A Christian Peacebuilder in Jerusalem: Rev. Maria Lepakari and the Felm Center
As I like to say often, “Even though I am Jewish I have some good news for you!” (This is an old Jewish joke, based on the idea that Jews are so used to sharing mostly bad news!)
The good news today (and in the weeks ahead) is that there are still people in Jerusalem (and all over Israel) who believe in peace and are working towards peace in creative and committed ways. One of them is Rev. Maria Lepakari of the Finnish Felm Center in Jerusalem, a beautiful and serene place in the center of Jerusalem. In the spirit of the Christmas season, which has just been celebrated by Christians all over the world, including in Israel and Palestine, I am pleased to share this post about a wonderful Christian peacebuilder in Jerusalem.
Rev. Lepakari is not new to Jerusalem. She has spent many years in Jerusalem, first studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in the 1990s, where she studied comparative religion and early Christianity and then, between 2015 and 2022, she served as Director of the Swedish Theological Institute (STI) in Jerusalem, where she facilitated religious and intercultural dialogue at both academic and grassroots levels. I knew her during those years since I was active in interreligious dialogue in Jerusalem and I spoke often to visiting groups at that institute as well as at other Christian and Jewish institutions in Jerusalem. I also conducted many dialogue sessions there.
Throughout her career, Rev. Lepakari has built and maintained strong relationships with religious leaders in Jerusalem, the Nordic countries, Europe, and the Global South. She holds a Doctorate in Theology (2002) and the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) in the Study of Religions since 2012 at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.
In addition, she was ordained as a Reverend in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land in 2019 and continues her ministry in both Jerusalem and Finland. From 2022 until the summer of 2025, Rev. Lepakari worked in a leadership position in the Archipelago City of Pargas, Finland, advancing equity and promoting a just society in a political and civic context. A few months ago, she accepted a new position that brings her back to Jerusalem, as the director of the Felm Center.
I only discovered this center a few weeks ago when I went to meet Rev. Lepakari at the center to learn about what they are doing since she arrived in Jerusalem a few months ago. I was happy to discover a place that is right up my ally since I have long taught, written about and practiced interreligious dialogue as a form of peacebuilding. Accordingly, I was very pleased to learn about their goals and programs, which are:
We build peace through dialogue. Through our diverse programs, community initiatives, and the welcoming atmosphere of our center in Jerusalem, we offer a safe, inclusive space where individuals from many different backgrounds can come together. The Felm Center serves as a meeting point for dialogue, learning, and collaboration.
Through a tour of the building and a conversation over a cup of tea, I learned that the Felm Center has 3 foci when it comes to peacebuilding:
- Developing peacebuilding skills among children, youth, and the communities that support them and strengthening cooperation and capacity in peace education.
- Providing psychosocial support by empowering local peacebuilders, teachers, and others working with children and youth, and the marginalized by enhancing well-being and the quality of their work and also promoting awareness of mental and emotional support as part of conflict resolution and just peace.
- Promoting interfaith dialogue and peace theology by encouraging spiritual growth and cooperation across faith traditions by organizing cultural events, retreats, workshops, seminars, conferences, webinars, and other gatherings – both locally and internationally designed to foster understanding and to build trust.
Rev. Lepakari, who is very familiar with Jerusalem and knows many other interreligious peacebuilders and activists, is determined to make this center come alive with activities while she is here:
I want to turn this center into a peace hub, with lots of out-of-the box thinking and activities.
Since she has been here, the Felm Center has already hosted a conference for women peacebuilders in September and one for interfaith ecological activists in December. Moreover, she and her team are planning many more programs and projects for 2026.
Rev Lepakari shared her vision of the Felm Center with me:
I believe that meaningful encounters help break down stereotypes, strengthen relationships, and inspire shared visions for a more peaceful and connected Jerusalem. We commit to create a place where every person feels respected, heard, and empowered. We operate through Felm’s values: faith – hope – love, nurturing hope, supporting reconciliation, encouraging long-term cooperation between communities.
The traditional Christian values of this center—faith, hope and love—are central to her mission. Rev. Lepakari is clearly deeply committed to these values, which are part and parcel of who she is and why she is back in Jerusalem.
In my conversation with her, I felt that her enthusiasm was contagious. Based on her experience, knowledge and contacts, she wants this center to truly be a place of dialogue and action, and I think that she is going to make it happen in the coming months and years. Not only that, but I offered to help her with planning and implementing some programs, and we have already begun to think about some ways to do this.
Restoring some faith-based hope to people in Jerusalem after more than two years of a terrible war will not be easy, nor will it be quick. But as it says in the Mishnah, in the Ethics of the Fathers:
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. (Pirkei Avot 2:16)
[This post is part of a new series I am writing on peacebuilders in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.]
