Reflections on Christian unity in the birthplace of Jesus

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem hosted a webinar - "Voices from Bethlehem: Christian Unity in the Birthplace of Jesus" - on 21 January 2022 in the northern-hemisphere observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In this webinar Christian leaders from Bethlehem and environs discussed the importance of Christian unity in contemporary times in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.

The link to the recording is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZYyLQHf_I

Daoud Nassar (director of Tent of Nations, a recipient of the World Methodist Peace Award, is an educational and environmental farm southwest of Bethlehem) reflected that the situation is difficult for many local Palestinian Christians, who might feel like a minority population. But Jesus spoke to the minority, Nassar noted. “He was talking to a small minority that made a big difference,” he said.

Fr Issa Michael Thaljieh, parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Nativity Church in Bethlehem, said that, while people in Bethlehem may face social, spiritual or economic problems, the faithful people still make up the church. “Without the faithful people, I am doing nothing,” he said.

Zoughbi Zoughbi, founder and director of Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, said it is uplifting to talk about Christian unity despite all the challenges people in Bethlehem face. “These are some of the difficulties we face,” he said, outlining some of those challenges, and expressed concern that people are leaving Bethlehem to go live in communities they believe have better opportunities.

Dn. Ashot Ghazaryan, secretary of the Armenian Theological Seminary of Jerusalem, agreed with Zoughbi that the diminishing population in Bethlehem is a great concern. “We see the people in number becoming smaller and smaller,” he said, yet in spite of this he still feels part of a large global body. “All Christians are members of Christ’s body, and we can read in the Bible what Christ says,” he said.

Rev. Angleena Keizer, mission partner assigned to the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem and a resident of Bethlehem, shared her personal call to live in Bethlehem, despite the challenges. “The important thing is, God calls and God sends, and he sends by his church,” she said.

by Mission & Ecumenical