December 2023 Anglican Commentary: Saleem Kasabreh ’24
Hi all! My name is Saleem Kasabreh, and I am enrolled in the M. Div. Program at Virginia Theological Seminary. I am currently a senior and will be sad to leave VTS soon, in May, after graduation. I come from the Diocese of Jerusalem; my home parish is St. George’s Cathedral—Jerusalem. I was born and raised in the Holy City of Jerusalem, previously a Lutheran. The whole story of my coming to the Anglican church ties into my calling to the ministry. When I was young, I went to St. George’s with my grandmother. It was my first visit to St. George’s. A priest asked us if I wanted to become an acolyte in the service. My answer was definitely a big YES!
As I was growing up and serving in the Cathedral, I felt deeply that my call was more extensive than just being an acolyte on Sundays. I felt Christ deeply calling me to flourish in my ministry. Before coming to the Seminary, I served at St. Andrew’s in Ramallah for one year. It was a deep and powerful experience that added much to my spiritual life and allowed me to experience a different context within the diocese. Last summer, I went to serve in a more exciting context. I went to Jordan! My experience in Jordan was one of the best so far. I served in three summer camps there at Schneller School in Marka. Between each camp, I went to the Holy Land Institute of the Deaf and Blind in Salt. Although I planned to learn my seventh language, Latin, I happened to learn Sign Language instead at the Institution in Salt.
Last August, I started working as a student worker at the Center for Anglican Communion Studies. My primary role is helping with the VTS Trinity Wall Street Grant for a leadership development project with the Diocese of Jerusalem young leaders’ cohort. I enjoy working with CACS, learning new things, and being creative on many levels. One of the most potent aspects of CACS is getting to know theologians, priests, and bishops who join us with words of wisdom from the heart of their ministries. CACS does its best to bring a diverse perspective of the Anglican Communion into one place, to hear, learn, ask, and be inspired by various expertise and contexts around the Anglican Globe. When I think about the Anglican Communion, I think about the powerful verse of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 10:17: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” This verse reminds us of the many people worldwide who break the same Bread in the name of Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, broken for us to eat and partake, as this spiritual food will bind us all together in Christ’s name. The Body was broken for many, that all become one Body in Christ Jesus. This is the power of being an Anglican, yet it is the power of the Anglican Communion.
Saleem Kasabreh, ’24
Postulant, Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem