by Rev. Julie Brenton Rowe
Date: Wednesday, July 31 at 9:00 AM PDT
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Cost: Suggested donation $10 US.
We will offer this program free to those whose resources are limited.
How can we begin to understand the violent brutality that haunts the Holy Land today?
See through the eyes of an American Lutheran pastor who has spent years of her life dedicated to the people there that she grew to love. She worked on the ground in Jerusalem, Ramallah and other parts of the West Bank for four years as the Communication Pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and as Assistant to then-Bishop Munib Younan. This is a scrapbook of stories, photos, poetry, information and learnings about the incredibly brave and resilient Palestinians and Israeli Jews working for justice and peace in the Holy Land.
The violent reality in today's Holy Land will not stop until all voices are heard, honored and part of the solution. This is an introduction into a perspective that many have not heard. Learn through one woman's encounter and journey with the Palestinians and Israeli Jews working for a just peace in this blessed but bruised land.
About the Author
Pastor Julie Rowe is currently a Palliative Care Chaplain, a mother of two and a grandmother of six. In past lives, she has been a reporter, an international currency trader, a parish pastor, an international peace accompanier in Ramallah and a Lutheran missionary in Jerusalem for 4 plus years.
In Jerusalem, from 2004-2008, she was the Communication Pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and Assistant to then Bishop Munib Younan. She assisted with Bishop Younan’s English sermons, speeches, articles and statements. She helped develop the website, newsletters, videos and resources telling the story of faith and life under the Israeli military occupation. She also helped lead international delegations to introduce the people, faith, and harsh realities there to visitors. She worked with Palestinian Christians and Muslims, as well as Israeli Jews, who worked for a just peace in the region.
Julie created a personal scrapbook of writings, poems, photos, and learnings from behind the shadow of The Occupation, the Wall and checkpoints. She felt compelled to write it after the horror of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing devastation of Gaza, to do something, anything, other than watch helplessly. It was the fulfillment of a promise to tell the stories and the larger story of the Palestinian people she grew to love because they had asked her to. The stories are largely unknown or dismissed by the Western world as terrorist propaganda. She wrote it to bear witness to the struggle – and resilience – of all those peacebuilders there, in hopes of fostering understanding and contributing a drop of water into the sea of the journey to justice and peace.
About the Facilitator
Rev. Ann Helmke is an ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) who co-founded peaceCENTER in 1995, an all-volunteer, San Antonio based, interfaith organization.
Ann is the Faith Liaison for the City of San Antonio, TX, a community to which she has dedicated her time for the past 30 years. Prior to that she served as the Director of Spiritual Services at Haven for Hope, a transformational center for those without permanent shelter in their lives. Additionally, during those 30 years, she taught theology and spirituality at the University of the Incarnate Word and Texas Lutheran University, led workshops and retreats and was involved in mission development.
She co-authored several books and was involved with civic engagement from a social justice perspective.
Rev. Helmke considers Peace is Our BirthRight as her most important book which pales in comparison to the seven babies she is passing peace onto in her life: 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-love, 2 gorgeous grand-boys and 1 vivacious grand-girl!
