Our Diversity is Our Strength

A Letter from Elmarie Parker, serving in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and the Gulf States

Spring 2024

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Dear partners in ministry,

In early December 2023, we gathered in the community center of a rural village located in upper Egypt in the governate of Minya along the Nile River. Our PC(USA) leadership delegation of eight had the privilege of hearing from a variety of community members who had benefited from the development work of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS). CEOSS was created in the 1950s by several different Egyptian protestant denominations, including the Synod of the Nile which is the local Presbyterian Church in Egypt. CEOSS seeks “…to improve the quality of life for the poor and marginalized citizen, whoever [they are] and wherever [they are], while working to provide decent and sustainable living opportunities for the people of the country within the poorest villages and slums, with a focus on the most needy groups such as women, youth, people with disabilities and children.” For more information, visit https://ceoss-eg.org/?lang=en.

Official Egypt governorates. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Egypt.

We heard many things from the local community who gathered with us. What impacted me the most was hearing the testimonies of those impacted by the civil society development work facilitated by CEOSS staff. We heard from young people, Muslim theology professors at al-Azhar University in Cairo, a local Presbyterian pastor, journalists, Scouts, and a representative from the Ministry of Culture.

Through their stories a theme emerged—they were drawn to participate in this work as they saw the good things CEOSS and those with them were doing in the community. They wanted to be a part of it. Their remarks were all grounded in the core principles of citizenship they had internalized through participating in the civil society development work facilitated by CEOSS. Those paraphrased principles are:

• We are all in the same ship; we sink or float together.
• Love of one another and toward one another is essential to keeping us together (and not polarized into our own camps, whatever they may be).
• Being actively engaged in our community is essential to the health of our community.
• Our diversity is our strength!
• Economic development that benefits everyone is essential for mutual thriving.
• Accepting our differences creates space to discover common ground and work together for our collective good.
• We are all equal with one another.

From left to right – Professor of Politics, Presbyterian Pastor, Sunni Imam and Theology Professor, Scout Leader, and Sunni Preacher sharing a light moment.

We learned how the professors and pastors are using sports to bring their two communities together. They engage the above principles by asking what participants learned through the game about citizenship at the end of each game. The religious leaders emphasized the need to use their positions for the good of the wider community—this especially was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic when they worked together to help people have accurate information about the pandemic and how to protect each other’s health. The Presbyterian pastor, Rev. Peter, highlighted how the citizenship journey has helped him learn to mitigate conflicts and even to see that through conflict communities can discover what is energizing them and begin to work together for solutions. Sunni preacher, Ms. Rahem, shared how the training helped her to launch an interfaith youth initiative and to even see her own family through different eyes. Another professor shared how the experience has shaped his research work. Now, every year his 1,200 students have an opportunity to participate in what he called a “cultural salon.” This was initiated by 13 of his students to create a space where discussion can be had around the concept of belonging and the political changes needed to facilitate this. The journalist shared how she produced a book of local biographies to help dispel prejudices. She played off the idea that “…one can’t judge a book by its cover.” And the Scout leader shared how these principles are helping the troop she leads develop in their character and even how the principles are changing her workplace.

The PC(USA) delegation with members of the village who shared their stories with us. Delegation members from left to right are Elmarie Parker, Sara Lisherness, Philip Woods, Dianna Wright, Laurie Kraus, Luciano Kovacs, Tamron Keith, and Magdy Girgis

I found myself wondering, what could happen in our American communities if we cooperated as churches to offer this type of civil society development opportunity in each of our locations? I found myself wondering if it might be possible for some of our CEOSS friends and their participants to come and share more of their wisdom with us and encourage us in the work we are called to in our own cities, states, and nation.

What do these stories stir in you? How might we take some next steps together? I remain so very grateful for your partnership and would value having this kind of conversation with you.

We were greeted by the whole village. Picture courtesy of CEOSS

On another note, I am intending to be available to visit with congregations, presbyteries and synods in the Ohio/Pennsylvania/New York area in late June through July, and with congregations, presbyteries and synods in the southeastern part of the U.S. in mid-August through September. Please let me know if you would like to host me and hear an in-person update on the work of our partners in the region, my work, and the work of our Middle East/Europe Office in collaboration with other colleagues from the Presbyterian Mission Agency and Office of the General Assembly.

Pressing onwards in Christ’s Service Together,

Elmarie