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NEME's
Annual Forum
 
Israel and Palestine:
How Can American Christians Respond?
Learn together
Meet trustworthy teachers
Stand on the side of peace
December 6, 7 & 8, 2024 
Montecito, California 

A Forum for Christians hungry for wisdom about the Holy Land and insight about Israel and Palestine.

For Christians

looking for healthy conversations and trustworthy voices

For students and faculty

wanting to take the side of peace​

For pastors

concerned for their polarized congregations

Join us for NEME's 3rd Annual Gathering

2022 - Seattle
2023 - Phoenix
2024 - Santa Barbara

Program 

 
FRIDAY

 

Stories from the Holy Land

3:30 – 5:30 pm

A panel discussion about what has life been like in Israel/Palestine since October 7 between Mercy Aiken, Mae Cannon, Andrew Bush, and Daniel Bannoura. Ben Norquist will introduce the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East and meet likeminded participants.

 

Dinner and table talk 

5:30 - 6:45 pm

Join a circle, enjoy a meal, make a new friend.

 

American Christian support for Modern Israel

7:00–8:30 pm

Bruce Fisk will explain the many reasons why Israel is important to so many Christians.

Rainsong will lead us in prayers and songs for the peoples of the Land.

SATURDAY

 

Morning brew (coffee, juice, water, treats, chit chat) 

 

Two Peoples, One Land: 150 years of Complicated History 

8:45–9:35 am

Heather Keaney offers an ultra brief history of Palestine and Israel. The history really matters and serves as a key for understanding the modern situation in the Middle East.

 

Gaza in the Mix

9:40–10:10 am

Mae Elise Cannon has published video updates on developments in Gaza every day since October 7, 2023. In this session we zoom in on the recent and current situation in Gaza.  

 

Hamas and Hezbollah

10:15–10:45am

Daniel Bannoura and Jonathan Kuttab will address the sensitive topic of Islamic militancy. What’s behind Islamic resistance and militancy in Gaza and Lebanon? What does Hamas want? Will the battle ever end? We will also hear recorded comments from Greg Khalil, Founder and President of Telos

 

When the Bible is the Problem

11:00 am–12:30 pm

Rob Dalrymple and David Crump will talk about the ways the Bible has been read and misread. They will discuss Christian Zionism and reading the Bible "backwards" and how to think about the book of Revelation. We will also hear recorded comments from Munther IsaacYohanna Katanacho, Anton Deik, and other theologians in the land answering our questions. Rainsong will lead us in prayers and songs for the peoples of the Land.

Lunch and table talk

12:45 – 1:45 pm

Join a different circle, enjoy another meal, clear your head..

 

What’s next? Where to? What can I take home? (Ben Norquist)

2:00 – 3:30pm

Jer Swigart helps us consider how to make justice and peace a way of life. Then we will sit in on a live recording of Across the Divide as Daniel Bannoura talks with Mae Elise Cannon, Jonathan Kuttab, and Rob Dalrymple about practical steps to be an ally of peace. We conclude with an introduction to a new NEME course for churches and homeschool groups called Ascent to Jerusalem: Pilgrimage, Politics and Peacemaking in the Holy Land.

Breakouts and Breaks in Santa Barbara

3:30 – 5:15 pm

Leader networking (Sally Carlson, Jeff Anderson, Jer Swigart, David Crump)

Hard conversations without making enemies (Mercy Aiken, Rob Dalrymple)

Understanding Palestinian Christian Youth (Beth Seversen report on research)

Film Screening (TBA) and debrief (Daniel Bannoura, Jonathan Kuttab) 

Downtown Santa Barbara walk, café banter

Westmont campus walk, nature connection 

 

Dinner out on the town

5:30 – 6:45pm

Grab a few new friends and explore one of Montecito’s many restaurants for dinner tonight. Compare notes. Exhale.

 

Saturday Night Convocation

​7:00 – 9:00 pm

In this public session Kevin Hadduck will welcome us with a poetry reading from his collection, Beloved Brother, Beloved Sister: Poems for Palestine. We will also hear plenary talks by Daniel Bannoura on violence, Jonathan Kuttab on international law, and Mae Elise Cannon on the integrity of the Gospel. Rainsong will lead us in prayers and songs for the peoples of the Land.

SUNDAY

 

Conversation with Terry and Darlene Wildman 

9:00 – 9:50 am

Native American stories and music. Readings from the First Nations Version of the New Testament. Native American and Palestinian common ground.

