Pastor's Life a Tale of Reconciliation

Growing up the daughter of a Muslim father and a Christian Reformed mother has shaped Rev. Shannon Jammal-Hollemans’ life and given her the chance to live in two cultures and learn about two religions.

While she was brought up Christian and attended Christian schools in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area., she always had deep respect for her father’s religion and loved to hear him when he spoke of his homeland, Lebanon.

“I was blessed to have parents from two backgrounds. As unlikely as their having met was, they found a way to make it work,” said Jammal-Hollemans, who is an ordained CRC pastor working as a collaborative program developer for the Office of Social Justice and Faith Formation Ministries.

A big part of her ministry work, she said, arises from her diverse background. But there is something else—a painful experience from high school—that has especially formed the work she does in seeking justice and reconciliation for people.

Jammal-Hollemans will probably touch on this experience when she makes a presentation Tuesday, Aug. 16, on “10 Things You Need to Know About Arabs and Muslims” during a Justice, Inclusion, Mercy, and Advocacy lunch-and-learn event at the Grand Rapids office of the CRC.

“When I and my siblings went to high school, there were threats on our lives because we are Arabs and our father is a Muslim,” said Jammal-Hollemans, who attended the Christian high school during the time of the First Gulf War.

“The high school administration wasn’t very helpful, and we got blamed for what happened to us,” she said. “It was especially hard for my father to see what we were going through.”

Jammal-Hollemans ended up graduating early from high school, and her siblings transferred to another Christian high school where they didn’t face such discrimination. When she left school, Jammal-Hollemans wanted no part of going to church.

“I still loved Jesus, but church wasn’t for me,” she said.

But even through her college years at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, God had hold of her and wouldn’t let her go. She stayed close to Christ, and when she met her husband, Kevin Hollemans, a CRC member, she had to rethink going to church.

With the help of her husband, who holds a strong faith, she saw the importance of being part of a worshiping community, and they have been members of Oakdale Park CRC in Grand Rapids for two decades now.

For several years, Jammal-Hollemans raised her children and worked as a fundraiser. Through the prompting of close friends, she eventually decided to act on a growing desire she had been feeling to attend seminary.

“I wondered if an Arab would be welcome in seminary, but I talked with a friend who is Arab and was attending seminary and she gave me encouragement,” said Jammal-Hollemans.

She also wondered if she was cut out for work in ministry until, she said, “I realized that God calls us to the work we do and that he equips those whom he calls to do that work.”

During seminary, she had an internship with the Office of Social Justice and was hired into her current position, to which Oakdale Park CRC called her, after graduation.

In her job today, Jammal-Hollemans is involved in the CRC’s Faith Formation and Social Justice ministries—and that is helping to fulfill her dream to be a bridge between people.

“I am grateful to be able to integrate faith formation and justice and to show others how the two are connected.”

In doing this, she said, she has come to increasingly see the significant role that churches play in this process.

“The two are intricately woven together. At one time I wanted to be a Christian apart from the church, but you can’t do that. A congregation is where people feel belonging and are reconciled with God and with one another.”

The church and gatherings of the church should also be places where people can gain perspective on the world and have their horizons expanded, said Jammal-Hollemans.

To that end, she will be addressing the group at the CRC office in Michigan about common misconceptions regarding Arabs and Muslims. In doing this, she wants to help break down barriers and create understanding.

For instance, she said, not all Arabs are Muslims.

“Many Arabs are Christians. There have been many Arab Christians since the time Jesus was around.”

In addition, Muslims are a diverse group, with different sects of the faith and with members of the religion ranging from those who are strict adherents to those who barely follow the beliefs and practices.

“There are Muslims who don’t practice everything” their religion calls for, just as there are nominal  Christians, she said.

Also, she said, there are countries where many Muslims live, and yet they don’t dominate the political system. For instance, the Lebanese constitution requires religious diversity, stating that the president is always Christian, while the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the parliament is a Shia Muslim.

For that matter, being Muslim does not mean you are a terrorist or that all Muslim or Arab women are oppressed or degraded. “Women are treated badly in many cultures,” she said.

She also said Christians see Christ as the Son of God while Muslims consider Muhammad, the founder of their faith, to be God’s prophet and not equal with God, she said.

“It’s important to educate people about Arabs and Muslims and also to realize that there are very different belief systems at play between people,” she said.