A New Beginning for Our Sanctuary Doors

As we continue to celebrate our 65th year on Gladwin Drive we delight in the restoration of the beautiful carved wooden doors at the entrance to our sanctuary. This special anniversary project was made possible through the generous gift of a principal donor from our congregation, supplemented by additional donations from others. Together, these gifts have given new life to the doors, which feature the figures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel.

We will gather at 10:00 a.m. outside, under the roof at our front entrance, for a brief rite of re-dedication and blessing.

Michael, traditionally depicted as the protector and defender against evil, and Gabriel, the messenger who announces God's good news, remind us of God's presence, protection and promise.

As we bless these doors, we will also give thanks for all who have passed through them over the years, for the generations who have worshipped at Gloria Dei, and for all who will enter in the years to come.

May these doors continue to be a sign of welcome, and may all who pass through them encounter the love, grace and peace of God.

Why We Should Care About Palestine/Israel 

In my All Saints Sunday sermon, I highlighted that just as the saints of the past bore witness to the gospel, so too are we called to bear witness today. To bear witness means bearing witness to the suffering of our neighbours, whether they live next door or across the world.

Furthermore, we are called not only to offer the comfort of the gospel but also to speak out against the injustices that are at the root of that suffering.

I then drew our attention to the suffering of people in the land we call Holy – the people of Israel and Palestine. We are called to care about the plight of both Palestinians and Israelis because, if we believe that all people are made in the image of God, then we have a responsibility to speak out against actions by individuals and governments that violate our God-given human dignity. When we become indifferent to the humanity, dignity, safety and future of people living in Israel and Palestine, we lose something fundamental to the very character of our Christian faith.

Today, I want to offer two more reasons why what is happening in the Holy Land should matter to us.

1. Because Israel/Palestine is inseparable from the Christian story

Christianity did not emerge in a vacuum. Jesus was born, lived, taught, was crucified and was raised within a particular geographical, political and religious context. The land, its people, its religious traditions, its history of occupation and imperial domination, and its competing claims are not incidental to the biblical narrative.

In the Gospels, we read about Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho and other places located within present-day Israel and the West Bank. When we claim the biblical story as our own, should we not also care about the contemporary people – both Israelis and Palestinians – who inhabit its geographical and historical setting today? To disengage from what is happening in the Holy Land risks treating the biblical story as though it were detached from the actual people and places in which it unfolded.

2. Because the future of Christianity in its birthplace is at stake

Escalating Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank – including repeated raids on local businesses, the theft of livestock and the vandalism of vital olive groves – is making life increasingly insecure and untenable for Palestinians. Christian worship sites have also come under attack. Settlers have committed arson near the historic fifth-century Church of St. George and its Byzantine cemetery in the Christian town of Taybeh.

While the Christian population in the West Bank has been gradually declining for some time, partly due to broader political instability, the escalating settler attacks are contributing to an exodus of Christians from their communities.

The World Council of Churches has expressed concern that the decline of Christian communities could leave historic Christian places functioning more as museums for pilgrims than as places of living Christian faith.

What happens in Israel/Palestine matters to Christians because it raises fundamental questions about how we interpret Scripture, what kind of Church we are, and what kind of world our faith calls us to work toward.

That is why I am encouraging all of us to register attend the panel discussion on Israel/Palestine next Saturday at Lynn Valley United Church, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.  If you cannot attend in person, please register and you will receive a link to the livestream. 

Come prepared to listen, to learn, and to engage with perspectives that may challenge us. This is an important conversation for Christians to be part of.

Banner Image by Bayan Tayeh on Unsplash

Olive Branch Image by Lucio Patone on Unsplash

UPDATE: If you cannot attend in person, please register to receive a link to the livestream. 

In a time of deep polarization, how can Christians move beyond slogans and engage in the realities of Palestine and Israel with humility, compassion, and courage? Gloria Dei has partnered together with Lynn Valley United Church to explore this question. Come and take part in an eye-opening panel conversation exploring the complex intersection of faith, politics, history, justice, and peace. The event takes place on November 14 at 3:00pm, at Lynn Valley United Church, 3201 Mountain Highway North Vancouver. 

Doors open at 2:45pm and the event begins at 3:00pm. Click the button below to register today!

Come and join our panelists, Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Shadia Qubti, and Ron Dart for a thoughtful afternoon of listening and learning through honest conversation.

Learn more about the featured speakers below:

Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Ph.D. is Dean of the ALEPH Ordination Program, the Jewish Renewal Seminary. She currently teaches courses on the histories of Israel and Palestine, deep ecumenism, leadership, and modern Jewish environmental thought. Previously, she was Director of Inter-Religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vancouver School of Theology, where her teaching and community work brought Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Indigenous perspectives into conversation. An award-winning teacher of philosophy and religion, Rabbi Laura has written four books on philosophical reflection, spiritual practice, mysticism, and biblical ecology, including the recent Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals. She has also brought scholars together to create seven collaborative books, including Encountering the Other, Spirit of Reconciliation, Regional Conflicts and the Philosophy of Peace, and Multi-Religious Reflections on Friendship. A dual citizen of the US and Canada, Rabbi Laura lives in Vancouver with her husband, Charles, a musician and retired psychologist.

Shadia Qubti is a Palestinian-Christian born and raised in Nazareth who has worked in faith-based peacebuilding and advocacy initiatives through local and international organizations in Israel and Palestine for fifteen years. Her academic and public speaking interests focus on theological conversations between Palestinian Christian and North American Indigenous understandings of land, explored in her Masters thesis at Vancouver School of Theology. She seeks to develop a contextual decolonial approach through Palestinian land-based readings of biblical narratives, including recent work on the Nativity story and an upcoming exploration of Jesus at Gethsemane. As a Palestinian-Christian and member of a faith community, she grapples with theological responses amid genocide. She is particularly dedicated to amplifying the voices and perspectives of women and other marginalized communities, which led to the co-founding of the Women Behind the Wall podcast. She is currently working as the Community Engagement Animator at Trinity Grace United Church in Vancouver and serves as a Commissioner to the 45th General Council of the United Church of Canada.

Ron Dart taught in the Department of Political Science, Philosophy, and Religious Studies at the University of Fraser Valley (British Columbia) for 33 years. Before joining UCFV, he was on staff with Amnesty International in the 1980s where he was the pointperson for a variety of states in the Middle East that were known as violators (in various ways and means) of elementary and fundamental human rights. He has published and edited more than forty books, including Canadian Christian Zionism: a Tangled Tale, and is a regular contributor to Clarion: Journal for Religion, Peace and Justice. Ron also teaches Classical Studies at a graduate level at St. Stephen’s University, and just finished instructing a 4-month class on Homer’s Odyssey. In his spare time, he is an avid mountaineer. 

Our faith calls us to care for those in our community who are experiencing times of transition and healing. Turning Point House has welcomed a new cohort of women into their recovery program, and Gloria Dei - with the help of Lin P. prepared welcome baskets which we blessed last Sunday. We are making an appeal for donations so that we can continue to provide this encouragement and sign of God's care.  These baskets are very much appreciated!