Kathy Bergen Recognised for three decades of work in the Middle East
On 10 October 2013, Kathy Bergen received the alumni recognition award for her peace and justice ministry from the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary at a ceremony held at the seminary in Elkhart, Indiana.
On 14 October 2013, Kathy was awarded the Passion for Peace Award by the Middle East Study Group of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, celebrating with her wonderful achievement of 31 years of tireless service contributing to peace and justice in Palestine and Israel.
Kathy Bergen served as Programme Coordinator of the Friends International Center in Ramallah (FICR) from April 2006, (a year after the Friends Meeting House and Annex had been restored and rededicated as a place of worship) until June 2013.
Kathy first went to Jerusalem in the late 1970s, as part of her training at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. After graduation she went back to work in Jerusalem with the Mennonite Central Committee, working on education and advocacy.
Kathy stayed in Jerusalem until 1991 and then moved to Geneva where she worked until 1994 as the Director of the International Coordinating Committee for NGOs on the Question of Palestine (ICCP). From there, her work led her to Philadelphia where she worked for 12 years for the American Friends Service Committee as the National Coordinator of the Middle East Program of the Peace Building Unit. After serving on the committee which supported Friends in Ramallah in renovating their Meeting House, Kathy became the Co-ordinator of the Friends International Center in Ramallah.
A fuller article on Kathy’s work will be published in the Spring edition of Among Friends.
