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Bethel Hosts "Hope for the Holy Land"

Bethel Hosts "Hope for the Holy Land"

Bethel University hosted guest speakers who led a discussion on Christian engagement in Israel and Palestine.

Bethel University’s reconciliation studies program hosted “Hope for the Holy Land,” a discussion on Christian engagement in Israel and Palestine, with guest speakers Mae Elise Cannon from World Vision, Lynne Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, and Sami Awad from the Holy Land Trust. The event was part of a two-week tour through Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota for the guest speakers.

"I was very grateful for the reconciliation spirit exhibited by the speakers,” says Curtiss DeYoung, professor of reconciliation studies. “They presented the difficult realities of present day Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in such a way that called for peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. Perhaps most important was the opportunity to get a glimpse into the lives and perspectives of the vibrant Palestinian Christian community in the Holy Land."

Bethel sponsored the event along with World Vision, the Holy Land Trust, and Transform Minnesota. In 2010, the Holy Land Trust hosted a small group from Bethel, including DeYoung, President Jay Barnes and his wife, Barb, Chief Diversity Officer Leon Rodrigues, Associate Professor of English Phyllis Alsdurf, and Bethel Seminary professor Doug Magnuson, during a 10-day visit to Palestine and Israel.