Author. Speaker. Advocate. Peacebuilder.
A Sermon in
Time of War
First Church Cambridge
October 15, 2023
We are so pleased to welcome as a guest preacher CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). Rev. Dr. Cannon will share her perspectives on the ongoing crisis in Palestine and Israel. Cannon is the author of several books including the award-winning Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World and editor of A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land.
Social Justice
An Award Winning Resource for a Better World
Mae Elise Cannon provides a comprehensive resource for Christians like you who are committed to social justice. She presents biblical rationale for justice and explains a variety of Christian approaches to doing justice. Tracing the history of Christians in social engagement, she lifts out role models and examples from the Great Awakenings to the civil rights movement. A wide-ranging catalog of topics and issues give background info about justice issues at home and abroad.
This handbook includes dozens of practical exercises for taking action, as well as profiles of key figures and movements like William Wilberforce, the Salvation Army and Bono, highlighting how Christians and churches can make a difference. Also included are spiritual practices and resources to help us move from immobility to advocacy.
"This is a cookbook for plotting goodness and stirring up holy mischief. Take a look and find a recipe for revolution. Then let us take it to the streets--interrupting injustice with grace, surprising the world with joy and whispering God's love to a broken world."
- Shane Claiborne, activist, author and lover, www.thesimpleway.org
Activism
Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age
Activist Mae Elise Cannon takes us beyond the hashtags to serious engagement with real issues. God calls the church to respond substantively to the needs of the poor, the realities of racial inequity, and the mistreatment of women and the marginalized. We can accomplish change through a range of strategic avenues—spiritually, socially, legally, politically, and economically. And addressing the domestic and international injustices of our day takes us on a journey of spiritual transformation that brings us closer to God and those around us.
Channel your passion to care effectively for your neighbor and the world. This book will help you understand and put into action what it means for the church to be a place of peace, justice, and hope.
"With all that is happening in the world, there has never been a more critical time for this important book! In Beyond Hashtag Activism, Mae Cannon brings her years of experience and expertise to call us beyond concern to an authentic commitment to racial justice, gender equity, and global hope. This book is a very practical resource for anyone who wants to actively participate in God's story of reconciliation and social healing. I highly recommend it!"
- Brenda Salter McNeil, author of Roadmap to Reconciliation and A Credible Witness
Holy Land
Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land
A Land Full of God gives American Christians an opportunity to promote peace and justice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It shows them how to understand the enmity with brief, digestible, and comprehensive essays about the historical, political, religious, and geographical tensions that have led to many of the dynamics we see today. All the while, A Land Full of God walks readers through a biblical perspective of God's heart for Israel and the historic suffering of the Jewish people, while also remaining sensitive to the experience and suffering of Palestinians. The prevailing wave of Christian voices are seeking a pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-peace, pro-justice, pro-poor, and ultimately pro-Jesus approach to bring resolution to the conflict.
Spiritual Formation
How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action
Activist and historian Mae Elise Cannon explores the direct connection between Christians' personal relationship with God and outward actions of kindness, mercy, compassion and advocacy. She looks at how notable Christian leaders were able to face societal challenges because of the rich depths of their spiritual practices.
For example:
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Mother Teresa's practice of silence compelled her to service.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer's prayer life equipped his discipleship.
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s beloved community empowered his proclamation.
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Oscar Romero's discipline of submission prepared him to face martyrdom.
Biographical profiles of these and other key figures from around the world give us concrete examples of how activism and advocacy can be sustained over the long haul.
"Jesus' gospel is a call to action. The gospel requires us to right wrongs, to heal the broken places of this world. Mae Cannon is doing just that. Read this book for its rich wisdom that fuels activism like Mae's—the kind of activism needed in our world's toughest places."
- Richard Stearns, president, World Vision, author, The Hole in Our Gospel
Biography
Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
Cannon has served as Executive Director with Churches for Middle East Peace since 2016. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), her ministry and professional background includes serving as the Senior Director of Advocacy and Outreach for World Vision-US, the executive pastor of Hillside Covenant Church (Walnut Creek, California), Director of Development and Transformation for Extension Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church (Barrington, Illinois), and as a consultant to the Middle East for child advocacy issues for Compassion International.
She earned doctorates in History (Ph.D) and Spiritual Formation (D. Min). Her Ph.D focused on American History with the minor in Middle Eastern studies from the University of California – Davis, focusing her dissertation on the history of the American Protestant church in Israel and Palestine. Cannon’s Doctorate of Ministry in Spiritual Formation is from Northern Theological Seminary. Cannon holds an M.Div. From North Park Theological Seminary, an M.B.A. from North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management, and an M.A. in bioethics from Trinity International University. Cannon completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Chicago in History, Philosophy, Social Studies, of Science and Medicine.
Recent Articles and Recordings
Book Review
Book Review: In the Eye of the Storm: Middle Eastern Christians in the Twenty-First Century
Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs
October 4, 2023
A must-read for any serious scholar of Christianity in the Middle East. The book provides a broad overview...
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Humanitarian
The Worst Famine Today Is Largely Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Christians for Social Action
June 27, 2023
One of the most devastating food crises in the world is mainly out-of-sight-out-of-mind for Americans. Most Americans probably could not easily find...
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Religious Freedom; Violence
Violence Against Christians: Degradation of the Sacred and the Holy in Jerusalem
Do Justice
September 8, 2023
He was spat upon when coming out of a worship service
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Justice; Palestine
Allahu Akbar - Finding God in Umm El Kheir
Do Justice
May 1, 2023
Over the past decade, every time I traveled to the Palestinian bedouin village of Umm El Kheir in the South Hebron hills, I was greeted by the village Sheik
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Women; Armenia
The Unknown Saint of Armenia – The Devout and Beautiful Hrispime
Prayers4Peace Blog
July 26, 2023
My favorite piece of Armenian history is that of Saint Hripsime (pronounced Rip-se-may). Hripsime lived during the third century, a beautiful woman who escaped from the clutches of an evil emperor
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Jerusalem; Status Quo
Jewish Nationalism Fuels Increasing Attacks on Christians
Understanding Israel Palestine, KKFI Kansas City
April 28, 2023
Recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, she discusses the Israeli government’s intentional erosion of the historic status quo that has governed Jews, Christians and Muslims’ access to the holy sites
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Events
Contact Mae
Invite Mae to give a talk or ask her a question.