Middle East tensions in Pasadena

A Middle East conference scheduled to be held next week at a prominent Pasadena church has sparked tensions between local Christians and Jews. But those involved say they hope to use the episode as a chance for increased dialogue and, perhaps, a deeper understanding of the sensitive issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Several Los Angeles rabbis and others in the Jewish community have criticized a decision by All Saints Episcopal Church to allow its facilities to be used Feb. 15-16 for “From Occupation to Liberation: Voices We Need to Hear.” The event is sponsored by Friends of Sabeel, an organization of American Christians that supports Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based ecumenical Christian group.

Founded in the early 1990s by a Palestinian Anglican theologian, the Rev. Naim Ateek, Sabeel espouses a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Speakers for the workshops planned at All Saints include Jews and Muslims, along with Palestinian and American Christians. Ateek will be among those speaking.

But in recent months, conferences sponsored by Sabeel’s support group nationwide have been greeted with protests by some Jewish organizations, which say the gatherings are biased against Israel. Some also have criticized Ateek for using imagery in his sermons and writings that compares the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation to that of Jesus and the early Christians.

At All Saints, the Rev. J. Edwin Bacon Jr. said in an interview that he has known Ateek for a number of years and that the Palestinian priest has spoken several times at the Pasadena church, most recently in December. Ateek also appeared at All Saints last year in a friendly discussion with the church’s rabbi-in-residence, retired Leo Baeck Temple Rabbi Leonard Beerman.

So when Friends of Sabeel asked if it could hold a conference there, Bacon said he didn’t hesitate. The rector said he has no plans to cancel it. But Bacon said he also has been distressed by the negative reaction of several rabbis and other Jews who are among his church’s interfaith partners. “I’m always concerned whenever our friends are concerned and upset,” he said.

Among those who complained to Bacon was Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, spiritual leader of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, a Conservative synagogue of about 400 families. Grater said members of his congregation were alerted to the conference at All Saints by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a Boston-based media watchdog group that is critical of Sabeel.

Grater, who said he considers Bacon a friend, said he was concerned both about the conference’s slate of speakers and the group’s use of crucifixion imagery to convey its message. And he said many of his congregants were even more upset.

“When Jews hear language about the crucifixion and Christ, and associating that in any way with Israel, we hear that as the same language of anti-Semitism that we have dealt with for thousands of years,” Grater said. “The Christian community needs to understand that certain words and ideas are serious red flags for us.”

Bacon said he has taken several steps to try to ease the tensions and plans more. Next week, he is scheduled to visit Grater’s synagogue. He is also speaking with Grater and Leo Baeck Temple’s senior rabbi, Kenneth Chasen, about organizing other panels and conversations about the Middle East at the church.

“We’re going to turn this into an opportunity for us to learn how to be more sensitive,” he said.

The rector also recently invited Daniel Sokatch, executive director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance, to speak at All Saints. “I don’t agree with a lot of what Sabeel has to say, and I find some of their choices of words and imagery very troubling, but they do profess to be nonviolent,” Sokatch said. “And really, aren’t those the kinds of people we want to be dealing with on the Palestinian side?”

Diocese vs. dissidents

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, which is based in Sacramento, filed a lawsuit this week to try to regain church property now under the control of a conservative congregation that has broken away from the diocese.

Diocesan officials said the suit for control of the buildings and other property of 150-year-old St. John’s Episcopal Church in Petaluma is similar to other Episcopal property cases being fought in courts around the country. The congregations typically have pulled out of local dioceses and the national Episcopal Church because of differences over biblical authority and homosexuality.

Cases involving several dissident Southern California parishes and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles are now before the California Supreme Court, with a decision due possibly as early as this summer.

Jewish conference

Jews from across Southern California will converge on a Costa Mesa hotel Feb. 15-18 for a non-denominational, eclectic conference on Jewish life and learning, organizers say.

About 600 Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox and secular Jews are expected to attend the gathering, known as LimmudLA, said Shep Rosenman, a Los Angeles entertainment attorney who is the conference’s co-chairman. Similar events have been held in New York, London and elsewhere but this is the first for Southern California.

“On a personal level, Limmud is about allowing every Jew to move forward one step on their Jewish journey,” he said.

“On a communal level, it’s about building a community that speaks to different facets of the Jewish experience and Jewish life.”

Participants will be able to choose among more than 250 lectures and workshops, including sessions on Jewish history and rituals. There are light topics such as Jewish comedy and heavier ones such as Talmud studies.

More information is available at www.limmudla.org

Street baptism

A South Los Angeles Pentecostal congregation will hold its second annual street baptism by fire hose Sunday and is expecting several hundred people to attend and join the public celebration.

Pastor Wilbert Swaringer of the United House of Prayer, 1029 East Vernon Ave., said the event, planned for about 11 a.m., is part of the denomination’s 81st annual Holy Convocation, which draws about 500 church representatives from across the country.

As to why a fire hose is used, Swaringer said: “Just as Moses used what was available to him with the river, we like to stay in our community and use what’s available to us.”

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rebecca.trounson@ latimes.com