Page 28 - PC Fall 2023

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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2023
presbyterian.ca
Connection
The First Female Palestinian Pastor
St. James PC,
North Yarmouth, Ont.
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Sally Azar, the first female Palestin- ian pastor.
By Damaris Dilling, Communications Specialist, Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches
On January 22, 2023, Sally Azar was ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, mak- ing her the first female Palestinian pastor. In 2006, the Evangelical Church had laid the foundation for this by deciding that women could also be ordained.
Prior to this announcement, I arrived at the German Redeemer Church in the Old City of Jeru- salem, where I arranged to meet Sally for an interview. I could feel the hustle and bustle and the special atmosphere inherent in the days before this significant ceremony. A journalist from the German television channel ARD took a few photos of Sally and her father, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar. The liturgy for Sunday needed to be finalized, and the first guests from Germany had already ar- rived and wanted to have a few words with Sally. After a brief chat with Bishop Azar, Sally took me to the church café. We ordered two large cappuccinos and sat down in a quiet corner of the open courtyard of the old sanctuary. Despite the tension, Sally seemed relaxed and took time to answer my questions.
Sally grew up in the church be- cause her father was a pastor and is the bishop now. It is a second home for her. She attended chil- dren’s services and youth events here, and it was here that the de- cision matured in her to become a pastor herself. It was always clear to her that she wanted to work in a church context and with people. And many people around her rec-
ognized the potential of a pastor in her early on. But it was important for her to make the decision of her profession alone, regardless of other people’s opinions, and to have a wholehearted yes, not only to this profession, but to this calling. That is why it took her a while to decide for herself that she wanted to become a pastor. Her father was always a role model but he never interfered; he let her go her own way and make her own decisions. In the meantime, she was sure that becoming a pastor was her true calling.
Sally studied theology in Leba- non and in Germany. Neverthe- less, it was always clear to her that she wanted to come back to her home country after her stud- ies. Even though she felt very welcome and comfortable in the church in Germany, she felt at home in Jerusalem. Working with young people is particularly im- portant to her here in the Middle East conflict: “Young people grow up here with walls and check- points. They know nothing else and think that this is the norm. I also grew up thinking that borders and checkpoints are common- place. Only when I travelled to other countries did I realize that this is not everyday life in many parts of the world. I enjoyed this freedom very much and asked myself why this is not the case in my home country. Especially under occupation, young people need a place to recharge.”
Sally wants to do her best to help Palestinian Christians breathe a sigh of relief and cre- ate a home for themselves, even in these difficult times. She will be working in the Jerusalem and Beit Sahur communities, and she is looking forward to connecting the English church in Jerusalem with the Arab assemblies and building projects.
Of course, she feels the spe- cialness of being the first Pal- estinian woman pastor to be or- dained and thus also to be able to make a bit of history. But this cir- cumstance is not so important to her personally; she is much more touched by the joy of her fellow
people in the communities and society about this fact, coupled with the great cordiality and warm welcome that is shown to her.
In 2006, the Evangelical Lu- theran Synod decided that women could also be ordained. However, it took some time for society to accept this step. The communi- ties were prepared for this by the establishment of the Women’s Desk since 2008, where the equal- ity of women and men in the church and society was addressed. Sally commented that it was mainly the women in the churches who were against a female pastor, not neces- sarily the men. Now, the time has come and the church is pleased to announce that the first Pales- tinian woman pastor has been ordained. Not only as a woman pastor, but also as someone who is still young, there will be many challenges for her. But she is experiencing a lot of support from the church leadership. Sally assumes that the first years will be apprenticeship years, where she will also make mistakes. She fervently hopes that people will then associate these mistakes more with her as a person and less with her as a female pastor. One of her first ecumenical pro- jects, for example, was the World Day of Prayer at the beginning of March, in which women from every church participated.
In general, there are four or- dained women in the Middle East in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land—one in Syria and three in Lebanon. The first Syrian pastor is a close friend of Sally’s. They studied together in Lebanon, and she is also Sally’s mentor. Every- thing Sally brings with her now as a pastor is from her.
Sally smiled at me. She said she feels well equipped with, among other things, a strong in- ternational network at her back.
I am convinced that Sally will become a wonderful pastor. With her warm manner she will take the hearts of the members of the church by storm and will become a great enrichment for the Chris- tian Palestinian community.
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a long-time partner of the Middle East Council of Churches, and we celebrate this announcement.