Rev. Dr. Raheb Receives the Prestigious Wittenberg Award for Distinguished Service to Church and Society
On
Saturday, November 8, 2003,
the Luther Institute honored the Rev. Dr. Jose Ramon
Alcantara Mejia, Dr. Mark Jacobson, and the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb with
Wittenberg Awards.
Dr. Alcantara, a scholar and a Lutheran pastor in
Mexico City, was recognized for his numerous efforts to combat poverty in
Mexico, espcially his work with AMEXTRA, the Mexican
Assocation for Rural and Urban Transformation. Dr.
Jacobson, an ELCA medical missionary in
Arusha,
Tanzania, was honored for his work as Director of Selian
Lutheran Hospital. The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is Pastor of Christmas Lutheran
Church and Director of the International Center of Bethlehem. He was honored for
his critical work in promoting intercultural and inter-faith dialog in the
Middle East.
The Awards Ceremony ended a gala weekend which included a concert and a panel
discussion featuring the awardees. On Friday, November 7, 2003 participants
viewed the traveling exhibition Martin
Luther: the Reformer and heard an organ recital and lecture Dr.
George Edward Damp. On Saturday, November 8, the awardees spoke on the topic
Faith Seeking Justice: Lessons Learned in Hard
Times.
About the Wittenberg Awards
The Wittenberg Awards were established in 1990 to recognize Lutheran laity and clergy from around the world for distinguished service to church and society, and, in so doing, to encourage others to accept the call to service and servant leadership
The above has been taken from the Luther Institute www.lutherinst.org