Taybeh, 14 kilometres north east of Ramallah, is one of the few predominantly Christian villages in Palestine. Like villages all over the West Bank, it is suffering as many of its people decide to emigrate, seeing no other choice given the economic and physical hardship they suffer under Israeli occupation.
In the 1960s the town had a population of 3,400. The population today is 1,300. Unemployment stands at around 50 per cent.
But for Father Raed Abusahlia, priest of the Latin (Roman Catholic) church of Taybeh, the grim situation only adds urgency to efforts to empower the local people spiritually and economically, as he explained to an ecumenical delegation visiting the village in March.
The delegation – a Living Letters team travelling on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) – visited churches, ecumenical organisations and civil society groups in Israel and Palestine from 7 to 14 March.
There are three congregations in the village – Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic. The congregations worship together at Easter and Christmas, and are all actively involved in local projects.
The Latin parish runs a school, a medical centre, a hostel for pilgrims, and numerous church services and youth activities. These projects are designed to give the people hope and a reason to stay in Taybeh, says Fr Abusahlia.
Its Peace Lamp initiative makes use of an abundant local product – olive oil – to promote peace and justice in the Holy Land. The lamps are produced in a workshop in Taybeh, providing jobs to 20 young men and women.
The goal is to place a Peace Lamp, with accompanying olive oil and a small candle, in every church in the world, and in this way, to encourage prayer and solidarity with the people of Palestine. All revenue from the sale of the lamps goes to charitable organisations like the Caritas medical centre and Beit Afram, Taybeh's home for senior citizens.
Around 50 young people aged between five and 15 sing in the parish youth choir. The choir has produced a CD called With One Voice, and in 2006, eight children from the choir participated in a music tour of France, performing 14 concerts throughout the country.
Around 100 groups of pilgrims visit Taybeh each year. Fr Abusahlia says that visitors can play an important role in breaking down the stereotypes that exist about Israel and Palestine.
"Maintaining the Christian presence in the Holy Land is the responsibility of all the Christians in the world," he said. "When people visit, they can see that Taybeh is a place of peace. We encourage them to talk about Taybeh to their friends and family when they return home, and promote products like our Peace Lamps. That is the best sign of solidarity."
