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International peacemaker to discuss Syrian refugee crisis
October 3, 2018 @ 11:45 am - 2:30 pm
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Dr. Mary Mikhael, a native of Syria, will visit Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond October 3, 2018, to address the growing humanitarian crisis and the challenges that religious groups face as they seek to bring hope, peace, and reconciliation in this war-torn region.
More than 350,000 people have died and 11 million have been forced to leave their homes since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, according to the Presbyterian Mission. Mikhael has first-hand knowledge of the church’s response to this crisis through advocacy and humanitarian aid.
Mikhael recently served as president of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, the first woman to serve in this capacity in any seminary in the Middle East. A Presbyterian, born to Greek Orthodox parents in Syria, she is a 1982 graduate of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond (now Union Presbyterian Seminary). She earned her doctorate in education at Columbia University in New York. Returning to Syria she became the director of the women’s program for the Middle East Council of Churches. She is active in ecumenical and interfaith activities and is a noted authority on the church in the Middle East and the role of women.
Since the outbreak of civil war in Syria, Mikhael has been interpreting the consequences of this global tragedy for the Syrian and Lebanese people, particularly the Christian communities, as she serves with the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon.
She is the author of the Presbyterian Women 2010 Horizons Bible Study “Joshua: A Journey of Faith” for the Presbyterian Church (USA) and was co-author of “She Shall Be Called Woman,” a meditation on biblical women.
Mikhael is one of 10 International Peacemakers visiting the U.S. as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. They will be speaking in churches, seminaries and other gatherings between Sept. 21 and Oct. 15. She will preach at Union Presbyterian Seminary October 3 at 11:45 a.m. in Watts Chapel and lead a forum conversation at 1:30 p.m. in Richmond Hall.
