He offers an Arabic aphorism: "One whose hand in water is not like one whose hand is in fire."
People now associate "Israel" with the modern state, he says, so he generally uses the name "Jacob" instead, out of sensitivity. But the previous Sunday, an elderly parishioner shuffled over after church and corrected him.
Daly doesn't mind. He is happy to talk about his faith, and has been careful to carve out time for Bible study with his parishioners during the week.
Coming together for Bible study and discussion is important for the whole church community, he believes, so last Easter, in addition to his Wednesday night sessions at St. Andrew's, he began a Friday night Bible study for the parishioners of St. Peter's.
St. Peter's is a tiny congregation of just 10 families, with one weekly Sunday service. Each Friday evening, the congregation now meets in different homes for "just coffee, Bible study and some devotions," Daly says, explaining that in a culture renowned for its hospitality he had to be emphatic about "just coffee" so it did not become a burden for the hosts.
While St. Andrew's is a larger congregation, it has lost many of its members as a result of the ongoing political turmoil. Many have emigrated to seek a less troubled life, and the Christian population -- once the majority in this now predominantly Muslim town -- is steadily shrinking.
Most parishioners claim relatives overseas, and according to the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine -- aka "the Ramallah Club" -- there are 30,000 former residents of Ramallah now residing in the U.S.
"At the beginning of June," Daly says, "many family members of the people of the congregation from the States came for a visit. The church was full -- there were about 400 people."
Although the Christian population of Ramallah is dwindling, the rapidly growing town of more than 250,000 still has a strong Christian presence. Across the street from St. Andrew's is the Latin Patriarchate (Holy Family Church) and the Eastern (Greek) Catholics, Greek Orthodox (who make up the majority of the town's Christian population), Lutherans and Quakers also have prominent churches and institutions in the town.
Daly says he has good relations with them all -- particularly with the Roman and Greek Catholics and the Lutherans. He and the Lutheran pastor also cover for each other for pastoral emergencies when either is out of town.
St. Andrew's is located close to the town center on Ramallah's bustling main road, known to locals as "Rukkab street" for the popular ice cream parlor of that name.
This makes the church an ideal location for a diabetes clinic, which is set to open later this year in a purpose-built suite of rooms above the parish hall. Physicians already have been lined up, and Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, a former rector of St. Andrew's, has been working to raise money for the equipment.
"There's a lot of poor people," Daly says, explaining the need for the clinic. "They are not getting well served. We thought about helping these people."
Diabetes is on the rise in the West Bank (11.1 percent, with 15.3 percent suffering from hypertension, a risk factor for developing the disease, according to the World Diabetes Foundation). The new clinic will treat those suffering from the disease and its myriad complications and will offer preventive care, testing and information.
There also are plans to conduct hearing exams at the new clinic.
"We have a good number of deaf students here," Daly says. "Let's at least do the testing."
Additionally, at St. Peter's, a building is now under construction that will house a community hall and a 20-bed home for the elderly.
"It is very important," Daly says. "It will help the society."
Daly also hopes to begin a mid-week Sunday school program at St. Peter's, and wishes he was able to minister to the Christian students at nearby Birzeit University.
"We need a person to live there and work there at the same time," he says, wistfully. "But I have more responsibilities here."
Entering his second year at St. Andrew's, Daly has many plans for the parish. He is considering a Thursday evening service in English that would serve the growing number of NGO employees in Ramallah: "This is what God has put in my heart recently."
He will continue to develop the Perfume Box, a ministry he began that distributes food to the town's poor Christians, challenging other churches in the community to join his efforts. And he will once more welcome the annual gathering of choirs from churches around the West Bank for a spectacular Christmas concert in the parish hall.
When it comes to church, Daly believes in keeping the doors open wide. "We are poor but let's be rich in spirit," he says. "Let's meet here. The door is open all the time -- what's to steal?"
St. Andrew's and St. Peter's are part of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which includes 27 parishes and supports 33 institutions throughout Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The U.S.-based Episcopal Church continues to support the Jerusalem diocese through partnerships and companion diocese relationships.
In January, the Diocese of Washington entered into a three-year companion relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem after a lengthy period of discernment. This relationship will be in effect until January 2013, at which point both dioceses will evaluate whether or not to continue.
As with many of the Episcopal Church's companion diocese relationships, the partnership's goal is to respond to the challenges faced by the parishes and institutions of the Diocese of Jerusalem, particularly in the areas of education and health care. Advocacy for reconciliation, economic and social justice, interfaith work and women's issues will be additional areas of focus.
In June, the diocesan council approved the companion diocese committee's bylaws and four subcommittees were formed -- for education, health care, parish-to-parish partnerships and advocacy. And in December, members the Diocese of Washington will make a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land to visit the Diocese of Jerusalem's parishes and institutions to make connections and discover opportunities for partnership.