Welcome to the online version of our 2019 Spring Newsletter.
We hope you enjoy reading updates on all areas of our work and we’re delighted to introduce our new International Volunteer Chaplaincy in this newsletter. Please continue to pray for our staff, patients, volunteers and all those we encounter.
If you’d like to make a donation towards our forthcoming International Volunteer Chaplaincy, you can do so by donating through our online donation form or by getting in touch. Thank you.
When I arrived here in Nazareth, I had recently completed a three-year master’s degree in pastoral ministry. The schoolwork of course included a lot of biblical study. Although I wasn’t naive enough to expect that I wouldn’t learn more about the Bible from living here, I’ve been surprised by how much more I’ve learned about how to understand the Bible in the Middle Eastern cultural context. Because my parents had lived here for 8 years, I’d heard about the culture growing up, so it wasn’t unfamiliar. However, that is not the same as being immersed in the culture as an adult.
The Nazareth Village script was my first main experience of cultural biblical learning here in Nazareth. I was so impressed with how the guiding script reflects a theology and biblical interpretation that fits closely with my own and is also clearly grounded in this culture from which our Bible emerged.
Other points of cultural learning in recent months came from reading a number of books, both novels and historical work, which are set in the Holy Land or provide one interpretation of the land’s history. Kenneth Bailey’s, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, was especially influential in expanding my understanding of Middle Eastern cultural biblical interpretation. I was excited, although not surprised, to learn that Bailey’s work has been influential not only in the book The Nazareth Jesus Knew about Nazareth Village, but has also been used for background research on the Village’s tour script. Bailey’s book is a compilation of essays written on different topics and stories from the Gospels, with the emphasis on biblical interpretation from a Middle Eastern cultural viewpoint. I learned so much that I wouldn’t have expected and it was exciting to notice the places where Bailey’s comments are so similar to things I’ve learned at the Village. It was exciting to learn more about this culture through his work. I also gained a better understanding for how much this culture, which is evident in New Testament writing but often goes unnoticed by readers who are unfamiliar with it, continues to be a pervasive part of the Christian and broader Arab culture that I’ve been honoured to engage with these last 9 months.
Easter greetings of joy in the Name of our Risen Lord.
It has been a great blessing to once again celebrate Easter on two consecutive Sundays in Nazareth this year! This is due of course to the fact that both the Western and Eastern Church calendars are observed here, which gives one the opportunity of twice reflecting on the suffering, death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This re-enactment of the final week of Jesus’ life provides a profoundly moving depiction of his suffering, death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb, and has become a much anticipated and sought-after Easter event for the people of Nazareth and surrounding areas.
Witnessed by over 3,000 people over the four days it ran this Easter, on the final day the office was inundated with calls from local people eager to try and obtain entry to the remaining four productions which were fully booked. Both the setting and the crowd participation add to the impact and poignancy of this dramatic story. Many people were moved to tears at the scene of the crucifixion above the wine press, and shouts of joy and applause at the scene of the resurrection as Jesus reappears and commissions his joyful disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead this Easter, we are reminded of the victory of life over suffering and death, hope over despair and light over darkness.
It is with great sadness that we want to let supporters of the Nazareth Trust know of the death of John Vartan, great-grandson of the hospital founders Pacradooni Kaloost and Mary Anne Vartan, on 14 April 2019 at his home near Peterborough, England. He was 81 years old.
It was later in life that John came to discover the work of his great-grandparents in Nazareth and went on to serve as a Trustee of the Nazareth Trust from 2002 – 2011. Such was his zeal for the work in Nazareth, John completed the bike rides in 2001 (Three Seas) and 2003 (The Negev) raising money to support the work of the Trust. He also commissioned the book “Vartan of Nazareth” by Malcolm Billings, published in 2012 to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the hospital work in Nazareth.
