CZ talks with Mercy Aiken

After twenty years of working in various Christian ministries and churches, Mercy’s faith in Christ was looking for fresh inspiration. She first came to Bethlehem in 2015 as a volunteer at Bethlehem Bible College and immediately fell in love with the community. As she watched their faith flourish in very difficult circumstances, Palestinian Christians became a source of hope. She spent the next few years coming and going from the college as a volunteer, where she developed a close friendship with Bishara Awad. Doors quickly opened. Today Mercy continues to serve the Bethlehem community and is completing a master’s degree in Theology and Culture with an emphasis in Peacemaking at St. Stephen’s University (New Brunswick). She is the Relationships Manager at Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East and regularly leads tours to the Holy Land. She is honored that she was able to write Yet in the Dark Streets Shining with Bishara Awad in 2021.

Interview

The editors of ChristianZionism.org asked Gary Burge, professor of theology at Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA), to interview Mercy Aiken.

Gary Burge: How did you first become interested in Israel and the Palestinians?

Mercy Aiken: I grew up in a North American evangelical-charismatic setting which emphasized that we should support Israel and the Jewish people.  Around the time of the Second Uprising, I remember responding to an altar call at a revival service, where I committed to be a “watchman on the wall” for Jerusalem. At that time, I had no knowledge whatsoever about Palestinians, least of all Palestinian Christians. Nevertheless, I think that my interest in Israel and my commitment to pray for Jerusalem led me to discover another side to the story.

GB: How did you discover the Palestinian Christian community?

MA: A few years later (perhaps in 2005), I learned about the existence of Palestinian Christians through a book called Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour and Dave Hazard. It shook me deeply.  In fact, as soon as I finished the book, I started reading it again.  I marveled that I had never heard about the faithful followers of Jesus Christ who remained in the Holy Land through the past two thousand years. I was also surprised that so many of the North American churches which emphasized Israel, failed to mention the existence of Palestinian Christians. It was like Palestinians in general were invisible. Chacour’s story helped me realize that the narrative I had been exposed to my entire life had been very one-sided, and there was a lot left out of it. I now desired to visit the Holy Land in support of Palestinians and Jews.

GB: How did you get the idea of traveling to Bethlehem alone as a volunteer?

MA: It was probably ten years after reading Chacour’s book that my world dramatically shifted.  It was the summer of 2014 when Gaza was being relentlessly bombed. I believe Israel called it “Operation Protective Edge.” I was focused on other things in my life and had not thought much about the Holy Land for years. But for some reason, this event deeply impacted me.  I found myself thinking about Gaza every day and I had a deep anguish in my heart for them. I began looking for theological, historical, and political resources to help me learn more.  (This is when I first discovered Gary Burge – your book Whose Land? Whose Promise? was one of the many that I ordered on Amazon.)    And I began to wonder if I should spend some time in the occupied Palestinian Territories – perhaps in Bethlehem – so that I could get to know the people on the ground and have better first-hand understanding of the situation. In my search for more information about Palestinians, I discovered Bethlehem Bible College via Google. . Thankfully, they accepted my application and the rest is history! About a year later, in September of 2015, I arrived in Bethlehem for the first time.

GB: How were you received in the Arab Christian world of Bethlehem?

MA: Everybody was welcoming and kind. I made a lot of new and fascinating friends. People invited me to their homes, and I began to learn the stories of the locals.  I will add that this was not just the Christians, but also the Muslims--especially the ones who live in the two refugee camps surrounding Bethlehem Bible College – Azza on one side and Aida on another.  Arab hospitality is famous around the world and for good reason.  I remember walking through Aida, inviting people to an English summer camp that we were holding at the College.  It was the season of Ramadan, and I got invited to more iftar dinners than I could manage.  All Ramadan season, after feasting in someone’s home, I would walk home late at night through the narrow cement alleyways of the camp. 

GB: Did you feel safe in these refugee camps?

MA: I felt very safe, very at home.  The nightlights would be twinkling, strung above the narrow, graffiti-covered walls with the children playing in the street. Old mamas and babas would be sitting outside their doors and everyone would greet me.  Even at 11 pm or later, people would wave and smile and urge me to join them for tea or watermelon or cookies.  That’s how it was that whole year in Palestine, and the years that followed.

