Lent 4, Week of March 22, 2009
If you’ve read Pastor Mitri Raheb’s book, Bethlehem Besieged, you have heard about the art competition that was organized in 2002, during the Bethlehem curfew. The idea began when the Church of Sweden asked them for two paintings to be included in an exhibition, Christ of the World, at the Cathedral of Uppsala, which would then tour other churches and galleries in Sweden. The Swedish exhibition was to encourage the people in Sweden to look at their images of Christ and to start to think about them in a new way.
Pastor Mitri and the art coordinator Faten came up with the idea to hold a competition for the paintings to be sent to Sweden, but because of the curfew, it seemed a difficult undertaking—but one that had the potential to help Palestinian artists overcome their depression and imprisonment, a sort of creative resistance to the curfew, which kept th
e people of Bethlehem prisoners in their homes for five weeks. Thereafter, the curfew was reinstated periodically and between the announcement of the contest and the deadline for submissions, November 2002-February 2003, the town was under curfew continuously.
They used telephone and email contact to announce the competition and by February they had received paintings from all over the West Bank—Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. Some were well-known artists, some beginners. 60% of the artists were Muslim and all but one chose the crucified Christ as their subject, to represent the context they were living in.
Pastor Mitri writes: “It is the suffering and crucified Christ who can best speak to our occupied nation in our suffering. And it is he who can best tell our story to the world.” (Bethlehem Besieged, 109). Take a look at the paintings, Christ in a Palestinian Context exhibit: http://www.bethlehemmedia.net/photos_ed12.htm
And come hear Palestinian artist Samia Halaby talk about her work, Sunday, April 5, 3 pm – “Palestinian Resistance Art” at Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia, Denver (corner of Montview Blvd. and Dahlia) Free and Open to the Public—Light Refreshments served. Sponsored by Friends of Sabeel-Colorado.
O God, when you chose to be born in Bethlehem, you entered into our world and into our suffering. Give us courage to be witnesses to the suffering of all your people and let us become agents of healing and hope where we live and work. Amen.
If you’ve read Pastor Mitri Raheb’s book, Bethlehem Besieged, you have heard about the art competition that was organized in 2002, during the Bethlehem curfew. The idea began when the Church of Sweden asked them for two paintings to be included in an exhibition, Christ of the World, at the Cathedral of Uppsala, which would then tour other churches and galleries in Sweden. The Swedish exhibition was to encourage the people in Sweden to look at their images of Christ and to start to think about them in a new way.
Pastor Mitri and the art coordinator Faten came up with the idea to hold a competition for the paintings to be sent to Sweden, but because of the curfew, it seemed a difficult undertaking—but one that had the potential to help Palestinian artists overcome their depression and imprisonment, a sort of creative resistance to the curfew, which kept th
e people of Bethlehem prisoners in their homes for five weeks. Thereafter, the curfew was reinstated periodically and between the announcement of the contest and the deadline for submissions, November 2002-February 2003, the town was under curfew continuously.They used telephone and email contact to announce the competition and by February they had received paintings from all over the West Bank—Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. Some were well-known artists, some beginners. 60% of the artists were Muslim and all but one chose the crucified Christ as their subject, to represent the context they were living in.
Pastor Mitri writes: “It is the suffering and crucified Christ who can best speak to our occupied nation in our suffering. And it is he who can best tell our story to the world.” (Bethlehem Besieged, 109). Take a look at the paintings, Christ in a Palestinian Context exhibit: http://www.bethlehemmedia.net/photos_ed12.htm
And come hear Palestinian artist Samia Halaby talk about her work, Sunday, April 5, 3 pm – “Palestinian Resistance Art” at Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia, Denver (corner of Montview Blvd. and Dahlia) Free and Open to the Public—Light Refreshments served. Sponsored by Friends of Sabeel-Colorado.
O God, when you chose to be born in Bethlehem, you entered into our world and into our suffering. Give us courage to be witnesses to the suffering of all your people and let us become agents of healing and hope where we live and work. Amen.
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