|
|
November 12, 1999/3 Kislev 5760, Vol. 52, No.11
Prayer for peace
Sisters devote lives to healing old wounds
TAMI BICKLEY
Staff Writer
A menorah sits near a crucifix, and a ceramic dove hangs overhead, in the desert chapel of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary Canaan in Phoenix. The meshing of religious symbols represnts the sorrow the Sisters of Mary feel regarding sins committed by Christians against Jews throughout history, and the peace they hope to someday see between the faiths.
Photo by Tami Bickley
|
Birds chirp gaily in the mid-morning sun, and quails and rabbits frolic in desert foliage on the grounds
of Canaan in the Desert, the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary retreat center in Phoenix.
The serenity carries through into the entryway of the center's small, modest chapel, in which
the creaking sounds of footsteps on the wooden floor break a deafening silence.
Within the sanctuary, the sense of tranquil harmony is interrupted by the stark juxtaposition of
a menorah (Jewish ritual candelabra) perched on a 3-foot stand adjacent to a large crucifix that
hangs suspended from the ceiling.
Sister Deborah Kalb, a resident of the Phoenix branch of the Sisterhood of Mary, explains that
the coupling of religious symbols is intended as a poignant reminder of the significant part
Judaism played in the genesis of Christianity, and also of the anti-Semitism and cruelty Jews have
endured throughout history at the hands of Christians.
A ceramic dove hovering above the
menorah and crucifix represents the peace among Jews and
Christians that the Sisters of Mary hope to someday play a part in establishing.
"If I don't ask and receive forgiveness (from the Jews), then I cannot expect God to forgive me,"
explains Kalb. Asking for forgiveness as a Christian for the many atrocities committed against Jews by people
of her faith will help her become closer to God, she says.
Although Kalb and other members of the international sisterhood obviously are not directly
responsible for the plight of Jews throughout history, they blame themselves and all Christians for what has
transpired. They hope that through literature, television specials, services of repentance, volunteer work
in the Jewish community, and by prominently displaying Judaica, they can convey to Jews worldwide
their sorrow for the sins of their fellow Christians and help to prevent further acts of hatred, says Kalb.
In a recent interview at the sisterhood's Canaan in the Desert center near 40th Street and Shea
Boulevard, Kalb explained why the Sisters of Mary feel it is their duty to make reparation.
"(Christians) did these things in the name of Jesus, who was (a) Jew," Kalb says. "(Christians) threw
out the Ten Commandments, and it's unforgivable. ... The Jewish people have had to suffer so much
all because of Christians.
"There have been people burned at the stake while someone is standing there with a cross," she adds,
as she begins to weep.
Kalb credits Mother Basilea Schlink, one of two founders of the sisterhood, with recognizing the
importance of making reparation. In 1947, Schlink (then Dr. Klara Schlink) of Darmstadt, West Germany, was
a 43-year-old unmarried woman with a teaching degree. She was serving as national president of
the Women's Division of the German Student Christian Movement. Schlink had earned a doctorate from
the University of Hamburg and had served as a traveling lecturer for a missionary society during World
War II.
As she learned of the horrors of the Holocaust, she decided to leave teaching and to begin an
evangelical sisterhood that would not only serve the Christian faith but would also embrace Jews. That year, she
and Erika Madauss, later known as Mother Martyria, founded the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary
in Darmstadt. (Mother Martyria died this past year.)
The sisterhood has since become international and interdenominational, with branches in more than
20 countries, including Israel, Canada and Phoenix, which is the only branch in the United States.
(Although the sisters live communally and wear habits, they belong to various Christian denominations and are
not Catholic nuns.) There are approximately 230 members internationally.
"The Lord touched (Schlink's) heart, and you never could quench it," explains Kalb. "We never
would have done this if not for her. She brought (the sisterhood) to our hearts."
