Syria Lebanon Partnership - April 2021 Update
Of Peppers and Praise
For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up amongst the nations… Isaiah 61:11
Spring is here and many of us are delighted to anticipate the planting of our gardens. I live in an urban townhouse but my small balcony allows for a long, narrow planter that will soon be overflowing with basil, thyme, and rosemary. If your context is suburban, fast-growing zucchinis and tomatoes are likely in your plans. Have a bit of acreage? Sweet corn and lettuce will enliven your summer picnics' enjoyment, no doubt.
Garden analogies, like the one from Isaiah, are quite numerous in Scripture because this was the ubiquitous context for the original audience. In fact, the book of Genesis had not even completed its second chapter before God is planting a garden and dropping “man” in it to tend to it. But what is a “hobby” for us can be life-sustaining for others. Recently, our major partner in Lebanon---the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon---wrote to ask for help in funding a project which would assist 250 middle-class families from their congregations in Lebanon in planting vegetable gardens because they could no longer afford the cost of food. This once thriving nation had been brought to the verge of economic collapse by a convergence of the pandemic, government corruption, and the explosion in the port of Beirut last August.
Unemployment in Lebanon is 40% and the cost of food has risen 300%. As I got my head around that, I imagined what was likely NOT to make it into my “usual” grocery cart if that were the case here: milk? ground beef? toilet paper? A friend who teaches at a seminary in Beirut described her trip to the grocery store as being like going to a museum: you stare at the rare/pricey objects and then grab a cheap “facsimile” of it to take home. Rev. Rola Seliman, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Tripoli, Lebanon, succinctly summarized the situation: “the middle class is now poor and the poor have become destitute.” The Outreach Foundation quickly decided to underwrite the entire $11,000 project which will provide seeds and seedlings, fertilizer, and hand tools.
During Holy Week, I paid special attention to the Facebook posts of our “family” which is the Presbyterian Church in Lebanon. What would be their “demeanor” in the midst of all the struggle and hardship? Not surprisingly (but a necessary confirmation for this worried writer) and as you can see from the photos in this update, it was “business as usual.” Isaiah nailed it: God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up amongst the nations…
As in so many of the ways of faith, we have much to learn from the Church in difficult places, from those who do not forget to render praise….and then, if need be, go out to tend the garden.
In Resurrection Hope,
Marilyn Borst
Associate Director for Partnership Development
*Economic collapse in both Lebanon and Syria has put a tremendous strain upon the National Evangelical Synod to sustain its 40 congregations and their ministries as well as to pay the salaries of the pastors, both active and retired. We invite you to come alongside our family-by-faith by making a gift.
Read more about the Syria Lebanon Partnership HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $50,000 to continue its support of our Presbyterian family-by-faith in Syria and Lebanon during this difficult time. A small portion of this fund will assist related ministries in the region which care for refugees and other vulnerable segments of the society. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.