May 7, 2020

Homebound Hope: Reflections on Four Levels of Home in the Shadows of Pandemic

by Brent Hamoud Humanity is spending a lot of time at home these days. Stay-at-home orders have largely limited us to private confines resulting in some staggering consequences: half the world’s population was under lockdown at one point, 9 out of 10  students have been left out of school and […]
May 31, 2018

Lebanese Politics: What is the Point? السياسة اللبنانية: لمَ التعب؟

By Elias Ghazal The recent parliamentary elections in Lebanon demonstrated that Lebanese politics is largely predictable, although not impregnable. The last time the Lebanese elected their political representatives was in 2009. Lebanese are overwhelmingly angry about the political corruption, economic stagnation, and social degradation in their country. Sectarian leaders from […]
May 17, 2018

The Faces of Displacement: A Story Much Closer than We Realize وجوه النازحين: قصة أقرب ممّا يمكن أن نتخيّل

By Brent Hamoud We tend to put faces on unfortunate things.  It is not a good practice but we do it anyways. Famine has African faces, terrorism Muslim faces, the drug trade Latino faces, and on it goes. So it is with human displacement where the faces of Syrians, Palestinians […]
March 22, 2018

Waiting: The Challenge of the Silence of God الانتظار: تحدي صمت الله

By Rupen Das I often find Holy Week a turmoil of emotions. It starts with the euphoria of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As the week progresses, there is a growing sense of dread. There is a sadness and confusion that permeates the Last Supper, followed by […]
December 14, 2017

O Jerusalem! If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes… آه يا أورشليم! يا قدسُ! لَيتَكِ عرَفْتِ اليومَ طريقَ السَّلام! ولكِنَّه الآنَ مَحجوبٌ عن عَينَيكِ… بقلم مرتان عقّاد

By Martin Accad These were Jesus’ words of lament, as he entered the city of Jerusalem, where shortly after he would meet his death on a Roman cross. The apostle Luke tells us in his account that Jesus wept over the city. But why did he weep?
March 9, 2017

Defacing the Image of God: The Children of War and Our Collective Human Failure

By Jesse Wheeler “For what purpose do we older folks exist than to care for, instruct and bring up the young?” – Martin Luther[1] The Children of War Martin Luther, the justifiably controversial father of the protestant reformation, poses the above question with regard to our collective reason for being. […]
December 16, 2016

Kerygmatic Peacebuilding (Part 2): What Does Peace Have to do with the Gospel?

By Jesse Wheeler Note: This is a difficult week to speak of peace. With heartbreaking tragedy in Egypt and unspeakable horror unfolding in Syria just a few hours away, peace now seems more than ever like an elusive dream continually beyond reach – all while I sit here feeling helpless […]
September 29, 2016

Is It for the Poor to Seek Justice and Liberation?

By Rupen Das I have been intrigued that nowhere in Scripture does God encourage or exhort the poor to seek justice. [1] Throughout the Bible, the responsibility for social justice and care for the poor and those on the margins of life is on society as a whole, on every individual. […]