CPTnet
Dec. 1, 1998
Lectionary reflection for Dec. 6, Second Sunday of Advent.
by Dianne Roe

Isaiah 11:1, 5, 6, 9 - A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots . . .. Righteousness shall be the belt
around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall
live with the lamb and the leopard lie down with the kid, the calf and the
lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. . . .They
will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full
of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Romans 15:12. And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one
who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles have hope."

Matthew 3:9 - Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our
ancestor'; for I tell you God is able from these stones to raise up children
to Abraham.
Attachment #1 for November 15, 1998.

International Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in
this declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,
jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a
person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under
any other limitation of sovereignty.

The message from Isaiah reiterated in Paul's letter to the Romans, and
proclaimed by John the Baptist to the Pharisees and the Sadducees is strongly
inclusive. Below is a letter about a compassionate listening project which
sends delegations of American Jews to the middle east to meet face to face
with Palestinian families. Light the advent candle for peace.

COMPASSIONATE LISTENING PROJECT
WEST BANK, GAZA, ISRAEL ; APRIL 8 - 23, 1999

AN INVITATION TO BE OF SERVICE

"There is a Jewish saying that we were given two ears but ony one tongue to
teach us that we should listen twice as much as we speak. The key to all good
human relations is in listening. For this reason, the work of the
Compassionate Listening
Project is peacemaking at its best, and also its most practical."

- Rabbi Phil Bentley

This project provides an opportunity to advance Jewish-Palestinian
reconciliation, to learn a powerful technique for conflict resolution, and to
help build an international constituency for regional peace-building
endeavors. Our upcoming April trip will be a mixed delegation - open to people
of all backgrounds.

Mid-East Citizen Diplomacy has been leading delegations to Israel, the West
Bank and Gaza since 1990. We have built respectful and trusted relationships
at every level of Israeli and Palestinian society, and extend an invitation
to you to join us in entering both societies very deeply to listen, learn and
build bridges of understanding. Our work focuses on bridging the gap between
Jews/Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza.

We believe that peace comes through the hard work of meetings one's enemy -
the human being behind the stereotype, and acknowledging one another's
suffering. Compassionate Listening as a tool for reconciliation is based on a
simple yet profound formula for the resolution of conflict: adversaries giving
the gift of listening. To help reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the
ability to understand the suffering of both sides.

Project Summary
We will spend two weeks in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Our journey will
begin in Jerusalem with an intensive training in Compassionate Listening. The
group will then listen to and dialogue with Israelis and Palestinians
representing the full spectrum of opinion within each society, including
grassroots and political leaders, professionals, peace activists, Israeli
settlers, refugees, religious leaders and Hamas. Part of our time will be
spent learning from and supporting Israelis and Palestinians already involved
in reconciliation efforts.

Our team of professional trainers will facilitate our group discussions, based
on our daily experiences in the field. Leading Israeli and Palestinian
professionals in the conflict resolution field serve on our Advisory Board and
will be actively involved with our delegation. Through our daily practice in
the field and our group sessions, participants will come away with a thorough
understanding of Compassionate Listening, which is applicable to all conflict
situations.

Project Staff: Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Leah Green, Carol Hwoschinsky and Larissa
Keet.

For further information including trip details, a sample itinerary from a
previous Compassionate Listening delegation, trip cost, financial assistance,
project staff, advisory board and application, please send your email address
t