Shadia Qubti - Speaker Kit

Shadia Qubti is a Palestinian Christian from Nazareth, currently an arrivant on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, known as Vancouver, Canada. She worked in faith-based peacebuilding in Palestine/Israel for 15 years, focusing on amplifying women's voices through initiatives like the Women Behind the Wall podcast. Her writing is inspired by her completed research into Palestinian and North American Indigenous understandings of land, informing her approach to contextual theology. Her forthcoming publications include "Noticing Sumac in Unexpected Places: Theological Engagement" in The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivation Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza (2025) and "The Significance of Peacebuilding in Theological Education." Shadia currently serves as Community Engagement Animator at Trinity Grace United Church in Vancouver and as a Commissioner to the General Council of the United Church of Canada.

Shadia Qubti is a Palestinian born and raised in Nazareth who has worked in faith-based peacebuilding and advocacy initiatives through local and international organizations in Israel and Palestine for 15 years. Her public speaking interests focus on conversations with the Majority World, particularly theological conversations between Palestinian and North American Indigenous understandings of land, explored in her MA thesis at Vancouver School of Theology (Qubti, Shadia. 2023. "A Theological Conversation between Palestinian and North American Indigenous Understandings of Land." UBC Community and Partner Publications. March 31. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0444154).

Shadia offers a contextual decolonial approach through Palestinian land-based readings of biblical narratives, with examples of her work here. As a lived theologian, she speaks from her particular experience navigating multiple positionalities: as a Christian minority among a Muslim Palestinian majority; as a Palestinian minority among a Jewish Israeli majority; as a woman within patriarchal societies; and as an arrivant in Canada. This intersectional perspective informs her work in amplifying the voices and perspectives of women and other marginalized communities, which she has pursued through co-founding the Women Behind the Wall podcast.

Upcoming Publications:

• "Noticing Sumac in Unexpected Places: Theological Engagement" in The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivation Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza (edited by John and Samuel Munayer, Orbis Books USA, expected publication October 2025)

• "The Significance of Peacebuilding in Theological Education"

Shadia currently serves as Community Engagement Animator at Trinity Grace United Church in Vancouver, Canada, and as a Commissioner to the 45th General Council of the United Church of Canada.