The Liminal Space of Advent and Transitions

A Letter from Elmarie Parker, mission co-worker serving in the Middle East

Winter 2024

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Dear friends,

As we approach the Advent and Christmas Season, I find myself reflecting once again on that painful narrative that is part of our Lord’s birth story (Matthew 2:13-23)—the horror experienced by mothers and fathers as King Herod massacred all the baby boys under the age of two. What are we to do in the face of such brutal violence that leads to the death of many innocents? How do we hold that terrifying narrative alongside what is proclaimed in Luke’s gospel by the angel (2:10-12): “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

JCC staff and students offer art and play sessions for children traumatized by the missile attack targeting a home in the crowded Ein El Hilweh Palestinian Camp near Sidon, Lebanon. Photo courtesy of Sylvia Haddad.

I don’t have any profound answers to these questions. But as I sit with them, I am reminded again of Paul’s words in his letter to the church in Rome (5:8): “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Our siblings in Iraq say it this way: “While we were yet enemies of God, God in Christ came to us in love.” There is mystery here. Somehow God’s great love collides with the brutal violence we as human beings can rain down on each other, all at the cost of thousands of innocent lives. We remember that visceral collision every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And we remember something more every Resurrection Sunday—that though violence and death often feel they are the greater and final power, Christ’s resurrection tells us a deeper truth. It is God’s love that has the greater power.

I see that truth at work as I read updates from our partners in Lebanon and Gaza who continue to serve with love, lifting up human dignity, when the circumstances around them shout loudly the power of violence and death. Sylvia Haddad, executive director for the Joint Christian Committee (JCC) – serving Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, refugeed in Lebanon since 1950 – wrote on October 17: “At present [Dbayeh Camp—the only Christian Palestinian camp in Lebanon] is even busier as more than 105 families, many of whom have lost their homes, have sought refuge in the Dbayeh camp. Most are staying with relatives and friends who are mostly poor themselves. The JCC and its volunteers are a hub of activity, working diligently to provide some of the needs of these families. At present, and with the help of several local organizations, we have been serving hot meals for the last week and have distributed food boxes to help the host families care for their guests. We will soon begin programs that will help the youth and children cope with the difficulties they are facing at present. As families struggle to cope with the catastrophe that has befallen them, JCC is committed to offering whatever assistance and support it can. This support is critical to these families who are trying to hold on as the whole country is ignorant of what the future holds.”

There is a tenacity to God’s kind of love. It endures even in the face of brutal violence. It doesn’t lessen or remove the unconsolable grief that comes from bearing witness to the vicious deaths of innocents. But somehow it breathes strength into those who sit with unanswerable questions, strength to continue work that honors life in the face of death.

I am holding onto this truth as I prepare for the Advent and Christmas season in the midst of so much horror that unfolds every day. I am holding onto this truth that I see borne out in the lives of service our partners embody in the midst of so much pain.

In the Dbayeh Christian Palestinian Camp, JCC staff serve hot meals to help host families in the camp care for the internally displaced families they are receiving into their homes. Art and play therapy interventions are also offered to assist youth and children traumatized by displacement. Photo courtesy of Sylvia Haddad.

I now find myself living in the welcomed tension of continuing to accompany our partners in the Middle East while also entering into a new season of ministry with Scott. As many of you are aware, Scott and I have been serving in ministries located on two different continents for the past two plus years. This has been the right thing for both of us for that time. However, we are also realizing how deeply we miss sharing in ministry together in the same geographic place. So, I am thrilled that I have been offered a position with Church @ the Park (church-at-the-park.org) … the very same ministry through which Scott has been serving this past year. It will be a gift to serve alongside him again, and to be within half an hour of my mom on a regular basis.

At the same time, the work and life I have shared with all of you for more than 11 years is near and dear to me. Stepping fully away is not something I can do at a time when so much remains unknown about PC(USA)’s future national structure and when it is not clear whether the PC(USA) is able to move forward with hiring someone else to fill this regional liaison position, and even more so when our partners in Lebanon and the wider region are facing the daily horrors of an escalating war.

Thus, I am deeply grateful for World Mission’s and HR’s support and agreement, as well as Church @ the Park’s support and agreement, that starting October 21, I have moved to part-time in my Regional liaison role even as I started full-time with Church @ the Park. Right now, we are looking to keep this arrangement through the end of July 2025, hoping that by that time several things will be clearer about PC(USA)’s national structure and who partners of PC(USA) will then relate to.

In my part-time role, my primary focus will be continuing to serve as a relational and communication bridge between partners and the PC(USA). In addition, I will continue to work with my colleagues to move forward the grants that partners request through the Middle East/Europe office of World Mission/PC(USA). I will also continue to facilitate communication with all of you who have been faithful collaborators in this mission work with me and Scott since 2013.

So … it’s not yet time for good-byes to how we have known and worked together with me being in the role of PC(USA) Regional liaison. But it seemed good and right to share this transition with you all – even though it comes at such a painful time in the lives of our beloved siblings in Christ who have long called the Middle East home. I remain deeply grateful for the work we have shared together over the years, and the work that yet lies ahead. I have learned much from you when we visited in person with one another. And even more importantly, I treasure not only our mission partnership but also our friendship. I look forward to how our Lord will continue to weave our paths together, even though it will look a bit different in the future.

With much gratitude to God and affection for you,

Elmarie