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For Such a Time as This

In a conversation during the Moderator's Conference on the Middle East at Montreat Conference Center, March 2003, immediate past moderator, Fahed Abu-Akel, reflected on his experience and understanding of neighbors from his unique perspective.

How do the words from the Book of Esther, 'Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this' (4:14) affect you?

It's amazing. I look at this as a gift from God. When I became a candidate for moderator I chose Esther's story---that she was there at such a time as this.

To be a candidate [for Moderator of the General Assembly] was the highest thing that I had ever dreamed. It was an overwhelming experience. I could not sleep the night before. I got up at two or three o'clock in the morning and I started to cry. It just dawned on me, suppose I am elected? So when I was elected, the most moving experience for me was the love and the prayers of the people. As the moderator you feel the power of the love and prayers of people who lifted you in a way you have never experienced before. Moderating that General Assembly, my focus was to empower the commissioners to understand the issues [and] to discuss the issues. The General Assembly belongs to the commissioners, not the Moderator---[I was] there to facilitate, to help people have ownership, to understand and be led by the Holy Spirit and make decisions for the good of the church.

So who is your neighbor?

Jesus said 'feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the prisoner. When you as an individual believer do these things, you are doing it to me.'

At this time in history, unless the Israeli Jewish people, with their sophisticated military might, are going to look at the Palestinians as natives, as neighbors, as having the same mind, with a state next to them, and unless the Palestinian Arabs are going to look at the Israeli Jews as having the right to the land, the right for existence and to live as neighbors---unless both look at each other as neighbors, respecting the dignity of one another and the right of existence of all people---that is going to stay a powder keg.

How do you love a neighbor who has oppressed you?

I'm coming to the conclusion that the salvation for both people---[the oppressed and the oppressor]---is loving [the other] person.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has a lot to do with how a neighbor treats a neighbor. The Palestinian Arab needs to look straight at the Israeli Jew and say, 'You destroyed my village, you destroyed my church, you destroyed my mosque, you destroyed my business and you took my land. But now our destiny is together. Our destiny is in the same location and we need to live together. I forgive you.' And the Israeli Jewish person needs to say to the Palestinian, 'I took your land and now we need to coexist. As you forgive me, I forgive you. We can love one another and continue.'

How does your ministry with international students promote positive change and an understanding of neighbors?

The ministry with international students goes back to the question, who is my neighbor. In 1955, the United States had 35,000 international students. In 2003, we have half a million from 180 nations. I'm challenging our congregations throughout the year to exercise the gift of hospitality, to call an adviser, and say 'Our congregation or our Presbyterian Women would like to be friends with four or five of your students,' invite them to a meal and to an event in the community. This whole ministry does not need one dollar---just the gift of friendship and hospitality.

Last year Christmas International House hosted 394 students and rejected 250 students [for lack of hosts]. My greatest need is recruitment of local programs. The power of this program is that in the busiest time in our lives we are saying to our neighbor---in this case the international student---'We have a room for you in the inn.' To me that is loving your neighbor---hosting a Chinese person that you never saw, a Palestinian, an Israeli, a Brazilian, a German in your home. There is a difference between loving intellectually and loving you with a meal in my home. I look at that as an incarnation of ministry in the time of Christmas.

Susan Jackson Dowd is the PW communications coordinator.

Christmas International House

International students make merry with host families over the Christmas holidays.

Thristmas International House is an ecumenical program that provides hospitality to international students during the Christmas holidays---a time when dormitories close and the international students do not have the time or money to return home. Through the hospitality of churches and civic groups, Christmas International House witnesses to the reality that, beyond diverse manners of dress, religious affiliations and political ideologies, we are all members of the same human family.

Christmas International House is characterized by open dialogue and the exchange of ideas---peacemaking at the grassroots level. In addition, the program

· gives international students a chance to meet North American families and see different parts of the United States

· provides opportunities for a cross-cultural exchange

· helps international students express their criticisms of North American policies in a constructive manner, and at the same time, connects them with North American citizens who can help correct some of their false impressions

· provides concrete ways for program participants to express concern for world peace

· creates a ministry that might stimulate uninvolved church members to become involved and active in their congregations

· offers situations in which international students can meet other international students, especially students whose nations are hostile to one another

· provides a time and place where students from the same home country can reunite

· gives local congregations the opportunity to experience the worldwide church as international Christians participate in worship services and church school programs

· creates a unique, ecumenical ministry among several churches within a community.

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Here's What You Can Do

This year's Christmas International House program runs from December 18, 2003 to January 2, 2004, although some local programs have elected to adjust these dates slightly. Applications will be accepted between October 6 and December 1, or until all programs are filled.

To learn more contact Christmas International House, 1328 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309-3902; 404/228-7749; inquiry@ChristmasIH.org; or visit www.ChristmasIH.org.

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