Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com
Published - Thursday, November 19, 2009
Educational series features ideas on Middle East conflict
A three-part educational series dealing with conflict in the Middle East has been planned at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Viroqua.
On Sundays, Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, at 11:15 a.m., the church will host videos and speakers that will address unrest in Palestine and Israel.
The event on Nov. 29 will include an overview video and discussion of an article in the June 2009 edition of The Lutheran magazine. The Dec. 6 event will include speaker Marla Engbloom, who has traveled in the Middle East and studied the issue. The Dec. 13 event will include a discussion with the Rev. Kent Johnson, who works on justice issues and is considered the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America -- La Crosse Synod’s foremost authority on the issue.
Good Shepherd assistant pastor the Rev. Margaret Hoversten said the idea of bringing the three-part discussion on the Middle East to the church came out of work done by the church’s social ministry committee and resolutions passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Assembly.
“Primarily we’re dealing with the issue of peace in the Middle East,” Hoversten said. “We’re bringing together resources and people who, we believe, can help people better understand the issues involved.”
In January, Engbloom traveled to Israel and Palestine with a study group from Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago for a three-week tour in the midst of the Israeli war with Gaza. She participated in group dialogue with key persons and groups struggling for peace and justice today, learned about a kibbutz and visited a Palestinian refugee camp. Her presentation describes her pilgrimage, engaging "the world of the Bible" that involves both ancient sites and current struggles, and how they are intertwined.
In June 2008, Johnson traveled to Cairo, Egypt, and Damascus, Syria, with a group of American delegates participating in a study tour on religion and society focused on learning about Islam in the Middle East. This eight-person delegation of Jews, Muslims and Christians, was part of an international citizen-to-citizen exchange program sponsored by the National Peace Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental organization, in partnership with the Islamic Society of North America, a national Muslim organization.
All of the forums are to be held in the lounge at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and anyone interested from the public is welcome to attend. Worship, as always, is open to visitors at 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., Sundays. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is located at 504 S. Main St.. The church can be reached at (608) 637-3978. The church can also be visited online at http://www.gsviroqua.org
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