Ramat Rachel Congress Hall, Jerusalem

Darmstadt, May 2001

Dear Friends,

The above scripture from Isaiah perhaps best expresses our time in the Holy Land. It was a pilgrimage in the truest sense of the word. We both wept and rejoiced, catching something of God's heart for Israel. And we came away gripped with a sense of awe like Jacob at Bethel: 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it... How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven' (Genesis 28:16?17 NIV). The God of Israel met with us, challenged and renewed us.

With this letter come our warmest thanks to each one of you for your support of the JERUSALEM 2001 CONVENTION: CHANGING THE FUTURE BY CONFRONTING THE PAST. To those who attended this repentance initiative, thank you for coming. And to those unable to make the journey, thank you for your prayers. You were with us in spirit. Later you will be able to relive it when a video of the repentance service is completed. May we also express our deep appreciation for the speakers, coordinators, Sar-El Tours, and friends behind the scenes, such as ICEJ and many others who with their advice, musical abilities and practical assistance helped to make the event what it was. God bless you all.

When just over a year ago the vision for the convention was born, neither Sister Pista nor anyone else fully realized the implications. We were convinced, however, that it was a unique opportunity to express publicly in Israel's capital city our deep sorrow for Germany's sin-laden past as well as for the prejudices and persecution in nearly 2000 years of Church history. During the Pope's visit to Israel, ordinary Jewish citizens were asking, 'Where are the Protestants?' So we were thankful that more than 700 Christians from over 25 countries, especially those of the Protestant tradition, joined us in April. 'We were astonished by the harmony of purpose experienced between people from different nations, different cultures, yet all drawn together by a common purpose - a desire to repent for what his or her country had done to the Jews,' to quote one delegate. The wider the spectrum of Christians represented at this act of repentance in Jerusalem, the more meaningful it would be to the Jewish people. Though not necessarily sharing the same theological views, we were united in repentance and in our desire to demonstrate our support for the Jewish people.

Reactions of Israelis were mixed. Some were frankly incredulous, finding it hard to believe that we had no hidden agenda. The majority, though, were genuinely touched. On the flight from Frankfurt to Jerusalem a yeshiva student exclaimed, 'You mean on board there are 161 passengers all headed for Jerusalem to say sorry! I'm fascinated. Tell me more.'

High-calibre speakers in theology, history and Jewish-Christian relations examined why historic Christianity failed, paving the way for the Holocaust. The silence of the Church during the Nazi era was an indictment on us. Was it because our Christianity had little to do with the gospel of love proclaimed by Jesus? Holocaust survivor David Faber implored us, 'Teach your children not to hate. Jesus taught love not hate.'

The climax was the repentance service on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, led by an international team of clergy. A hush fell on the gathering as Bishop Christian Zippert of Germany opened with a prayer to the Eternal Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying,

In attendance were over 1200, including 200 members of the Jewish community. A declaration repudiating antisemitism and signed by over 32,500 Christians in 36 countries was received by Rabbi Paul Laderman on behalf of the Jewish community with the assurance it would be permanently stored in the National Archive of the State of Israel.

Before the presentation Canon Philip Ward, son of a well-known Evangelical scholar, read the words:

As the Jerusalem Post noted, Jews and Christians were moved to tears during the service. At one point a Jewish man turned round to say to a weeping Englishwoman, 'Thank you for sharing our pain.'

Afterwards, a Holocaust survivor, holding up her arm with its tattooed Auschwitz number, declared, 'It did my heart good to be at the service.'

'It changed my life' was the response of a leading Israeli.

A messianic Jew from New York remarked, 'You can't imagine how I've longed to be here after reading last week's interview with Sister Pista in the Jerusalem Post about the event.'

Another messianic believer shared her impressions: 'I saw in spirit a well, and up from that well was a flow of liquid love springing up and bringing release, eventually overflowing and spilling all over the people and breaking bitterness and rejection.'

A former general of the Israeli police force later spoke of his deep-rooted aversion to Germans. When German dignitaries came, he would take leave for the day rather than act as escort. He would not even ride in a German car. Years ago Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, had urged his fellow Israelis to deal with such negative feelings towards Germans. Despite his efforts, the man was never able to overcome his antipathy entirely. Then came the repentance service, and, as he put it, 'the dark corner in my heart was cleared out'.

For all who were present at the service, the words of Rabbi Laderman will be unforgettable:

I humbly thank you on this sad day when we recall the evil that was perpetrated against our people in our lifetime, for being for us, the Jewish people, a light unto our nation, a light for us, that you have not forgotten and that you are contrite for the sins that have been committed against us...

He closed by stating: 'You seek God's blessing upon us. And therefore I ask that you rise that I may seek God's blessing upon you.'

