Prayer for Peace in the Middle East

On the 15th of every month, my former church, the Lutheran Church of the Atonement holds a Prayer Around the Cross Service for peace in the middle East, and in the U.S.

Greetings my Muslim Brothers,
Greetings my Dear Mary Anderson,
Greetings my Blood Brother Steve Wilson,
Greetings my Dear friends Jim & Jane Gisselquist and Paul & Pat Vogel

I wish to introduce you to one another. Mary Anderson is my dear friend, and my strongest supporter and staunchest advocate within the church my parents attend.

Mary also coordinates the monthly Prayers for Peace in the Middle East service held on the 15th at The Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Barrington.

The service is typical of many Lutheran services - music, singing, prayers, scripture. But also more somber, more moving than most, because of the commitment to peace justice in the middle East that those assembled bring to the service.

It is also a considerably smaller gathering, bringing together a significant percentage of people from other Christian denominations as well as an occasional Jews and Muslim.

Mary also recruits guest speakers to talk afterwards. Most have returned recently, from Jerusalem. They give their witness and will answer questions after the service. Tea and coffee are available.

These after dinner discussions are unique because

1. Great sympathy exists for plight of the Palestinians
2. The speakers are encouraged to speak frankly of their
experiences.
3. Honest and realistic assessments of the impact of U.S. foreign
policy are given.

At least some of the sympathy towards the Palestinian peoples in particular, and Muslims in general, is owing to the former Pastor of the congregation, Dr. Said Ailabouni, himself a Palestinian, whose own parents were forced to leave their ancestral home in 1948.

Dr. Ailabouni's wife Helen accompanies the musical portion of the service accompanying on the piano, and leads the singing.

These three good Lutherans, Mary Anderson and Dr. Said and Helen Ailabouni, have been instrumental in helping to heal my soul and restore me to sanity during several very trying times of my life. They have prayed for me, and given of their time to me. I have been blessed by knowing them.

My blood brother Steve Wilson has been my staunchest ally from the world of bridge, with whom I share the wounds of my soul, inflicted once again by my country upon downtrodden peoples half-way across the globe. We both remember all too well the American invasion and occupation of Viet Nam. He carries the scars of the soldier, I carry the wounds of having lost a beloved uncle to a combat death. We share a mutual hatred of war and revulsion of those who would wage it as anything but a last resort, and only then in the presence of a clear and present danger.

Jim and Jane Gisselquist and I have sung many songs together in choir at Atonement over the years, and this has been a great blessing upon my soul.

Paul and Pat Vogel have been very active and prominent in their opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Paul arranged for marches in protest of the invasion both in Barrington and in Chicago. Pat has stood with Cindy Sheehan, in Crawford Texas, outside the home of the elected leader of America, in opposition to the war.

When my dear Christian friends sing "Let Freedom Ring" they sing it with a heart-felt understanding of the meaning of the word FREEDOM that only a true Winter Patriot, an immigrant, or a Muslim can fully appreciate.

And to you my beloved Christian friends, may I present my esteemed and cherished Muslim brothers, men of my ummah, my community, who have accepted me in their ranks, prayed with me standing shoulder to shoulder, and hold me up for my conversion to Islam. May I always be worthy of their esteem.

I extend to you, now my brothers, and your wives and children, an invitation to come, to pray in community, for peace in the middle East. It is so important for peoples of faith, peoples of good will, peoples of love, peoples of peace, to come together, to come to know one another, to come to share their hopes, their dreams, their prayers.

Here is the formal announcement from Mary Anderson:

On Sunday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.,
a prayer service for peace in the Middle East
will be held at Lutheran Church of the Atonement,
909 (East) Main Street in Barrington.
Following the service Anne Basye will tell
about her recent visit to Israel/Palestine
as one of a group of leaders from the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Ms. Basye is Associate Director for
Global Resources for ELCA Global Mission.
Ms. Basye paid attention to language and
vocabulary because she's a writer.

She'll talk about what she heard
in Jerusalem and how people
are talking about the situation there.

Those of you who have never been in a Christian church might have some reluctance, but my parents church, my former church has always been one of acceptance and welcome.

Dress comfortably, do not be reluctant to wear robes if that is how you wish to present yourself in one of the Lord's houses.

Christians generally wear keep their shoes on. (Although, not always).

Men and women may sit together with one another in the same room, on the same pew, although if this would be discomforting, there is a room at the back from where your wives or daughters may view the service.

One of the sights that always brought joy to my heart when I attended this church was to see families together with their children, especially the young ones, who would turn their heads and engage my eyes with their smiles, just as so many of my beloved Muslim nieces and nephews at the Mosque do while in line for Qu'arnic recitation and Sunday school.

Perhaps because of my own failed marriage, I love to look at the families, and think of what might have been, and what might yet one day be. And because my own son is Roman Catholic while I was a Lutheran, we rarely went to church together. And this has caused created an emptiness in my heart, but an emptiness that is salved by the sight of families in church, sharing their love, engaging their community, and standing before their Creator, and pleasing Him greatly.

May Allah's Peace be upon us
May Allah's Grace shine down upon us
May Allah's Love fall like gentle rain upon us

Br. Mark