 

Sunday Gathering in the Sanctuary

10am – 12pm

Sermon: “Rachel Still Weeps” – Matthew 2:13-18 (Bruce Fisk)

Music by Rainsong (Terry and Darlene Wildman)

NEME's community of researchers, practitioners, and teachers, will be there...for you to learn with.

World map with dot over Santa Barbara, California

Speakers

Andrea Smith
Andrea Smith

Board member of North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies.

Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Riverside

Bruce N. Fisk
Bruce N. Fisk

Professor of New Testament, Westmont College (ret.)

Author: A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus, Ascent to Jerusalem.
Co-editor, Beyond Lament: Christians Respond to Israel's War on Gaza (forthcoming)

Heather Keaney
Heather Keaney

Professor of History, Westmont

Author, Medieval Islamic Historiography: Remembering Rebellion

Mae Elise Cannon
Mae Elise Cannon

Executive Director, Churches for Middle East Peace

Editor, A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land

Terry Wildman
Terry Wildman

Founder, Rain Ministries

Lead translator, general editor, and project manager of the First Nations Version of the Bible

Andrew Bush
Andrew Bush

Founding Director, Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice Studies

Professor Emeritus Missiology, Eastern University

Daniel Bannoura
Daniel Bannoura

Palestinian Theologian

PhD candidate in qur'a nic studies at the University of Notre Dame and co-host of Across the Divide podcast

Jer Swigart
Jer Swigart

Executive Director, Global Immersion

Author, Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World

Mercy Aiken
Mercy Aiken

Relationship Manager, NEME

Author, Yet In the Dark Streets Shining: A Palestinian Story of Hope and Resilience in Bethlehem

Ben Norquist
Ben Norquist

Author, Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination (IVP Academic, 2025)

Director, Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East

Darlene Wildman
Darlene Wildman

Grammy-nominated and Nammy (Native American Music Award)--winning recording artist

Project staff, First Nations Version of the Bible

Jonathan Kuttab
Jonathan Kuttab

International Human Rights Lawyer

Co-founder, Nonviolence International

Rob Dalrymple
Rob Dalrymple

Executive Director, Determine Truth Ministries

Author of the new commentary, Revelation: A Love Story

Beth Seversen
Beth Seversen

Missiologist

Author of Not Done Yet: Reaching and Keeping Unchurched Emerging Adults (IVPress, 2020)

David Crump
David Crump

Professor of New Testament, Calvin University (ret.)

Author, Like Birds in a Cage: Christian Zionism's Collusion in Israel's Oppression of the Palestinian People

Kevin Hadduck
Kevin Hadduck

Poet

Author, Beloved Brother, Beloved Sister: Poems for Palestine

Sally Carlson
Sally Carlson

Associate Pastor, Shoreline Covenant Church

Leadership Team, Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East

Virtual Contributors

Alex Massad

Assistant Professor of World Religions, Wheaton College

Jack Sara

President, Bethlehem Bible College

Shireen Awwad Hilal

Director, Shepherd Society

Azar Ajaj

President, Nazareth Evangelical College

Lamma Mansour

Researcher, Noor Initiative

Tony Deik

Palestinian Theologian

Destiny Magnett

Programs and Outreach Manager, Churches for Middle East Peace

Munther Isaac

Pastor, Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem

Yohanna Katanacho

Academic Dean, Nazareth Evangelical College

Gary Burge

New Testament scholar, Calvin Theological Seminary

Preston Sprinkle

Host, Theology in the Raw Podcast

Palm trees
Beach near Santa Barbara
Courtyard at Montecito Covenant Church, venue for NEME's 2024 Annual Forum

​Montecito, California​

Location:

NEME's Annual Forum will meet at Montecito Covenant Church (MCC). MCC is down the hill from Westmont College and a stones throw from half a dozen excellent hiking trails.

Address:

671 Coldspring Road, Montecito, CA 93108

Logistics

Anchor 1

Flying In?

Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is a 20 minute drive to the venue.

Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is 2 hours and 30 minutes drive.

Meals

Sharing meals together is an important part of the experience. That's why we're including a few meals in the cost of your full-pay ticket. You can expect a simple dinner on Friday night, coffee and snacks on Saturday morning, and a light lunch on Saturday afternoon. You'll have a long block of time on Saturday evening to get together with others and find your way into town for dinner.

Recommended hotels

More Affordable?

Looking to coordinate?

Santa Barbara Beach Hostel provides dorm, semi-private, and private rooms at a more affordable price.

Browse more 
options

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