As Rabbi Laderman then pronounced the Aaronic blessing, a South American lawyer sensed the breaking of chains binding his people for their role in persecuting the Jews at the time of the Spanish Inquisition.

'I believe, in some strange way, a page of history has been turned and we must now stand aside and see what God will do,' wrote an English intercessor.

An orthodox Jew hearing of the repentance conference remarked to Scandinavian participants, 'Perhaps this event will make Messiah come sooner.'

Another highlight of the convention was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. Silently we gathered in the Memorial Hall, a sombre building where the only light is the eternal flame, with the smoke spiralling upwards. The names of the concentration camps engraved on the dark grey floor were read aloud while a wreath was laid near a vault containing ashes from death camps' crematoria.

In the auditorium Christians of various nationalities expressed sorrow for their nations' apathy or even complicity during the Holocaust. One of the most compelling confessions was that of Bishop N. P. Phaswana of South Africa. What helped him to come to terms with the torture he underwent during Apartheid was a visit to Auschwitz. Having suffered himself, he could identify with the Jewish people. But in Auschwitz God convicted him, 'You are no different from the German people. Given the intimidation of the Nazi regime, who knows if you would have acted any differently if you had been in their shoes?' This realization helped him to forgive the whites, as well as see himself as a sinner in the sight of God. While studying theology, he had rejected Luther's antisemitic statements as a white man's problem. Now he concluded as a Lutheran, 'I have inherited their history. I accept the fact that Luther's hatred utterances directed to the Jews form part and parcel of Lutheranism. I accept and confess my guilt as a Christian with the Lutheran family.'

A parallel meeting was held in the Valley of Communities, where Mayor Ehud Olmert and Professor Shevach Weiss, former Speaker of the Knesset and currently Ambassador to Poland, warmly welcomed civic and religious representatives of German towns who had come at the initiative of Prince Albrecht zu Castell-Castell. Clergy, laity, members of religious orders, and mayors, their mayoral chains glittering in the brilliant sunlight, stood up one after the other to confess the sins of their towns. Several emphasised that in order to change the future, we first needed to confront the past, however painful. A delegate recalled wartime memories. On a January day in 1945 he was taken on the train with other children fleeing Upper Silesia. From the train window he saw hordes of wretched people. 'Who are they?' he asked the nurse accompanying them. 'Don't look out of the window' came the reply. He later learnt they were Auschwitz prisoners on the infamous Death March.

Mayor Olmert expressed the hope of building together 'a world of better understanding, of better relations, of mutual respect, so that never again in the history of mankind we will have to deal with the same terrible events which led to a Holocaust which almost destroyed entirely the Jewish people. We forget nothing and we forgive nothing [in Jewish teaching, only God or the victim can forgive], but we are a people with open hearts and we are looking to you on that basis, and we are hopeful that your spirit and your values will triumph everywhere in Europe and in your country.'

'We sympathize with the fact that you cannot forget,' a leading mayor acknowledged. 'But we appreciate your open-heartedness, and we will work with you for a better future.' 

The convention received widespread coverage by the press and television. CBN did a news report, and parts of the convention even appeared on CNN for 5-7 minutes, as we heard from friends as far apart as Leipzig, Cape Town and Texas. Key participants like Rabbi David Rosen of the Anti-Defamation League, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, were interviewed:

We are not only still bearing the wounds of the past but we are caught within a political reality that compounds that feeling of being threatened, being isolated, with feelings of hostility directed against us. And therefore, when Christians come in a spirit of sincere reconciliation and seek to establish a new relationship, that's very important for healing the Jewish psyche.

For us as sisters, the convention will always be memorable. Four weeks before the event, our founder Mother Basilea Schlink went to be with the Lord, having lived almost all her life for reconciliation. This repentance initiative was the fruit of her tears and prayers since the mid 1950s. Out of the conviction of our national crime she opened Beth Abraham, our guest house in Jerusalem for Holocaust survivors. Its dedication on April 18, 1961, coincided with the Eichmann trial. Significantly 40 years and one day later, on Yom Hashoah, the main witness of the Eichmann trial spoke to us: the Holocaust survivor David Faber. The deep love and friendship demonstrated by him and Janina Fischler-Martinho, the other Holocaust survivor who addressed us, was for us a token of God's mercy.

While in Israel, we gained a deeper insight into the sufferings and hopes of the Jewish people. It is impossible to forget the scenes at the Western Wall, where young and old prayed to the God of their fathers. In spirit we were united with His people as we meditated on God's eternal purposes for Israel during the convention's grand finale. The Russian Jewish bus driver of one group who was having heart trouble attended the celebration instead of going to the doctor's, as he had originally planned. He later commented, 'It was a beautiful afternoon. I especially loved the music and selection of texts. And by the way, my heart feels really great now!'

