Mae Elise Cannon's Blog

Mae Cannon worked with Emily Sarmiento, President anc CEO of Tearfund, USA, to coauthor this article on the destruction wrought by the war in Yemen and the need for Christians to pay attention.

"Unfortunately, Ukraine is not the only country suffering from devastation. There is a war in Yemen that is creating what observers are calling “one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.” It has that label for good reason [...]"

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Published May 16, 2022 at Do Justice. Today, Egypt is the largest country in the Middle East with more than 107 million people. Egyptian empires have been rising and falling since more than 3000 years before Christ, and Egypt today is a leader politically and culturally across the Middle East and in Africa. Egypt has also been the center for Christianity since the early church in the First Century. Although Christians make up only about a tenth of modern Egypt’s population, they are by far the largest Christian community in the Middle East [...]

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Published December 17, 2021 at Do Justice.

As the end of the year approaches, many of us long for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Our hope and advocacy efforts focus on bringing an end to the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza that began in 1967. At that time, small groups of Jewish citizens began to settle in the West Bank and became known as “settlers.” By 2018, according to Peace Now, the Israeli settlement population grew to more than 400,000 Israelis. Today, more than 125 settlements exist in the West Bank, formally approved by the Israeli government. You can see these small (and sometimes large) cities scattered across the hilltops through much of the West Bank. 

Read the full article here: https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/settlements-remain-detrimental-peace/

Published December 17, 2021 in The Christian Citizen

In some Christian traditions, people reflect, pray, and enter into joyful anticipation during the season of Advent. As we focus on themes of hope, peace, love, and joy, we often invoke images of the land of the Bible alongside treasured stories that recount the barriers to—and celebration of—Jesus’ birth.

This Christmas season, we have many reasons to pray for peace in the Holy Land, whose present reality exists far from such an ideal.

Read the full article at: https://christiancitizen.us/this-christmas-praying-for-a-shared-jerusalem/

Published November 11, 2021 at Independent Catholic News.

More than a year ago, the Washington Post reported the acceleration of Lebanon’s “financial collapse” due to cRev Dr Mae Elise Cannon and Sir Jeff Abood write: There should be no difference between religious freedom and its expression in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Thus, we are greatly dismayed at the decision by Israel's Minister of Internal Security, made on October 26, to ban cultural events for children that were supposed to take place at a Catholic Institution in East Jerusalem, Maison d'Abraham (Abraham's House).

Read the full article here: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43439

(Will Be) Published November 2021 in Sojourners Magazine

For years, women called to leadership in the church in the Middle East have faced a stained-glass ceiling of limitations imposed by the surrounding patriarchal culture and theological presuppositions about the role of women in the church. But while some interpretations of Paul’s instructions to the early church (such as Timothy 2:12) are used as a rationale for limiting the role of women, long-standing cultural traditions regarding women’s roles in religion and society have played a more prominent, and more difficult, role.

“Although religion bears major responsibility for the inferior status of women, it cannot be solely blamed for the gender problem in the Middle East,” according to a report on “Women in the Middle East” published by the Institute for Policy Studies. “In reality, the role of culture has been even more prominent in perpetuating the oppression of women.”

Read the full article at: https://sojo.net/magazine/november-2021/women-middle-east-claim-their-place-pulpit

Published September 17, 2021 at Do Justice.

More than a year ago, the Washington Post reported the acceleration of Lebanon’s “financial collapse” due to corruption, financial mismanagement, and overspending. Since then global news agencies have identified the crisis as one of the worst economic catastrophes of the modern era. NPR reported soaring prices and referenced the World Bank’s identification of Lebanon as “one of the worst economic crises anywhere in the world...since the 1800s.”

Read the full article here: https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/pray-lebanon-economic-depression-worse-any-modern-era/.

Published July 28, 2021 at Christians for Social Action.

Sparked by the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, American Evangelicals have been busy debriefing, lamenting, and publicly condemning the scourge of Christian Nationalism. Largely absent from this discussion, however, has been public consideration of any affinity between Christian Nationalists and their more familiar, if less populous, “cousins”: Christian Zionists. As it turns out, the similarities are neither superficial nor coincidental and, as Trump’s circle of Christian lieutenants and advisors made clear, the two ideologies are eminently compatible.

Both Christian Nationalists and Christian Zionists espouse an ideology of exceptionalism.

Read the full article at: https://christiansforsocialaction.org/resource/christian-nationalism-and-christian-zionism-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/

In Defense of Christians Ecumenical Prayer Service | IDC | July 14, 2021Peace in the Middle East: RLC Faith Forum | Red Letter Christians | June 22, 2021Israeli Peace Partners | CMEP | June 2, 2021From Ferguson to Palestine: The Parallels of Christian Nationalism and Christian Zionism | NEME | May 20, 2021Tuesday Talks with Alumni 2021 | UC Davis Graduate Studies | May 18, 2021The Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony | April 13, 2021Conversations from the Holy Land | The Perfecting Church | March 31, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon was part of a panel of speakers for Conversations from the Holy Land.

