EMS Mission Council in JLSS

The decision of EMS to hold its mission council in JLSS this year was a great honor and certainly the most delightful news to JLSS. That all members of the EMS Mission Council will spend a few days in our school and get to know it personally was the best thing that could have happened. Being in the institution that you have to make very important decisions for, instead of just imagining it vaguely, is the ideal thing. It cannot be matched with anything else.
Although the rooms in our guesthouse were not enough to host the number of people attending the council, the mission council kindly accepted accommodating some of its members in rooms of the girls' boarding homes of our school.
We highly appreciate the flexibility of the members who accepted to use these rooms in spite of their limitations compared to the guesthouse facilities.

The mission council was held from 24 to 27 June 2019.
It was attended by the following members and organizers:

Mission Council Members:
01     Rev Dr Hein Arina, Evangelical Christian Church in Minahasa (GMIM), Church President
02     Rev Nii Armah Ashittey, Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Director Ecumenical and Social Relations
03     Rev Dr Habib Badr, National Evangelical Church in Beirut (NEC), Senior Pastor, Vice-Chairperson EMS Mission Council and General Meeting; Hosting Church
04     Rev Roswitha Bernius-Grimm, Basel Mission German Branch (BMDZ)  
05     Rev Godfrey Cunningham, Moravian Church in South Africa, Church President
06     Rev Florian Gärtner, Protestant Church of the Palatinate, Director Office for Mission and Ecumenical Services
07     Rev Anne Heitmann, Protestant Church in Baden, Head of Dept. for Mission and Ecumenical Relations
08     Rev Raimund Hertzsch, Moravian Church (Ev. Brüder-Unität), European Continental Province
09     Rev Bernd Kappes, Evangelical Church of Kurhesse-Waldeck, Director Christian Education Fund  
10     Rev Detlev Knoche, Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, Director Centre for Ecumenical Work of EKHN and EKKW, Vice-Chairperson EMS Mission Council and General Meeting
11     Rev Dr LEE, Jae-Cheon, Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), General Secretary
12     Rev Dr OH, Hyun-Sun, Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK)
13     Ms Heidrun Perron, German East Asia Mission (DOAM)
14     Rev Klaus Rieth, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wuerttemberg, Head of Dept. for Mission, Ecumenical Relations and Church Development Service, Chairperson EMS Mission Council and General Meeting    
15     Rev Dr Rathnakara Sadananda, Church of South India (CSI), General Secretary
16     Dr Reinhold Schaal, Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS), Vice-Chairperson  

In Advisory Capacity:  
Ms Judith Damian, Representative Youth  
Mr Jonghoo LEE, Representative Youth  
Mr Peter Stoll, Finance Expert, Chairperson EMS Finance Committee

EMS Secretariat:
01     Mr Rudolf Bausch, Head of Department Administration and Finance, Management Board  
02     Ms Andrea Braun-Krier, Programme Assistant, General Secretariat    (Minutes/Organizational Support)
03     Mr Jörg Conzelmann, Head of Corporate Unit Communications
04     Rev Dr Uwe Gräbe, Liaison Secretary Middle East, Executive Secretary EVS,     Management Board
05     Ms Regina Karasch-Böttcher, Print Editor
06     Ms Regine Nagel, Programme Assistant Joint Programmes/Liaison Desk India; (Minutes/Organizational Support)
07     Rev Dr Kerstin Neumann, Acting General Secretary, Head of Department Mission and Partnership, Management Board  

The group arrived to Schneller on Tuesday 25 June at 9:45 AM. After the Presidium Meeting Rev. George D. Haddad lead the mission council members in a tour around the JLSS Campus.
The opening worship service was held in St. Michael's Church at 1:30 PM.
Rev. Roswitha Bernius-Grimm played inspiring music and hymns for the service on the Schneller pipe organ.
This was followed by words of welcome and introduction to the ministry of the Johann Ludwig Schneller School by Rev. George D. Haddad, director of JLSS.
It was a multilingual service of hymns, prayers, and bible readings.
The sermon was delivered by Rev. Dr. Habib Badr of the hosting church (National Evangelical Church in Beirut).
The mission council followed its agenda of meetings the following days.
The closing devotion was held on 27 June at 4:00 PM around the ancient Lebanese cedar of the Schneller campus which we call the King Cedar of JLSS.
It was followed with an exchange of gifts.
The mission council presented Rev. George D. Haddad with the gift they brought for JLSS for this occasion. It is a frame of facsimile page from the 42-line Gutenberg Bible, Mainz 1452-1455, from the Second Epistle of Peter.
The director presented mission council members with a souvenir made from cedar wood grown in Schneller School with the stamp of St. Michael's Church on one side and an original old Lebanese Pound coin on the other.
Later in the evening, the National Evangelical Church in Beirut hosted a traditional Lebanese night with Lebanese folk-dancing performed by the traditional Lebanese dance group, ZAFFET al_AKABER, of Khirbet Qanafar, and traditional Lebanese food with freshly baked breads on the tradition oven (SAJ).

We express our most sincere gratitude to EMS for holding its mission council this year in JLSS. We especially thank those who worked hard to hold this important event in our school. We also sincerely thank every member of the group for their kindness, friendship, and their amazing commitment to the wonderful Christian ministry of Schneller schools.