Settling in

Settling in

Ruth Edens – Lebanon
In my two months as a Global Ministries intern in Beirut, Lebanon I have been settling in, trying to understand my host country, including its history, it culture and the partner organization where I work.

In my two months as a Global Ministries intern in Beirut, Lebanon I have been settling in, trying to understand my host country, including its history, it culture and the partner organization where I work.

With its rich history, ethnic diversity and lively mixture of faith traditions, Beirut has much to offer. This diversity is part of my everyday life.  Something I experienced right away was the combined use of Lebanon’s three different languages. It is very common to hear Arabic, English and French all spoken within the same sentence. This is quite a change for someone who was born, grew up and attended undergraduate school all in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina.  This is my first Christmas worshiping apart from my home, United Church of Chapel Hill.

Currently I am serving as a Global Ministries Intern at the Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue (FDCD). This non-profit organization focusing on three main program areas, Empowerment and Solidarity, Justice with Peace and Dialogue for youth. To give an example of the type of work FDCD does, they recently held an international work-study camp during the summer of 2005. It was an interfaith gathering of youth from Denmark, Canada, United States, France, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt which provided a forum for inter-cultural and inter-religious understanding and dialogue and touched on such issues as personal faith and cultural diversity, and has resulted in meaningful friendships and ongoing online discussions.

FDCD also serves as the regional coordinator for the Arab Partnership for Conflict Prevention & Human Security. The Arab Partnership is a network of organizations in the Arab world, which work on peaceful resolution of conflict and promoting comprehensive human security. Their goal is to work to resolve ongoing conflicts and prevent the outbreak of future violence in the region. Much of my time at FDCD has been focused on identifying sources of funding for furthering the organizations work.

Ruth Edens
Ruth Edens serves as a Global Mission Intern appointed by the Common Global Ministries Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.  She serves as program staff of the Forum for Development Culture and Dialogue based in Beirut, Lebanon.