Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission workers and ecumenical partners in the Middle East have not suffered physical harm from the violence that is gripping Lebanon and Israel.
“All our mission workers, partners and other colleagues are reported safe,” said Victor Makari, the PC(USA)’s area coordinator for the Middle East, on July 18. “This includes pastors in southern Lebanon very close to the border with Israel. All our colleagues (in Lebanon) are stuck in their homes, some sleeping in hallways away from windows and outside walls.”
The violence between Israel and Hezbollah, which began July 12, has claimed the lives of 210 Lebanese and 24 Israelis as of July 18, according to media reports.
Nuhad Tomeh, a PC(USA) mission worker in Lebanon, was in the United States when the fighting broke out and was scheduled to remain through the end of July. Tomeh serves with the Middle East Council of Churches and is the PC(USA)’s regional liaison for Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gulf region.
Presbyterian work in Lebanon dates back to the 19th century and the PC(USA) continues close ties to its partner church in the nation, National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon. The denomination also maintains partnerships in Lebanon with the Lebanese American University of Beirut (which it founded) and the Near East School of Theology (NEST). The PC(USA), along with the Reformed Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church, supports the mission service of Jon Hoover, a professor who teaches at NEST. He serves in Lebanon with his wife, Jacqueline.
The PC(USA)’s Jinishian Memorial Program, an endowed relief and development program that serves Armenian communities in several countries overseas, works in the Armenian Quarter of Beirut. Its entire staff is safe, Makari said.
Makari reported that conditions are calm in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where four PC(USA) mission workers and others related to the PC(USA) serve. The denomination’s seven mission personnel assigned to Egypt are also safe, he said.
