 MAY/SUMMER 2003 (XXXXI 3) |
I had the privilege of traveling to Israel and Palestine with a delegation of Friends in early February. The delegation was organized by Friends United Meeting (FUM). Most of the 25 to 27 participants were Yearly Meeting Clerks or Superintendents (General Secretaries) from North America, but a special dimension was brought by the participation of five Kenyan Quakers as well.
Different from the visits of those participating in Christian Peacemaker Teams and other similar groups whose goal is to accompany local people in physical danger from the conflict, our delegation was for the purpose of a pastoral visit. Our primary purpose was to be a presence to people in that troubled land, to listen and, hopefully, to give them a sense of being cared for and of knowing that they have not been forgotten. About half of our ten-day trip we were based in Jerusalem and the other half in Ramallah.
The trip was deeply enriching and challenging and much can be said about it, but let me focus on just one facet of our visit. Jean Zaru and other Friends in Ramallah were wonderfully gracious throughout our stay. One afternoon our delegation had a visit to the Ramallah Meeting House. Great progress has been made since the stage of reconstruction pictured in the March/April issue of PYM News! The roof is complete and new double-pane windows have been installed. Work on the electrical and heating systems is about to commence with money just sent through PYM. A significant aspect of the project not scheduled until the final phase is repair and renovation of the Annex (without which there are no toilet facilities). This work cannot begin until additional funds are in hand.
A very precious moment was given to us when we settled into worship in the meetinghouse at the suggestion of one of our delegation members. Since there were, at that point, no benches in the meetinghouse, we gathered standing in a circle. Several very heartfelt messages were lifted up in the worship – one of which was from Jean Zaru as she expressed the deep appreciation of Friends in Ramallah to Friends here for our faith in their Meeting and our witnessing to our hope for that area which is so deeply trapped in conflict. I experienced it as a time of deep connectedness with Friends there and with that Spirit which unites all of us. I returned home with a renewed sense of the importance of our continuing to seek ways to be in effective dialogue with Friends there. Interested Friends should contact Ruth Matson, clerk of the Middle East Working Group, at 610-352-5813 or matson@drexel.edu.
The time spent visiting the Friends Schools in Ramallah was also special. There, too, appreciation was expressed for those Meetings in PYM (and elsewhere) which have contributed scholarship aid to the Schools in this very difficult economic time. More information on that aspect of our visit can be found on the FUM website at www.fum.org.
Arlene Kelly
Central Philadelphia Meeting
Outgoing Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM