An update from the Chandlers

Transcription

1 An update from the Chandlers Life Away from the Nile... December 2013 Please let us know if your address has changed, as this is our only point of contact with you Greetings to each of you on this first week of Advent! We hope this finds you all doing very well as we enter this busy holiday season. We are most grateful for all your communications and ongoing financial support. Many of you have asked about our support need during our sabbatical. We treasure your financial support as it is our only form of income. We are into our sabbatical with the Episcopal Church (which takes us into April 2014) after ten years in Cairo, Egypt. It has been wonderful to see a number of you during this period already and we look forward to connecting with more of you as well. We just finished a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with both kids here and also Ross, Britelle s fiancé. It was the first Thanksgiving we have had altogether for quite a few years. So far it has been a busy sabbatical time and below we will tell you more about it. However, first a few words about Egypt. Ongoing Trials of Egypt As many of you have observed, sadly, Egypt continues to be in great travail. Following the military coup d etat this last summer, that ousted the elected president, Mohamed Morsi, who was from the Muslim Brotherhood, there has been an ongoing conflict between the Islamists (those who see political governance through the lens of Islam: i.e. Muslim Brotherhood) and those that supported the military s coup d etat: moderate Muslims, Christians and secularists. There have been continual protests and demonstrations, and also some bombings and attempted assignations. This led the military to crack down unnecessarily hard on the Islamists, leading to all sorts of human rights violations, including new restrictions such as outlawing group demonstrations, even peaceful ones, limiting freedom of the media, etc. Egypt s interim rulers have killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and arrested most of the group s leaders in a bid to quell unrest and dissent following Morsi's ouster. Initially, those who supported the military leadership and opposed the Muslim Brotherhood were united, but now that unity has come undone, due to the army s hard crackdown, which has actually arrested and

2 jailed some of the 2011 Egyptian revolution s heroes, such as activist Ahmed Maher, a cofounder of the April 6 Youth Movement, that spearheaded the revolution. Today, for example, the news reports that the youth activists, who were the catalysts behind the revolution over two years ago, have come out into the streets and a new confrontation is beginning over the ongoing injustices caused by the interim government s military leadership. Many feel that there is more oppression by the current interim military-led government than before the revolution under former president Hosni Mubarak. The story of Egypt continues and is certainly not over. One thing going on behind the protests and throughout ongoing conflict is the drafting of a revised constitution. The 50-member committee responsible for amending the Egyptian constitution finished voting on a new draft of the charter last Sunday evening. The most important revisions relate to the upcoming elections, including putting forward an electoral timeline. A national referendum to approve the amended constitution is scheduled for January Interestingly, one of the members selected for the constitution s draft committee is the renowned Egyptian contemporary artist who has been a central part of our CARAVAN interfaith art movement from the beginning, Mohamed Abla. His focus on the committee has been on freedom of thought and expression and preserving Egypt's Coptic (Christian), Pharaonic and Roman heritage, and eliminating prison sentences for individuals based merely on their dissident ideas. Abla has been a strong proponent of the January 25 revolution since 2011, when he organized art workshops for young artists throughout the 18-day uprising that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. His artwork has mirrored the tumultuous transition following the revolution. In January 2012, he launched a Facebook exhibition entitled "Wolves," in which he represented security forces and army soldiers as beastly wolves, in reaction to violent attacks on peaceful protests. Paul-Gordon will see him in two weeks when he is in Egypt (more below on this). In this regard, he has been on the phone with people in Egypt almost daily. FAMILY Update: Paul-Gordon has been traveling every week since being back in the US. First, he was gone to London where the CARAVAN art exhibition from Egypt had traveled, being exhibited at St. Paul s Cathedral. That went wonderfully with over 120,000 people visiting the exhibition focused on building peaceful bridges between Muslims and Christians. Following the exhibition, Sotheby s helped to lead a charity auction of the painted donkeys (artwork) by Egypt s premier artists. Overall, through sales and 2

3 the auction of the painted donkeys, over US$ 115,000 was raised to support both grassroots charities in Egypt serving the poorest of the poor and Egyptian contemporary indigenous artists that have Christian-Muslim relations at the core of their creative work. Since then, Paul-Gordon has been traveling through the US guest speaking (preaching and lecturing) about how we in the West can more effectively build bridges with our Muslim brothers and sisters, both here in the US and in the Arab world learning from our experiences in Egypt. These talks have taken him around the country to places such as Charleston, Kansas City, New York, Jacksonville, etc. Preaching at old St. Paul s Church in Baltimore One special highlight for him was speaking to over 200 Muslim students at Emory University of Atlanta as the special guest at their Muslim Student Association event. His talk was about how the Jesus of the Gospels can serve as the model for loving each other, Christian to Muslim and vice-versa. It was followed with a response given by a wonderful local Imam and it was truly as special occasion. Delivering a Public Lecture in Kansas City Another major focus for Paul-Gordon has been working to finish two books that he is writing. Both books have to do with building bridges between the Middle East and the West, and their creeds and cultures, build on our experiences in the Middle East. The first book has the working title In Search of a Prophet: A Journey through the Spirituality of Kahlil Gibran focusing on the spiritual journey of Kahlil Gibran, the early 20th century Lebanese writer and mystic of Christian background (best known in the West for his book The Prophet ). The book will highlight what his spiritual journey and discovery have to offer us today. Paul-Gordon s field research for this book over the last five years took him to all the places integral to Gibran s life journey various places in Lebanon, Boston, Paris, London, New York City, and Savannah, Georgia and Mexico City (where the largest collection of Gibran writings and paintings are held). The depth of Gibran s spirituality was profound and his journey and work have much to offer us at this moment in time. The Mexican-Lebanese actor Salma Hayak is producing a film of Kahlil Gibran s book The Prophet and Paul-Gordon is hoping to publish his book around the time of the film s release in the US during the later part of The second book is a much shorter book titled Six Pillars Builds a Bridge (Between Christians and Muslims). It is a guide to a fresh and creative approach to encouraging interfaith friendships between 3

4 Muslim and Christians (East and West) that focuses on building on all the commonalities between the two, that wages peace on each other. The book uses the essential Muslim practices of faith (the five pillars of Islam, plus the true understanding of Jihad) as our guide. It is actually an expanded version of a lecture Paul-Gordon has given throughout the US and UK in universities, churches, mosques, interfaith centers, and seminaries, etc. Paul-Gordon is also actively coordinating the 2014 CARAVAN interfaith art initiatives (see below) and this takes him to Egypt in a couple weeks. Lynne This autumn has been a gift to savor for Lynne. She has loved being near family, soaking in nature, making music and took on the project of several months of research for the book Paul-Gordon is writing about Kahlil Gibran. She emerged from the cave of blurring documents just in time to get to hear Britelle sing Faure s Requiem in Tulsa and do a bit of wedding planning. The whole family (including future bonus son Ross!) will be together for Christmas. Britelle Senior year is whizzing by for Britelle. Life is full of singing, harp practicing, classes, friends, wedding plans, volunteering, church and now anticipating graduate school in Chicago next year at DePaul University where she will study elementary and special education. Ross will be pursuing further education in engineering and is in the process of applying to Chicago schools as well. He is busy with classes, volunteering, sports, cello playing, a part-time engineering job, and now a NASA project that will hopefully make it to the international space station one day! Ross, Britelle and Treston (and Hummus the rabbit) Treston has almost completed his first semester of college and has enjoyed his classes, professors, roommate and job. He is working as a statistician for school sporting events and has declared a double major in History and Politics. It has been a treat to be on the same continent, let alone be close enough to visit for football games (his roommate is on the team) and have him home on longer breaks! 2014 AMEN A Prayer for the World Over the last ten years in Egypt our experience demonstrated that the Arts can be one of the most effective ways to build bridges between the Middle East and the West, and its creeds and cultures. This is why Paul-Gordon founded the intercultural and inter-religious arts movement CARAVAN that among other programs, each year organizes a major interfaith arts festival and/or exhibition with the focus on encouraging Muslims & Christians to journey together through the Arts. Each year the CARAVAN exhibition brings together Egypt s premier visual artists, together with gifted and up-andcoming artists, with noted Western artists, to build respect, increase understanding and encourage friendship between not just the artists, but between all those who benefit from the CARAVAN arts programs. 4

5 As Egypt continues is struggle to find its path into the future, our next CARAVAN exhibition (the 7 th ), which Paul-Gordon is organizing and curating, has the theme AMEN A Prayer for the World. The idea of the 2014 CARAVAN art installation is to express the deep, fundamental human acknowledgement of power and hope in the universe, for all peoples. It is a response to which connects us all, inspires us, leaves us awestruck and is that same force that we turn to in different ways when we cry out for help and comfort. This commonality is a bridge that which binds us universally. We may have alternative ways to express how we interact with or worship God, but what unites us, from East and West, is that we have all experienced moments of prayer, sought answers, or looked for an ally or a confidant we can trust, or sent out a hope, a wish for ourselves or loved ones. To express this state of prayer, reverence and submission we have chosen the human form in (slightly larger than life-size) 3D fiberglass in a variety of 4 poses that have been sculpted specifically for this exhibition by the noted Egyptian artist Reda Abdel Rahman (who sculpted the donkey form used for the popular 2013 CARAVAN exhibition). Rather than having just one form, the 4 poses/forms give life and dynamism to the installation when grouped together whilst also echoing human diversity, community and the many forms that prayer can take. In addition, each pose loosely references a common prayer pose from each of the main monotheistic religions and the fourth reflects the revelation, peace and wonderment that prayer can bring to all. Since prayer has been a constant throughout human existence and the CARAVAN is about creating a bridge between East and West, with a focus out of Egypt, the facial model for the form is Amun of the 11th dynasty (c. 21st century BC). Amun is considered the first to develop religion toward a virtual monotheism, long before Abraham. The faces in the sculptural forms are communicated as the modern essence of Amun. Ancient statue of Amun in Egypt Modern essence of Amun for the face of the 4 sculptures 48 premier Egyptian and Western visual artists have been invited to participate in what will be a truly unique public art exhibition in both Cairo, Egypt and a large city in the US (still to be confirmed). As an artistic group from the Middle East and West, they are making a statement that they are together praying for peace, justice and well-being for all in our world. Each participating artist will be given one 5

6 fiberglass Amun sculpture (one of the four positions see below) to paint/decorate as they wish. On the opening night, all the Amun figures painted by Egyptian artists will be on display at the Opera House grounds in central Cairo. Following their exhibition in Cairo, they will join all the other Amun figures painted by Western artists for a joint exhibition at a major art venue in a large city in the US. After that initial public exhibition in the US, the exhibition will be offered to art venues in other major US cities, so that it will become a travelling exhibition for the next 12 months. Amun and Amen A Symbolic Connection Some have tried to make the case for the word Amen being a derivative of the Egyptian deity Amun (which is sometimes also spelled Amen). Even though there is no academic support for this theory, and the words Amun and Amen are different, it has been argued that they may be certainly seen as related symbolically since the Egyptian word, "amun" means "contentment," while the Greek word, "amen," means "truly", "surely," or "let it be." When we compare the Egyptian word "amun" (contentment) with the word, "amen" ( so be it ) reminds the viewer of these painted/decorated figures that whenever we conclude our prayers for our world (symbolized by the word "amen") we are affirming that we are content that our prayers will surely be heard. Commonly used to conclude Christian and Muslim prayers, Amen, is an affirmation of faith and an assertion that our prayers will be heard and answered. Amen, in Judaism, is commonly stated as a response to a blessing; it is also often used as an affirmation of a declaration. The Four Poses All are meditative poses contemplating the universe, human existence, human experience and responding to that which is greater than us. 1. Sitting on the floor, with legs tucked under, resting on heels. The pose is one of reverence and contemplation/ meditation. Typically Muslim. 2. Sitting on a chair, slightly forward, head bowed. Common prayer position for Jews, and also for Muslims not able to perform their standard practice. It is also a general pose of meditation and contemplation for Christians. 3. Standing, head bowed, hands held in front of the torso. Typically; Muslim, Jewish and Christian. 4. Standing, head back, arms out to the side, palms upward. This can be seen as a celebrative pose, one of revelation and of having received the answer or can be seen as a pose of openness and submission. 6

7 NEXT STEPS FOR US During this sabbatical we are working with the mission personnel leadership at the Episcopal Church as to where we are to serve next, building on our experiences and time in Egypt. We treasure your prayers with us during this time of discernment. AN ADVENT REFLECTION (by Lynne) As the season of Advent is whispering its themes of hopeful longing once again, it is offering us an invitation for spiritual reflection and exploration. Advent does not have the dramatic glitter and glow of Christmas and can easily be overlooked in the busyness of the season. But its call to active waiting is a gift simply awaiting consent. Have you ever had a dream so great you ve announced it to all your family and friends, only to have it dissolve over time into an illusive yearning? Or perhaps a dream buried so deeply within you that you ve pushed it back into silent submission every time it s made a conscious appearance? I wonder at the Gospel of Luke s story of the elderly man Simeon s longing for the Christ-child. Was it front and center of an ancient bucket list of dreams? Or was it a silent longing, the thought of a promise or gift too precious to verbalize for fear it might never come to be? Did it first emerge in his spirit quietly as a dream, a hope, a wondering? When the heights and depths of life s joys and sufferings carved deeply into his soul did his yearning deepen? Did he ever feel a sense of urgency or face the dull ache of despair? The fact that we are only given a brief glimpse at the end of Simeon s story rather than year upon year of biographical details does not drain it of its strength. Regardless of the details of his possibly very ordinary life, we get to see him cross the finish line of his marathon of waiting, wishing, hoping. Any second-guessing of himself, or his dream, is thrown to the wind in the culminating appearance of the infant Jesus brought by his parents to the Temple to be consecrated to the Lord one ordinary day. As a mother I ve often wondered why Simeon felt the need to do more than celebrate the moment with Mary and Joseph. Why did he have to forewarn Mary of the sword that would pierce her heart? Yet his words seem to have stemmed from an inner conviction that he needed to give voice to this divine message. As non-politically correct as it appears, after all Mary had been through, perhaps it was something she simply needed to store away in the depths of her being. Would the knowledge of this spiritual seer comfort her when the time came to face it? Some dreams or longings are ready to be put into words and some are not. Some must wait for expression, for the moment when life winds its way to a place where they can be recognized for what they are: the gift of heart dreams placed into receiving arms. At that moment, echoing layers of yearning suddenly merge into a dream in full motion, fully present. 7

8 Having the opportunity to live out my own Walden Pond experience this autumn in the midst of major life transitions has been a gift beyond measure. To live surrounded by God s natural creation has been to me the living gift of a sustained spiritual longing. It has offered simplicity and abundance, the food of quiet waters and green pastures. It has provided sustainable strength to live in the face of uncertainty. Watching deer, coyotes, rabbits and birds thriving off the provision of food divinely woven into creation has been an inspiring reminder of care so generously given. Our daily bread physical, emotional, spiritual awaits our discovery each and every day. It is not a once and for all seeking and finding but rather an invitation to explore, within and without, to journey and celebrate with wonder the mundane and the miraculous. It is about listening and receiving and trusting that our lives will naturally overflow God s goodness with the measure we have been given. And that provision is abundant, our source rooted in eternity. Whether the way is brightly lit or cloaked in deep shadows, our Creator is good, always. Our Creator is present, always. Our Creator is generous, always. With the Advent reminder of an everlasting dream we are invited into this changing season of hopeful wonder, of active waiting, to explore the path that leads to the heart of life, the gift of Emmanuel, God with us. DEPTH FROM THE MIDDLE EAST: From Kahlil Gibran, the early 20 th Lebanese writer, artist and mystic of Christian background: For in one soul are contained the hopes and feelings of all Mankind We wish you all a profound Advent and a blessed Christmas season. May the joy of the angels, the humility of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, and the peace of the Christ child be among God s gifts to you this Christmas! We are so very grateful for your ongoing support, prayers and encouragement! Warmly, The Chandlers (Paul-Gordon & Lynne) Leschandlers@cs.com Personal Address in the US: The Chandlers / P.O. Box 360 / Winfield, IL / USA We treasure your ongoing financial support as our support level is substantially lower than our need at this time! TO SUPPORT US FINANCIALLY: *Please make your checks payable to: Anglican Frontier Missions 1791 Cambridge Drive, Suite 200 Richmond, VA IMPORTANT--Write "for Paul-Gordon and Lynne Chandler" on the memo section of your check. Thank you for your support! 8