"Windows on the World Justice Talk" Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon | Eastern University Office of Faith and Practice | March 19, 2021Faith Forum's "Conversations That Matter" Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon 3/18/21 | Eastern University Office of Faith and Practice | March 18, 2021Eastern University Chapel 3/17/21 | Eastern University Office of Faith and Practice | March 17, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon speaks during Eastern University Chapel.

AAC Lenten Meditation 9, Rev Dr. Mae Cannon | Al Amana Centre | February 26, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon shares a short Lenten meditation.

Race, Gender and Christian Nationalism: The Impact of Trumpism on Evangelicals; Session 4: Assessment of the 2020 Elections | Evangelicals for Justice (E4J) | Jan 29-30, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), facilitated session 4 on an Assessment of the 2020 elections with guests Lisa Sharon Harper of Freedom Road, Adam Taylor of Sojourners, Robert P. Jones author of White Too Long, and Tatiana Torres of DC Mayor Bowser's office. This session begins at 1:07 and was a part of CMEP Board group Evangelicals for Justice (E4J) online conference on Race, Gender, and Christian Nationalism: The Impact of Trumpism on Evangelicals on January 29-30, 2021.

Ash Wednesday National Prayer Service Turning from White Nationalism towards a More Faithful Witness | February 17, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon was a leader and participant on Wednesday, February 17 "National Ash Wednesday Prayer Service" Responding to the January 6th Insurrection at the US Capitol and condemning Christian Nationalism and calling the church to more faithful witness.

SPU Chapel - Winter Quarter Week 6: Harm, Healing, and Hope | Seattle Pacific University | February 9, 2021

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon shares a message on harm, healing, and hope during SPU Chapel as part of their partnership with OIEX services.

OIEX Diversity Lecture: Justice and Shalom | Seattle Pacific University | February 2, 2021

Last year, the Office of Inclusive Excellence launched the annual diversity lecture to bring thought leaders to Seattle Pacific University who can inspire and challenge individuals to engage the theological, cultural, and institutional aspects of this work. The exploration of this year’s theme, “Justice and Shalom,” seeks to practice grace-filled and spirit-led intercultural and ecumenical listening and, in doing so, seek a full understanding of God's vision of Shalom for all people and all creation. It also seeks to explore the role of Christian orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy in the work of justice, and expand our imagination of what can be different coming out of this pandemic time and find application for our Gospel hope. This year’s speakers include, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Executive Director, Churches for MIddle East Peace, Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Professor of Theology, Earlham School of Religion, and Dr. Randy Woodley, Distinguished Professor of Faith and Culture; Director of Intercultural and Indigenous Studies, Portland Seminary.

Where Do We Go From Here: How Do the Election Results Impact the Future of Peace in Israel and Palestine? | Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) & Combatants For Peace | November 10, 2020

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) joined leading experts to discuss the impact of the U.S. election result on the prospects for a just and lasting peace in Israel/Palestine. Moderated by CMEP’s Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, the panel of experts included: Jim Zogby, President and founder of the Arab American Institute, Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), and Gaila Golan, leading member of Combatants for Peace. Go to https://cmep.org/eventspage/webinars/ for additional CMEP webinars on peacemaking in the Middle East.

In Conversation with Author, Mae Elise Cannon | Jesus People | October 28, 2020

Dominique Gilliard, Nikki Toyoma-Szeto, and Jedidiah Kim discuss Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon's new book. Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated World!

How To Burn Bright, Not Burn Out on Social Justice: Spiritual Formation | New Wine, New Wine Skins | October 16, 2020

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon shares insights with New Wine, New Wineskins from years of leadership in the work of advocacy and justice. They discuss spiritual formation and its import for guarding against burn out so that we might burn bright in the marathon race of life.

Annexation 101 | NEME | June 19, 2020

What should we expect if Israel formally annexes large parts of the West Bank next month? Is this something American Christians, including Evangelicals, should support? Host Bruce Fisk and a panel of experts (Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Heather Keaney, and Sam Bahour) explore what Israel’s proposed annexation of territory means, what it would change on the ground for Israelis and Palestinians, and why many around the world believe it would undermine the cause of a just peace in the Middle East.

Eastertide Meditation with His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos | CMEP | May 19, 2020

On 18 November 2017, His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos was enthroned as the first Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London. He specializes in advocacy work and youth ministry and travels around the world to speak at youth conventions. He was conferred the honor of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen for ‘Services to International Religious Freedom.’

