Near East School of Theology (NEST) — February 2023 Update
Lebanon
Changing the prevailing culture, one graduate at a time
When the Rev. Sally Azar was ordained on January 22, 2023, by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, the Church of the Holy Redeemer, in the Old City of Jerusalem, was packed. Rev. Azar becomes the first Palestinian woman to receive that honor. She joins a small cadre of Protestant women in the Middle East ordained to Word and sacrament which was “founded” in 2017 with the ordination of Rev. Rola Sleiman of Tripoli, Lebanon. This small, but visionary group of women have an important thing in common: they are all graduates of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, which on November 11, 2022, marked its 90th anniversary.
NEST’s President, Dr. George Sabra, shared this reflection…
Since 1932, our School of Theology has experienced difficult and prosperous times; it faced many a crisis in the country and the region. Born under the French mandate over Lebanon, NEST has gone through World War II, Lebanon’s struggle for independence (1943), the Arab-Israeli War and the catastrophic consequences of the establishment of the State of Israel (1949), the ensuing Arab-Israeli conflicts, invasions and occupations up until today, the civil strife in Lebanon (1958) and then the Lebanese War (1975-90), and the tension and instability in Lebanon during the Syrian hegemony of the country (1990-2005), as well as the repercussions of the “Arab Spring” in neighboring countries. The list is endless, but NEST withstood all those events and crises and has continued to serve the churches of the Middle East by providing ministerial training and theological education and promoting ecumenical relations among Christians and Christian-Muslim dialogue.
We give thanks to God above all for enabling us to reach this day in the history of our seminary. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has accompanied and protected us with His Holy Spirit throughout nine decades. Without God’s faithfulness, our faithfulness to this institution, and the hard work of all who have overseen and managed it, taught and worked in it, this would not have been possible. We also thank the Middle Eastern Protestant Churches for continuing to believe in the mission of this seminary, as well as our many friends and partners all over the Christian world without whose faithful support NEST would not have survived in difficult times.
The Outreach Foundation is blessed by its friendship and partnership in Christ’s mission, with NEST and with each of those women pastors (the Reverends Sleiman, Kassab, Sabbagh, and Maktaby) who paved the way for Rev. Azar and who can provide counsel and advice and support for the challenging call ahead: to lead a changing Church in a largely-patriarchal society and in a region of the world where the presence of Christianity is rapidly dwindling amidst political instability and economic collapse.
We celebrate with the Church in the Middle East that we serve a God who continually reminds us of this: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)
Marilyn Borst
Associate Director for Partnership Development
Read more about the Near East School of Theology HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of NEST. All gifts of any size are welcomed for student scholarship support and general seminary operations. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.