GB: What is Bethlehem Bible College and whom does it serve?

MA: Bethlehem Bible College was founded in 1979.  Bethlehem (and the surrounding area) was once one of the largest demographic centers of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land.  But until 1979, there was no higher education for Christians in the West Bank, especially those who wanted to go into ministry. 

Bishara and other leaders were concerned that soon there would be no indigenous Christian presence left in the land of Christ.  As an evangelical, Bishara was especially keen for his brothers and sisters in Christ to learn about a personal relationship with the Lord. Many Palestinian Christians held to their cultural identity but had no real experience with the living Christ. Bishara wanted to see the local churches rejuvenated. Thus, the college was started to meet the spiritual needs of the local Christian population. 

The hope was that instead of travelling overseas to study theology (and perhaps never returning), some students would choose to remain in Palestine and serve the local churches.   And since then, many have—evangelicals and others from the more traditional denominations.  Today, there are also Muslim students who study at the college.  Though many of the students and faculty at the college have had great opportunities in other parts of the world, they have chosen to remain in an increasingly difficult situation, because they see it as a calling from the Lord. 

GB: How has Bishara Awad (president emeritus of the Bible college) shaped your own life of faith?

MA: Bishara is one of the gentlest and kindest people I know. So many people remark about it when they meet him.  His spirit is all openness and friendship. People feel invited in. They feel loved. That is probably the thing that we all appreciate most about him. It is no easy feat to consistently live like that in a world of polarization, hatred, division, and violence. It is a beautiful demonstration of the heart of the Lord, the kind that only comes from walking with Him through suffering.  

Living in Palestine and Israel, it is easy to get depressed sometimes. Whenever I would feel myself starting to despair, I would remember Bishara and others who did not allow themselves such a luxury.  For them, there is too much practical work to be done. They keep their spirits up by serving other people, by making a difference in their community, by staying connected to the work of the kingdom, and by laughing a lot. From Bishara’s example, I’ve learned that one can indeed keep their spiritual equilibrium and a twinkle in their eye even in the most difficult places and situations.

GB: Are the people in Bethlehem living under duress? How do they manage?

MA: If Christians around the world understood what was really happening in Bethlehem, they would weep bitter tears.  There are so many things I could mention.  Here is one of them: Bethlehem is a city that for most of its history was closely connected to Jerusalem--culturally, religiously, economically. The cities are only a few miles apart. Now Bethlehem is surrounded by a giant wall, watchtowers, checkpoints, and military gates, cut off from Jerusalem. So many of the people have lost their olive groves, homes, property—first on the Jerusalem side of the wall, and then within the West Bank, as surrounding settlements, settlement roads, and Israeli army bases continue to expand.

GB: Are they free to travel outside Bethlehem?

MA: A visitor like myself has so much more freedom than they do.  Bethlehemites do not have freedom of movement. It is impossible for them to drive very far without encountering internal checkpoints within the West Bank itself—let alone exiting the West Bank. Many Bethlehemites have tragic stories of trying to get to a hospital with a medical emergency and being held up at an internal checkpoint where their loved one died or almost died. As far as exiting the West Bank, there are many people like Bishara who were born and grew up in Jerusalem, but they are not allowed to live there, or even visit without permission from the Israelis.  When they do visit, there are many constraints:  they cannot spend the night, they cannot drive in the city, they cannot fly in or out of Ben Gurion airport.  Families are separated. For those who work in Jerusalem, it is very complicated and time-consuming to get all the proper paperwork and pass through the checkpoint twice each day. There is also decreased tourism to Bethlehem.  As a result, the economy is really struggling.

GB: If you could airlift some of your friends to Bethlehem to spend a week with Bishara, how would they be changed?

MA: I wish I could airlift everyone I know to spend a week in Bethlehem and get to know Bishara! In fact, this is why I started leading tours to the Holy Land.  It is one thing to read about a situation or person – and quite another to experience them in person.  I am confident that anyone who spent a week with Bishara in Bethlehem would leave changed.  Regardless of where their politics or theology may have been before the experience, I am confident that they would no longer be able to accept the simplistic narratives that we so often hear in the West. I am certain that their hearts would be broken and enlarged. My prayer would be that they encounter the heart of the Lord in Bethlehem and go back home to make a difference.