Talk Examines Holy Land Unrest, Christians

Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary, explores how Christians should react to the unrest in the Middle East in a lecture, “Beauty for Ashes: The Mission of the Church in Israel/Palestine,” Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Hieronymus Lounge in Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall.

The Robin Elizabeth Pascal World Christianity Lecture, co-sponsored by the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Caryn Reeder, associate professor of religious studies, at (805) 565-7047.

Ajaj, who contributed to a book, “Christian Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” will examine what Christians in the Holy Land are experiencing and what the church can do in response to the prevailing violence.

Born and raised in Nazareth, Israel, Ajaj is an ordained Baptist minister who has been tending to his Arab-Israeli community for more than 20 years. He has been serving at the Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary since it was founded by the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel in 2007. He began as a financial administrator and teacher and has been president since 2013.

Ajaj, a graduate of Bethlehem Bible College, earned a Master of Theology degree from the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague and is a doctoral candidate at Spurgeon’s College in London.

Robin '64 and Nancy Wainwright endowed the lecture series in 2003 to encourage and increase students' awareness and understanding of Christianity as a global faith.