Presbyterian Mission Agency

Beirut teens find pathway out of poverty

Unable to focus on their education while they work long shifts for below minimum wage, teenagers in Beirut are vulnerable to abuse, with little hope of escaping generational poverty.

The Jinishian Memorial Program in Lebanon has created a safe space where teens can study, get counseling and take part in vocational training to work toward their dreams. The Teen Development Program aims to empower girls who have been unable to complete their high school education because of social and financial hardships, thus paving a way through these challenges as they enter adulthood. Most importantly, the young women who participate grow in the confidence of knowing they are loved by God.

A letter from Scott and Elmarie Parker serving in the Middle East, based in Lebanon

November 2015 - My Middle East Springsteen Pilgrimage

From Scott:
I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan.  There’s something about his working-class ethos that I love.  Over the years I’ve made about seven road trips, or “pilgrimages” as I like to call them, to see Bruce in concert.

During October 2015 I made a different kind of pilgrimage:  I spent two weeks living with families in Northern Iraq who lost their homes when ISIS (pronounced Da3sh in Arabic) took over Mosul in 2014.  About half of that time was spent at a Presbyterian church in Kirkuk that houses about 15 displaced families (around 65 people).  I slept in the pastor's office, showered with a hose in the utility room, and since it was dangerous for me to be in public unattended, spent a lot of my time with the families that now call the church campus home.

The families living at the church took turns providing my meals, each time escorting me to a different “home.”  Families of four to six members live/eat/sleep in converted Sunday school classrooms (most still adorned with Minnie Mouse drapes).  I would typically be offered a seat on one of four beds pushed against the wall, and a plastic fold-up table would be brought in to make the dining room transformation.

Lebanon

For information about Presbyterians serving in Lebanon, please contact the office for the Middle East and Europe. 

Click here to donate to PC(USA) partners in Lebanon as they continue to serve during the current conflict.

NEWS

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance meets with ecumenical partners in Lebanon
Ongoing civil war in Syria and impact on refugees top agenda
Since the Syrian Civil War began in March 2011, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has been responding to the needs of affected communities in Syria and Lebanon. Working in conjunction with ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together), members and ecumenical partners have been providing relief to …

Elmarie and Scott Parker

Serving in Lebannon since 2013
Serving as regional liaison for Syria, Lebanon and Iraq (Elmarie) and as Associate for Ecumenical Partnerships (Scott)

Give to Elmarie and Scotts's Ministry

Contact Elmarie Parker: elmarie.parker@pcusa.org
Contact Scott Parker: scott.parker@pcusa.org

Elmarie and Scott occasionally return to the U.S. to visit congregations.  Email them to learn about their schedule and invite them to visit your ministry,

About Elmarie …

BLOG 

Each day we will post a communication from one of the participants of the Syria Lebanon Partnership Network/WM trip to Lebanon and Syria, April 20-30, 2015.

Tuesday, April 21:

Six O’Clock PM Lebanon Time found me loading my suitcase into the taxi to make my way to the Beirut Airport. In the next hour I would be meeting the team of seven traveling from various places around the United States to welcome them to Lebanon!

Everyone had smooth flights and made all their connections.  Everyone’s luggage arrived with them!  And, everyone made it painlessly through passport control and …

Online giving catalog

Happy Childhood Project in Lebanon

Your gifts and prayers encourage our dedicated team every day. Your active support lets those who struggle most know they are not alone.

This year Jinishian launched a new cancer detection and prevention program to bring free cancer screenings to women in remote villages. We are keeping pace with the ever-increasing need in Syria.

JMP has the experience and effective tools, but we know we need to do more. Our dedicated team is ready to put your gift into action. Our giving catalog is filled with practical projects your family or church can support. Choose a gift.

News on the Crisis in Syria from World Mission and the Synod of Syria and Lebanon

News

Jan 2014  Churches expect decisive actions for peace in Syria from Geneva 2 talks

Nov 2013   Children killed in attack near Damascus church and school

2012 General Assembly Resolution 15-12: On Prayer and Action for Syria Download Text

Oct 2013  Syrian refugees worried as UN cuts back its food aid in Lebanon
Lebanon, now home to nearly 700,000 Syrian registered refugees, is stretched to the …

A letter from Nuhad Tomeh in Lebanon

Late Fall 2013

Dear friends in Christ,

Greetings from Beirut, Lebanon, on this Reformation Day!

In the weeks ahead, I will be visiting church partners in Syria and Lebanon, encouraging them to continue to be faithful in their witness in the midst of all that is happening in the Middle East, which is having a devastating effect upon their Christian presence and witness. During that time, I plan to share with them inspiration from Isaiah 11:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding…

…The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.

A letter from Nuhad Tomeh in Lebanon

Fall 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I have just returned from Lebanon, where one of the gravest refugee crises in our times is unfolding.  Out of 22 million Syrians, 2 million have fled or been forced from their homes, congregations and communities.  It is estimated that 1 million of those Syrians will flee to Lebanon by the end of the year—a tremendous number of refugees for this small country of 4 million to absorb.

All churches, including the Synod of Syria & Lebanon (the Presbyterian church of Syria and Lebanon), are working overtime to help where they can.  In Marj, a small refugees camp in the Beqaa Valley that was visited by the PC(USA) G.A. moderator this last May, our main partner, the Synod, is helping the refugees by providing basic needs. Also they are helping the children through providing school and health kits. In nearby Sadnael, a makeshift camp for refugee farm workers, the Presbyterian church of Zahle installed sewage pipes, providing safe sanitation for nearly 2,000 refugees—for only $300 total! There’s no school here, and the same church is working with the local Lebanese community to rent a building and find teachers.

A letter from Nuhad Tomeh in Lebanon

July 2013

Waiting to return to Syria

And the King will answer them, "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren [and sisters] you did it to me" (Mathew 25:40).

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

During my last visit to one of the many centers for displaced people in Syria, where hundreds of thousands have had to flee for their lives, leaving behind them everything, even personal documents and intimate belongings, I met some families that I knew from our Presbyterian churches in the area.  Northeast of the city of Homs the National Evangelical Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon had started a care program in a village, providing relief assistance and pastoral care, including a worship service once a week, for these displaced families.