Thursday, November 7th - 6:15 pm -8:30 pm
Doors open at 6:00 for light middle eastern refreshments
First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh
5401 Centre Avenue (Fifth and Aiken)
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
This event is co-sponsored by First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh’s Initiative in Response to the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, and Friends of Sabeel North America, Pittsburgh Chapter.
The focus of the evening is to:
Understand the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of Palestinians and other Middle Eastern voices.
Reflect on theological and political narratives that give rise to the silence of the Christian church and U.S. unquestioning support of the state of Israel
Learn about Christian Zionism that distorts scripture by privileging Judaism and Jewish rights over those of Palestinian Christians and accommodates to destruction of the Palestinian people.
Hear about the work of Christian organizations advocating for justice for Palestine.
Be inspired to advocacy and action for the liberation of the Palestinian people while simultaneously standing against antisemitism.
Keynote Speaker:
Rev. Dr. Don Wagner
Don Wagner grew up in an Evangelical Christian Zionist background and attended Westminster College and then Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) minister who served three churches before leaving pastoral ministry to work on Palestinian advocacy full time. Dr. Wagner served as the National Director of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign (1980-89), Director of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding in the early 1990s and as Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Director of the Middle East Studies Center at North Park University from 1995-2010. He was then the National Program Director for Friends of Sabeel North America until his retirement in 2017.
Dr. Wagner has written six books including a critique of Christian Zionism, Anxious for Armageddon (Herald Press, 1995); a reflection on Palestinian Christianity, Dying in the Land of Promise (Fox Communications, 2003); and a memoir, Glory to God in the Lowest: Journeys to an Unholy Land (Interlink Press, 2022). In the wake of the genocide in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, the memoir has been revised and published in a 2nd edition under a new title, No Place Left to Go: Why Palestine Matters
Panelists:
Dr. Bob Ross is a Professor of Social Justice Studies and Community Engagement in the Department of Literature, Culture, and Society and the Department of Community Engagement and Leadership at Point Park University. He is on the steering committee of the Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA). And he has written numerous articles about Palestine, Israel, and the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions movement. He is currently writing a book for on the role of American churches in the South African anti-apartheid movement, forthcoming from Fordham University Press.
Lisa Bender is Co-Chair of United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR), an international grassroots organization that advocates for peace with justice in Palestine/Israel, where she also leads their Boycott and Divestment Committee. She was a delegate to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2024, and served on the Northeast Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy from 2016-2022. She holds a Master’s Degree from The Pennsylvania State University and an undergraduate degree from West Chester University. Lisa is married to Rev. D. Wayne Bender, retired Elder, and they are active at Grace UMC, Harrisburg, a Reconciling Congregation. They have two sons, one of whom married a Palestinian.