Holy Land Forum

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Click Here to Learn More about the Holy Land Trip

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Join us for a presentation to provide participants and the Riverside community a setting to help educate on the psychological effects of living under occupation in Palestine presented by Rev. Geraldine Howard and Dr. Renee McCormick. Geraldine and Renee will present snapshots of the daily lives of Palestinians living in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory that has been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967. Contextualized in the science of stress and trauma, they will highlight the unrelenting psycho-social stressors and traumatic events that characterize Palestinian life in the West Bank.

They will describe their visits with mental health clinicians, educators, academicians, and activists in the West Bank, and you will learn hear how the Palestinians cope with, survive, and ultimately practice steadfastness in the face of these stressors, and continue in their nonviolent resistance.

Included in their discussion will be information from:
Aida Refugee Camp
Palestinian Counseling Centre
Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital
Dr. Samah Jabr, Chair of Mental Health Unit, Palestinian Ministry of Health
Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kerorkian, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Jeff Halper, Co-Founder of Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem — Banksy’s art and other graffiti artists

The Riverside Church and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church have organized a faith-based trip to the Holy Land, July 10-18, 2023. The theme of the trip is “A Journey of Faith.”

The Bible Walk Group Trip is a spiritual trip where we will experience sacred places while discovering ancient landscapes and treasures that are sure to inspire your mind and body while spiritually elevating your soul. If you are interested in joining us on the trip to the Holy Land learn more and register at: https://www.trcnyc.org/2023holylandtrip/

Presenters

Dr. Renee McCormick, is a clinical psychologist and trauma therapist, who joined the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network delegation to Palestine in 2019 to study the psychological effects of living under occupation.

She and her professional group met with many mental health clinicians, educators, academicians, and activists at various sites throughout the West Bank.

Renee recently served on the Steering Committee for Voices from the Holy Land, an organization which seeks to provide a voice to the people living in the Holy Land by presenting documentary films by Israeli, Palestinian, American, and European filmmakers to start conversations. Renee’s interest in the Middle East began in her childhood, “tutored” by her Lebanese grandparents in Arabic customs and cuisine. During college, she studied Palestinian poets, and decades later studied global affairs at NYU-SCPS, with a special interest in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Recently she learned that her grandfather’s cousin, Faris Saleem Malouf, was a prominent voice in the international community in support of the rights of Palestinians during the forties and fifties. Renee is a long-time member of UUJME-All SoulsNYC.

Rev. Geraldine Howard, is a member of The Riverside Church (TRC) in the City of New York, a spiritual counselor and trained professional in racial literacy group work. In 2019 she accompanied the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network USAPalMHN) delegation to Palestine, a group of international mental health, clinicians, studying the effects of living under the unrelenting tension of occupation. The visit included mainly Palestinian cities, mental health units, and universities. Since the 2019 trip, she has worked with two Palestinian youths in Gaza in pastoral care, which is a part of USAPalMHN’s Connecting Conversations, and as an Outreach Representative. Here at TRC she is engaged with the Church Council, the Personnel & Salary Committee, the Ordination Committee, and pastoral work when called upon.