Ramallah Friends Meeting website
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Ramallah Friends Meeting (Quakers)
Ramallah Friends Meeting website
Fall 2016 Newsletter
Rediscover Ramallah Friends
We are pleased to announce the launch of our NEW WEBSITE. Take a few minutes to discover us again. Peruse through our updated photo gallery. Read the latest letters from the Meeting and from Friends of Ramallah Friends Meeting. Learn about the history of the Meeting, as well as its current ministries. Spiritual reflections will be posted monthly, so be certain to check back regularly. 

The Ramallah Friends Meeting is My Spiritual Anchor
by Sa'ed Atshan

It is difficult to put into words what the Ramallah Friends Meeting means to me. It is one of my favorite spaces on the planet- and it is a place where I feel at home, seek solace, and am able to find sustenance for my spirit.

While growing up in the West Bank, I spent countless hours walking around downtown Ramallah. I found myself often stopping in front of the Meetinghouse. It has its own gravitational pull. I thought about its rich history and how much has taken place in that building for decades upon decades. I admired it as a physical manifestation of peace and Quaker values. And I still do.

The Meetinghouse stands on Ramallah’s main street, surrounded by...

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Sa’ed Atshan is a  Steering Committee Member of Friends of Ramallah Friends Meeting (Quakers), member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace & Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College.
Jean Zaru at Kairos Palestine Conference in Sweden
Jean's Reflections on Active Nonviolence
At the conclusion of the conference, this moving proclamation was issued to Palestinian sisters and brothers: 

" We  hope with you for the awakening of the world. We work with you towards a world  free of occupation and violence. We choose with you, to see the face of God in 
every human being, but stand in resistance against all kinds of oppression. And  we pray with you for a just and definitive peace in the land that You call Home,  and we all call Holy."

  "Kairos Palestine - a moment of truth" was the subject of an August ecumenical conference organized by the Diocese of Lund in Sweden.

Jean was invited to speak about active non-violence as a sign of hope and about what she has learned from her Muslim neighbors.

Together with Robert Herbst of Jewish Voice for Peace and the Bishop of Lund, Johan Tyrberg, they explored the document's themes of Faith, Hope and Love.


Read excerpts from Jean's speech on nonviolence here
One Day...One Day
by Mai Zaru
A poem from a 4th generation Palestinian Quaker
In a swarming city, she was raised

What she witnessed, you’ll be amazed

For that little girl, violence has paved

A spark of pain, with flashbacks glazed

A wounded soul, and a heart engraved

Torn to pieces, knowing others were enslaved

 

Opened her hands and slept on a praise  

A mother of five, five kids to raise

How can a mother hold strong and stay?

When her only boy was taken away

By vicious souls, where are the light rays?

Humbled herself and continued to pray 


Clenched her hand and said, “one day”

One day, he’ll return she continued to say

Not comprehending that her hair turned grey

That there’s no chance he survived the slay

On the table, her hands splay

Her heart, to the light became a doorway... 

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Mai Zaru is a fourth-generation Palestinian Quaker and member of Ramallah Friends Meeting. She is the author of The Resonance of Our Footstep s and currently studies Special Education at Brigham Young University. 

The Historic Meetinghouse Receives a Facelift
This summer the Meetinghouse, its gardens and annex received much needed cleaning and routine maintenance.

The loving hands of a team of volunteers offered a thorough scrub and shine to a building which stands in the middle of a  highly trafficked and quite dusty section of main street.

While painting, roof repairs, plumbing and tree trimming were tended to by skilled professionals from Ramallah. This routine maintenance was overseen by Meeting Member, Waleed Zaru. You may recall that Waleed also volunteered as site supervisor for the major renovations of 2003-2005.

Throughout this time, we continued to welcome many visitors, church groups and theological students.

We look forward to a full fall and winter hospitality schedule, with Friends from the the UK, France, Sweden, Maine, Indiana, Minnesota and Colorado.

The Resonance of Our Footsteps

Young Friend and Ramallah Meeting Member, Mai Zaru, published her first book this summer. It is available from Amazon and on Kindle. Congratulations, Mai!

 “I simply want to say thank you. Thank you to this wonderful Meeting and to Friends around the world for allowing me to seek the Light through your presence and friendships. Thank you for the being examples that have guided me. This is the book I’ve written in hope that one day it may provide light for others. I am honored to speak as a Palestinian and portray the beauty of our culture. I hope you enjoy reading it and that you pass it on to others.”  +Mai  
Mai's Book Cover
Many Gifts, One Spirit
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The Spirit has offered us many gifts to share with the world. Despite the prolonged circumstances of oppression and conflict in which we find ourselves, our Meeting for Worship is full of vitality and delegations from five continents make Ramallah a stop on their travels, seeking the opportunity to dialogue with Jean on nonviolence.

Our mission, with your support, is to continue this important work in the belief that our Presence in this land, called holy, has meaning. Whether in the form of prayer or treasure, your many gifts are always received with joyous gratitude. Contributions to the ministries of Ramallah Meeting may now be made on-line or by check .    
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