We feel keenly the loss of a good friend. – Bob and Nancy Martin
Those who knew John well remember him as a kind gentleman, passionate for the work of the Nazareth Trust. Around the board table, he brought a deep sense of the Vartan legacy and was well regarded for his constructive, insightful input, blended with his wonderful sense of humour. Bob Martin (former General Director) and Nancy Martin (former School of Nursing Director and Trustee) said “We feel keenly the loss of a good friend.” and Ian Lyall (former Chair) said “I have the fondest of memories of John.”
John was a husband to Frances for 56 years, much-loved father of Andrew and Caroline and grandfather to Oliver, Georgina, Patrick and Dominic. A Service of Thanksgiving, open to all friends, will be held at The Church of All Saints, Elton, PE8 6RU on Tuesday 28th May at 2 p.m.
Those of us who knew John feel our lives were enriched by him and have a deep sense of loss. We extend our sympathy to John’s family at this sad time, and are grateful for all he did to support the work of the Nazareth Trust.
Morgan Jamieson (Chair) on behalf of the Nazareth Trust Board of Trustees.
In January 2018, my family and I went for a holiday to Budapest, as my son was interested in going there to study.
Late one evening at dinner, I received a call from my friend and colleague at the Nazareth Hospital, Dr Fahed Hakim: could I do an ultrasound in Budapest for a sick Nazarene child? I laughed, as we often joke about how I do ultrasounds all the time and everywhere.
But he was serious. He told me there was a child from Nazareth, in a Budapest ER, needing an urgent diagnostic ultrasound scan. But the hospital had no qualified doctor to perform this scan. The family had called Dr Fahed for advice. Fortunately, he knew I was on holiday in the same city.
I remember getting up from the table and asking for the hospital’s address without even thinking. When I told my family and friends I had to go and check on a child in the ER, they were shocked: “What are you talking about! You’re on holiday! You work in the ER at Nazareth, not here!”
I hurried to the hospital where I met the child and his family, who were surprised to see a doctor from Nazareth. With the hospital’s permission I examined the child and performed the scan – he needed immediate surgery. Sharing my diagnosis with the family wasn’t easy. I had to tell them their child had to be operated on right away to prevent serious harm. But the family trusted me: “Dr Najib, do what must be done.”
The child underwent successful surgery that same night. The next day he already felt so much better. A month later I followed up with the family back home in Nazareth. It was a very emotional meeting and you could see the joy and gratitude on their faces. It was wonderful to see this lovely child so healthy and happy among his family.
It was a blessing for me to be able to help someone in a desperate situation, realising that it’s not important where they come from or what their background is. My faith tells me it is the right thing to do if we truly love our neighbour. Offering that unconditional help also strengthens my belief that we must help all people who come to us in need – it’s following Christ’s example and teaching. My faith gives me the strength to do so again and again.
Once again, the Nazareth Trust’s 2018 Week of Health and Healing had a positive impact on those who participated and those who received prayer, pastoral care and teaching sessions. Sessions were provided by the local and international ministry teams during. The theme of this week was healing, forgiveness and well-being and the purpose of the week was to promote healthy lifestyles among the wider Nazareth community, and spiritual and physical well-being of our staff and the patients they serve in the Nazareth Hospital.
Creating Space for Grace
It was great to have a team of four experienced chaplains led by Suzanne Owen from the Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre (CCHC) in England with us again this year to offer prayer, counselling and pastoral care to our staff and patients in partnership with the local pastoral care team of the hospital. Providing ‘space for grace’ was a key component of the activities of the week which involved the team visiting different departments to meet with staff and provide time to reflect and pray for the needs of their department and community.
Many of the staff voiced concern about the increasing violence in the Arab communities in Nazareth and the surrounding areas and asked for special prayer for God’s peace, protection and well-being for their families and communities over the Christmas period and for the coming year.
