epiScope

Trying to understand

Palestinian priest's views spur criticism
By Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times
March 1, 2008

The Rev. Naim Ateek is a white-haired, American-trained Anglican priest who supports nonviolent solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and often speaks of his dream of a world in which Israeli and Palestinian states exist peacefully, side by side.

Ateek is also the founder of Sabeel, a Palestinian liberation theology movement based in Jerusalem, and a man whose U.S. appearances in recent years have sparked controversy among some Jewish groups.

Critics say Ateek uses imagery, such as references to the crucifixion, that vilifies Israel and they contend that the conferences he is associated with present speakers and material that are biased against the Jewish state.

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What is Islam?
SIX YEARS AFTER SEPT. 11, MANY OUTSIDE THE MUSLIM FAITH ARE STILL TRYING TO GRASP WHAT IT IS
BY JOE RODRIGUEZ
Wichita (KS) Eagle
March 1, 2008

Part of a message posted on the outdoor sign of a south Wichita church proclaims, "Islam is a lie."

A newsletter published by Wichita's largest Protestant church contains a column that asks the question: "Can Muslims be Good Americans?" The answer, according to the article, is no.

Other Wichita churches hold town hall meetings and weeks-long seminars to explore the meaning of Islam and to publicly examine views that local Muslims say are inaccurate.

Each example illustrates how -- six years after Sept. 11 and five years after the start of the war in Iraq -- Islam remains a topic of concern among some local churches.

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Middle East tensions in Pasadena

Jews criticize conference's link to a Palestinian group.
By Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times
February 9, 2008

A Middle East conference scheduled to be held next week at a prominent Pasadena church has sparked tensions between local Christians and Jews. But those involved say they hope to use the episode as a chance for increased dialogue and, perhaps, a deeper understanding of the sensitive issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Several Los Angeles rabbis and others in the Jewish community have criticized a decision by All Saints Episcopal Church to allow its facilities to be used Feb. 15-16 for "From Occupation to Liberation: Voices We Need to Hear." The event is sponsored by Friends of Sabeel, an organization of American Christians that supports Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based ecumenical Christian group.

Founded in the early 1990s by a Palestinian Anglican theologian, the Rev. Naim Ateek, Sabeel espouses a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Speakers for the workshops planned at All Saints include Jews and Muslims, along with Palestinian and American Christians. Ateek will be among those speaking.

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Finding justice

Los Angeles area interfaith clergy visit Rome, Israel
By Orit Arfa
Jewish Journal
2008-02-08

Late last month, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 delegates of a weeklong interfaith mission from greater Los Angeles gathered in a circle at Yad Vashem's Valley of Communities, a monument carved out of bedrock to honor Jewish communities obliterated in the Holocaust. The cold morning foreshadowed the upcoming Jerusalem snowstorm, and the leaders representing Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Muslim denominations warmed one another with words of conciliation and prayer, countering the chilly air and the chilling images of Jewish genocide they had seen a few moments earlier at the Yad Vashem museum.

"The first thing I felt was pain, and that pain became an attitude for all other emotions that flooded my being," began Bishop Sergio Carranza-Gomez of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in his light Mexican accent. "The first was sadness -- sadness at seeing how many lives were destroyed, completely obliterated; and it became a pained sadness. Then sorrow -- sorrow for the needless suffering of thousands of human beings; and it became a painful sorrow."

Speaking with The Journal after his poetic speech, Bishop Gomez expressed his fear that "there is a real danger of an increased anti-Zionism. You can see that in their world. Anti-Semitism has not been abolished. It's still alive everywhere."

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Truth and consequences
The Rev. Susan Russell and All Saints take on ‘Violence, Religion and the American Soul’
By Carl Kozlowski
Pasadena Weekly (CA)

As the president of Integrity USA, the 30-year-old national Episcopal lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, the Rev. Susan Russell has been at the forefront of some of the boldest, most inclusive and most controversial policy statements of any church leader in America. She’s also the convener of “Claiming the Blessing,” a national ministry focused on the full inclusion of the LGBT population within the Episcopal Church, and a charter member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion Council.

But it’s in her role as the senior associate for parish life at All Saints Episcopal Church that Russell has a strong hand in the discussions of social, political and moral issues in Pasadena. And as All Saints celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, Russell finds the challenges to equal rights and social justice of all stripes are just as formidable as ever — but also utterly worth fighting to overcome.

This weekend, All Saints plays host to a special three-day conference on “Violence, Religion and the American Soul,” which will involve “examining the state of the American conscience” and exploring “the Christian responsibility to live a faith of nonviolence, healing and respect.”

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Shifting Ideologies at the Anglican School

Britain’s shift to an anti-Zionist position just years after setting in motion the rebirth of the Jewish state has become apparent even in Anglican institutions within Israel.
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
August 02, 2007

Just 100 years ago, the Anglican Church was home to Christianity’s most ardent Zionists. But Britain’s shift to an anti-Zionist position just years after setting in motion the rebirth of the Jewish state has become apparent even in Anglican institutions within Israel.

The stately Anglican International School in downtown Jerusalem was established in 1962. British Christians may have espoused a Zionist outlook at one point, but times have changed due to a growing number of Palestinians in the student body—much to the dismay of students and their families who hold to a biblical, Zionist view of the Land and the conflict surrounding it.

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