In 1945, Kalb, now 74, was working as a secretary and lived with her immediate family near
Berlin, Germany. Raised a Christian, she always felt close to God, she says, but decided to completely "turn
(her) heart to God" after witnessing the grisly aftermath of World War II.
"I had no idea what had gone on during the war or the horrors of it," she recalls. "I saw Dachau
(concentration camp, in the final days of the Holocaust), and by that time, all of the Jews there were dead. When I
saw what Christians had done, I was in shock."
Five years later, in 1950, she joined the sisterhood as one way of repenting for what she had seen
at Dachau. That same year, the handful of women who had joined the sisterhood built their first home
in Darmstadt, which today remains the sisterhood's headquarters. The women built the brick house with
their own hands.
"If we were (fatigued or uncomfortable) and couldn't sleep, we remembered how the Jews had
suffered," Kalb says. "All we had was bread and water. ... It was a poor time for us. ... We ate our breakfast standing
for almost a year, as we remembered the Holocaust and prayed for Israel."
In 1957, two sisters traveled by ship from Germany to Haifa, Israel, to offer their services to
Holocaust survivors. They helped maintain Jewish cemeteries and volunteered at a Tel Aviv hospital. In 1961,
Schlink opened a government-subsidized house in Jerusalem called Beth Abraham, in which Holocaust survivors
can visit or live. There, they are greeted by sisters who voluntarily provide counseling and/or meet
health-related needs. The home includes a kosher kitchen.
The Phoenix branch of the sisterhood was established in 1968. A woman who lived near the foot of
the Phoenix Mountain Preserves sold her acre of land to the sisters for just over $4,000,
which they paid for over time by collecting donations, and with help from the mother house in Darmstadt.
The sisters in Phoenix attend Jewish-related events throughout the Valley, including the annual
Yom Hashoah commemoration organized by the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors and Friends
Association; Shabbat services at various congregations; and memorial services. They were present at a service held
in memory of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin four years ago.
They also occasionally hold services of repentance at American Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The cover of the prayer booklet they use reads, "Nearly Two Thousand Years of Christian
Anti-Semitism," and is illustrated with a picture of a menorah. A pamphlet inserted in the booklet tells of specific
sins committed against Jews by Christians throughout history.
An evening "Prayer for Israel" is held every Friday at the Phoenix retreat center and at all
other sisterhood facilities. The local center has a prayer garden, at which visitors of all faiths are welcome
to pray or simply enjoy the surroundings, says Kalb, who transferred to Phoenix from Darmstadt in 1969.
The 12 Phoenix sisters also send cards to Jews expressing their repentance, and Jewish
holiday greetings to Jewish organizations and individuals throughout the Valley.
Last September, the sisters sent a card to Helen Handler, vice president of the Holocaust
Survivors and Friends Association, mentioning the Aug. 10 shooting at a Los Angeles-area Jewish
community center.
"They always send cards and always come when there is (an event) commemorating the
Holocaust," Handler says. "They are righteous people doing the best they know how, and doing it with a clear
heart. ... Sometimes it's very hard for us Holocaust survivors to accept this kind of love because when
we needed it, it wasn't there for us."
Handler, who was at Auschwitz and lost her entire family in the Holocaust, adds that as long as
the Sisters of Mary "don't do any missionary work and don't try to (convert
Jews)," most Jews don't have a problem their mission.
Kalb says she has never faced opposition from the Jewish community and insists that the sisters "have
no (ulterior) motives," that their only intention is to "be of help and heal some of the deep-hurting wounds."
Internationally, Sisters of Mary educate Christians and Jews alike by distributing informational
pamphlets that they produce themselves in Israel.
Schlink, now 95 and in poor health in Darmstadt, has authored some 100 books in 70 languages,
says Kalb. Many of the books are visibly lined up on tables inside the Phoenix center's chapel.
Kalb motions to the books and comments, "(Schlink) needs us to know that what people need is peace.
And the word for that is shalom.
|