In addition, special drop-in times for individual staff members to receive personal prayer and pastoral support were provided in the chapel during the week which was greatly appreciated by members of staff who took advantage of this opportunity. It was a real blessing to be able to provide ‘space for God’s grace’ for staff in the midst of their busy work routines in the Nazareth Hospital, School of Nursing, the Village and with SERVE volunteers. This is a practice we want to build into the pastoral care program for 2019.
be kind and compassionate…forgiving each other, as Christ has forgiven us
Promoting healthy lifestyles at Nazareth Schools
Another component of this week was the promotion of healthy lifestyles at three of the Nazareth schools which provided very good interactions between the medical staff of the hospital and the staff and scholars at these schools. This took the form of lectures on healthy lifestyles, addressing the health risks of smoking, energy drinks high in caffeine content, and misuse of technology. There was also a health day and bazaar at the Beir el Amir School where doctors and nurses gave talks on healthy lifestyles for young people including nutrition and the ladies who volunteer in the hospital shop provided a healthy food bazaar for school children.
The healthy food bazaar raised a total of NIS 15,000 for the Nazareth Hospital which is very generous given the challenging socio-economic status of this community (who also donated very generously to the Hospital appeal for the new Catheterisation Unit of the hospital).
Another school visited the Nazareth Hospital for a tour and a lecture on healthy lifestyles which also generated a lot of interest and positive engagement between the parties.
Caring for the Carer
Another important component of this week was to provide spiritual and emotional support for nursing staff in our emergency and acute care departments. In light of the increase in verbal and physical abuse that nursing and ER (Emergency Room) staff have been experiencing in Israel, a seminar on resilience was held with the ER nursing staff. This session was led by Dr Kamal Farhat who provided a very good overview of the resiliency characteristics for staff from a psychological perspective and the need for the spiritual care and nurture of these staff members highlighted as a key part of building their resilience capacity.
Dr Bernath placed his arms around the man and embraced him.
Within the hospital, there is a well-known story of the compassion shown by Dr Hans Bernath, a previous Medical Director of the hospital. One day, the ER received a patient who had been shot and was accompanied by his brother who was highly agitated and distressed. Dr Bernath was physical assaulted by the brother, however rather than responding with violence, Dr Bernath placed his arms around the man and embraced him. This defused the situation, allowing staff to calm and support the family member.
This story was told to emphasise the importance of developing a forgiving and reflective lifestyle in responding to emotional outbursts in the provision of medical treatment in acute care situations. This highlights the importance of providing spiritual care for our nursing staff who are at the frontline of healthcare delivery and we hope to be able to strengthen this component of our pastoral care in the coming year!
Healing and Forgiveness
Finally, two evening services and a study day on the theme of healing and forgiveness were well attended and provided a challenging and practical way of engaging with healing and forgiveness in both our individual and corporate lives.
A strong biblical foundation for the week was laid by Pastor Nizar Touma of the Nazarene Church in Nazareth at the opening service, and Dr Liron Shany, a registered psychiatrist and co-leader of a Messianic congregation in Carmiel, provided an excellent medical and theological framework for healing and forgiveness at the study day on the week’s topic. The testimonies of forgiveness from people who had either experienced personal trauma from physical attacks, or who were personally or professionally related to victims of violence and abuse were very powerful and challenging.
Nigel Thonger, the chair of the board of trustees of the CCHC (Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre), also provided a very compelling and personal account of the need for forgiveness to be offered and received by the leaders of organisations in order to move forward into God’s future for these entities.
The creative responses provided by the CCHC ministry team to both offer and receive forgiveness from God and others in addition to the personal prayer offered to participants at these events, was sensitively and professionally handled. Those who made use of these opportunities expressed their profound gratitude for these services.
Summary
Overall, the second Week of Health and Healing hosted by the Nazareth Trust was a great success despite some additional organisational challenges. We hope to be able to include this in the calendar of events for 2019!
Perhaps the key learning from this week is that forgiveness is a choice and that we need to gain both a biblical and medical perspective on the importance of forgiveness for both our physical and spiritual well-being as we learn to ‘be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven us’ (paraphrase of Ephesians 4:32).
Frank Kantor