Israel is currently suffering not only from political turmoil but from a severe drought. At Mount Carmel, the scene of Elijah's contest with the priests of Baal and where he prayed for rain, we prayed at the end of our stay for both rain and dew in a verse composed on the spur of the moment:

Bless the land of Israel
With the blessings of the heavens,
Dew alighting on the ground,
Moistening parched fields and meadows,
Blessing them for harvest time,
Lord, we pray.

Only days later it rained heavily. Israel Meteorological experts called it a 'once-in-a-century phenomenon', as the rainy season was already over. Many others had prayed too. But for us, the rain was like a divine seal on the convention with its theme 'Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till he comes and rains righteousness on you' (Hosea 10: 12 NKJV). God was going to continue the sovereign work of repentance He had begun in our hearts. We sensed that the convention was not a conclusive event but marked a new beginning. Now it is up to us to spread the word to our families, our churches, our colleagues at work.

A Polish participant wrote afterwards: 'We learnt a great lesson of repentance. It is not a secret that Poland is an anti-Semitic country and that many, even in our protestant churches don't agree with this. We may realize what we have done when we meet people like David Faber. It is my desire to practise repentance in our daily life, in our churches and in our country. The hope is in God's Word - Romans 5:20 "but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."'

One prominent Israeli was especially impressed by the large turn-out of rank-and-file Christians. Though thankful for what was happening on higher theological levels, he was concerned this was not filtering down to the grass-roots level. A Canadian participant is now exploring the possibilities of increasing awareness, particularly in the area of education. She referred to David Faber's testimony. 'It helped me to see through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy the horror, torture, fear, rejection, degradation and isolation experienced by nearly every Jew during the Nazi regime. I also realized this did not happen in a vacuum but was the result of antisemitic teachings within the Church.'

Tragically, antisemitism is not a relic of the past. A German farmer related how his son recently came home from a scout meeting, saying, 'All that about the concentration camps is a lie, isn't it?' Hitler's Mein Kampf is a best-seller in the Arab world. In Jerusalem, a group of Germans attending the conference were greeted in German by a young Arab: 'Hitler is alive. Come again. Kill all the Jews.'

On the second night of the convention, which coincided with Memorial Day ceremonies, we could hear the sound of mortars and machine-gun fire in nearby Beit Jala and Gilo. The present hostilities are, as we were later informed by the American journalist David Dolan, rooted in the guilt of the Church. In the post-apostolic age Replacement theology maintained that Christianity had superseded Judaism. This was incorporated into the Koran, which purported that Islam supersedes both Christianity and Judaism. Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the third holiest site in Islam, will never be acceptable to the Moslems, as it calls into question the veracity of the Koran, which proclaims Islam's superiority over Judaism. Israel's rebirth as a state in 1948 is referred to as 'the catastrophe', and to this day the conquest of the Temple Mount is not taught in Moslem schools. 

A brief encounter in Tel Aviv with an elderly couple who had survived the Holocaust illustrates the need for an ongoing repentance. 'Can you tell me what I did wrong?' asked the woman. 'I was only 14 and lost my parents and four brothers.' The man, who had been deported to Siberia, wanted to bless us before we left and quoted the words of Psalm 22 - 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' In Israel there are still many broken, grieving hearts. They feel rejected by God. And it is our fault as Christians, especially those of us from Germany. As Gentile Christians we need to know that we have destroyed their image of God. Throughout the centuries Jews were forced to choose between conversion to Christianity and exile or death, and finally they were murdered en masse simply because they were Jewish.

In the introduction to the walk through the Via Dolorosa, Sister Eulalia observed, 'Gentile participation in the sufferings of Jesus began at the Via Dolorosa. And we must never forget that down through the centuries He has continued to suffer at our hands in His people as they were betrayed, mocked, beaten and sentenced to death.' Because of the few tourists in Jerusalem at that time, we dominated the scene. As our group of pilgrims, some 200-strong, formed a singing procession through the narrow streets comprising the Via Dolorosa, even the oriental bazaar was quiet. It was as though heaven and earth stood still to hear what Jesus means to us.

In a personal conversation a messianic Jew mused, 'No one survived the gas chambers to tell us. But who knows whether someone else was with them, as with Daniel's three friends in the fiery furnace - someone with 'the form ... like the Son of God' (Daniel 3:25 KJV)?' Eye-witness accounts tell of the Jewish people reciting Psalm 23 and Shema Israel as they went to their deaths like a lamb to the slaughter. God was with His people, as Isaiah writes: afflicted in all their affliction (Isaiah 63:9). And He is with them now, leading them on to the glorious future He has prepared for them. For this we pray.

The Sisters of Mary