Eastertide Meditation with Father Elias Khoury | CMEP | May 12, 2020

Father Elias Khoury is a Palestinian Citizen of Israel from the Northern Israeli city of Haifa, where he was raised in the Greek Orthodox Christian community. He graduated from the National School for Practical Engineers from Technion Israel Institute of Technology and then started his engineering career. Fr. Khoury was ordained to the priesthood in 2002 and served until 2011 as an assistant priest in St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Acre, Israel. From 2006 to 2011 he served as secretary and member of the Greek Orthodox Ecclesiastical Tribunal that handles family law matters for the Greek Orthodox community in the Holy Land. He earned a Bachelor of Law degree, LBA, from Ono Academic College in Kiryat Ono, Israel, and a Masters degree in Theological Studies, at the Hellenic College - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2014 he has served as the parish priest at St. Patrick Greek Orthodox Church in Jadeidi Village near Acre. He also holds a position as a culture and religion teacher at Bairuni High School in the village. In his pastoral role, he focuses on interfaith engagement with Muslim religious leaders in Jadeidi, as well as improving community access to theological education through the establishment of an Orthodox church library. He is married with three children.

Eastertide Meditations with The V. Rev. Fr. Hrant Tahanian | CMEP | May 5, 2020

V. Rev. Fr. Hrant Tahanian was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. His great-grandparents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide. After graduating from Soorp Hagop Armenian School in Montreal, he continued his studies in Pure & Applied Sciences at Collège Montmorency, in Laval. He then traveled to the Armenian Orthodox Seminary in Lebanon (the only such institution that survived the total destruction of Western-Armenia, and relocated to Lebanon), where he finished his B.A. in Armenological & Theological Studies. After being ordained a priest, according to the 17 centuries old tradition of the Armenian Church, he served in the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon, as director of the Cilicia Museum. In 2012, he was appointed to be the pastor of St. Gregory Armenian Church in Vancouver, where he served the community for 5 years, whilst working on a M.A. in Theology at the Vancouver School of Theology (UBC). In 2017, he was appointed to be the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Officer the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon, where he now lives.

Eastertide Meditations with Rev. Najla Kassab |CMEP | April 28, 2020

Rev. Najla Kassab is President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) and Director of the Christian Education Department for the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL). She received her Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1990. In 1993 Rev. Kassab received the first preaching license offered to a woman by NESSL. In March 2017, she became the second woman to be ordained as a minister in NESSL. She lives with her husband, Joseph Kassab, and three children in Beirut, and her work takes her frequently to Syria.

Eastertide Meditations with Fr. Ramzi Sidawi | CMEP | April 21, 2020

Fr. Ramzi Sidawi OFM was born in Jerusalem in 1972. At the conclusion of his maturity studies he entered the Order of Friars Minor where he took his first vows in the year 1996 and the Solemn ones in the year 2000. After completing his formation and studies in Theology, he received Priestly Ordination in 2002, he spent a short period of service in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Transferred to Rome to complete his studies in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum, he graduated in 2006 and defended the doctoral thesis in 2010. While preparing to defend the thesis, he was appointed parish priest of the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in Jaffa - Tel Aviv, Israel. Along with this assignment, he also began teaching Dogmatic Theology in the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum in Jerusalem. From 2013 to 2016 he was director of the Terra Santa Boys School in Jerusalem and from 2016 he is the General Administrator of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Eastertide Meditations with The Very Revd Hosam Naoum | CMEP | April 14, 2020

In this session, Bishop Elect Hosam Naoum joins Rev. Dr. Cannon. On January 30th, the previous dean of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem, Rev. Hosam Naoum, was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East. As Coadjutor, Pastor Hosam will now be introduced to all the ministries of a bishop for about a year and a half, and will subsequently take over this office from the current incumbent, Archbishop Suheil Dawani. Hosam Naoum has been dean of Jerusalem Cathedral since 2012. Previously, he had studied theology in South Africa and the United States, and had long served as parish pastor in Nablus and Zababdeh (West Bank) and Jerusalem. He is particularly concerned about ecumenism and the inter-religious relations of his church. He has always maintained good relations with the German-speaking Protestant community in Jerusalem.

Published June 24, 2021 at Religions.

Much scholarship in the dialogue between evangelical and Orthodox believers focuses on doctrinal compatibility. This article contributes to that literature by giving an example of a spiritual practice (icon veneration) that creates additional space for ecumenical dialogue and unity. Some US-evangelicals in the 21st century have incorporated the use of icons into their personal faith practices. Icon veneration is ripe with ecumenical potential for evangelical–Orthodox relations because of its prominence in Orthodox communions while at the same time appealing to a growing number of evangelicals. This article considers three sites of evangelical icon use in turn: the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia (EBCG), Icons of Black Saints, and an evangelical ministry called “Heart of the Artist”. Each site adopts a slightly unique understanding of icons that may appeal to evangelical believers. Although Orthodox and evangelical believers may understand theologies of icon veneration differently, the emergence of icon veneration among evangelicals remains a spiritual synchronicity, and ought to be recognized as such. Evangelicals continue to receive the gift of icon veneration from their Orthodox siblings in ways in line with the EBCG, Black Orthodox icons, and Heart of the Artist, so icon veneration has potential to further resource ecumenical dialogue.

Read the full article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/7/463/htm