PC(USA) webinar on ‘Confronting Christian Zionism’ is scheduled

Registration now open for the April 18 panel discussion

by Scott O’Neill | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The PC(USA)’s Christian Zionism working group, which includes PC(USA) national staff and members from its congregations, will present the first in a series of webinars centered on the topic of confronting and challenging Christian Zionism. The Zoom-based webinar is scheduled for noon Eastern Time on Thursday, April 18. Participants can register here for the online event.

The 216th General Assembly (2004) approved the “active opposition” by the PC(USA) “to Christian Zionism and the development of a plan to communicate the theological and political ramifications it engenders within our denomination, in the mass media, and among U.S. government officials.” The overture directed the Stated Clerk to inform government officials that Christian Zionism did not represent the majority of American Christians and the faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It also recommended the promotion of resources so that Presbyterians can become knowledgeable of the Middle East situation and its history and people.

The Rev. Marietta Macy

The webinar will focus on educating participants on how the Zionism ideology contributes to the violence Palestinians have experienced and the consequences of the settler colonial experience. Panelists invited to contribute to the webinar include the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian who is the academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour; the Rev. Marietta Macy, associate pastor of Christian Education at the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston in West Virginia; and Rabbi Brant Rosen of Tzedek (Justice) Chicago Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, an intentional Jewish congregation based on the core values of justice, equity and solidarity. The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Holder Rich, a Presbyterian pastor and member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, will facilitate the conversation among the panelists.

The Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac

“Our Palestinian partners are calling us to challenge a theology that reinforces and supports occupation, annexation and apartheid,” said Luciano Kovacs, area coordinator, Middle East and Europe, for the PC(USA)’s World Mission ministry. “This webinar is the first in a new series on the topic that will introduce the theology that contributes to the violence Palestinians experience on a daily basis and explore its connection to a settler colonial project that is having devastating consequences on the Palestinian people, including the Christian communities that have lived on the land for two millennia.”

Rabbi Brant Rosen

Real-time Spanish interpretation is available for this event. Participants are required to register here and will receive a confirmation email upon completion.

A landing page listing numerous multi-media resources on the current Israel-Palestine conflict can be found here.

For more information about Christian Zionism, including FAQs on its biblical, theological, and political implications, click here.