Anglican Communion News Service

by S Ross Jones

Merry Christmas to all of you from St George's College Jerusalem. As we celebrate our Lord's birth, it is time for us to pause and reflect a bit on how easily the circumstances in this land consume our total attention. Certainly no one wants to ignore those circumstances, but Christmas rightly brings us back to the fact that we are more - more than victims of strife. We are holy people: holy because we are in God's image; holy because God loves us; holy because God became as we are.

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Sitting cross-legged on her bed in her white shawl and black dress, a faint smile showing across her weathered face, Hadba looked quite at home while recovering from uncontrolled hypertension at the Ahli Arab Hospital earlier this week.

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The Arab Evangelical School, located in the West Bank city of Ramallah are facing the problem that parents are neglecting to pay their children's tuition. Administration officials say this phenomenon has become increasingly common at the school, forcing them to make some tough decisions. All families have felt the economic repercussions of the continuing conflict in the region. The city of Ramallah, a jewel of the West Bank just a few years ago, has suffered extensive damage since the latest Intifada started two years ago.

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Beaten by security guards. Hassled by soldiers. Weary after spending several tiring days picking olives.

International Solidarity Movement volunteer Dan O'Reilly-Rowe had experienced a rough day near the Palestinian village of Felamaya after peacefully protesting the destruction of olive trees and the creation of a new wall separating Israel and the West Bank. But when looking for a place to rest and heal, he bypassed the hotels in the nearby city of Tel Aviv, travelling several more miles to St Georges Pilgrim Guest House in Jerusalem.

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Cairo

The Standing Committee of the Central Synod of the Episcopal Church in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, meeting in Cairo on 24 October 2002, strongly supported the stand of the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, and the Archbishop Designate, Dr Rowan Williams, in relation to the threat of war against Iraq. The statement particularly urges respect for existing United Nations procedures.

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A consultation of religious leaders from the Holy Land has issued a ten-point plan detailing the task and challenges ahead of them.

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In a bold new initiative, twelve Israeli and Palestinian children from Jerusalem arrived in Houston on 6 July to spend a week at Camp Allen, in nearby Navasota. Accompanied by four adult teacher/advisors, the "Kids4Peace" will share songs, favourite recipes and even a fashion show of Israeli and Palestinian costumes, as they form friendships far from the conflict zone.

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Children of Bethlehem to receive support from Anglican World Christmas Cards

The deserted streets and the quiet Manger Square in the place where Mary gave birth to her child JESUS are sad sights for the Christian world as we begin the countdown to Advent and Christmas.

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In the midst of Mideast violence and uncertainty, a remarkable initiative for children is cause for hope and encouragement. This summer, Camp Allen, in the Diocese of Texas, will host 12 Palestinian and Israeli children, ages 11-12, for a summer camp session as part of a unique "education for peace" opportunity.

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The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, presiding on Wednesday 15th May 2002, at St Martin in the Fields, London

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by J M Rosenthal and Matthew Davies

"We are here in this church to show our solidarity with the remnant of the Church in the Holy Land: we are one with them. We are not here to make a political protest, though the political implications of what we are doing are inevitable." These words of Anglican Bishop Robin Smith were heard by hundreds who gathered on Wednesday in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, for a moving service of witness and solidarity with the beleaguered Christian community and all people suffering in the Holy Land as a result of the current, seemingly endless, strife and conflict.

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In a strongly worded address recently given at a conference held in Boston, Massachusetts, the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, the Rt Revd Desmond Tutu, expressed his grave concern for the current state of affairs in the Holy Land. Having had first-hand experience of injustice and oppression under the apartheid regime in South Africa he recalls how the great supporters of abolishing the system were Jewish people. "They almost instinctively had to be on the side of the disenfranchised, of the voiceless ones," he said.

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15 May 2002 at 1pm

St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square

Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem to preside

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Dear Friends,

Salaam and grace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and blessed greetings from Jerusalem,

I want to thank you all for your continued support, your messages, and all your thoughts and prayers at this time.

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Dear Friends,

Salaam and grace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and blessed greetings from Jerusalem.

We are still in Easter Week and events are moving rather quickly with more tragedies and more killings and sufferings. These are times of great suffering to the Palestinian people, and to the Church in Palestine. All of our Palestinian cities are now occupied by Israel and the people are prevented from leaving their houses.

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Dear friends,

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are still alive...

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Noko applauds Arafat's reception of Saudi Peace Plan

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It is Easter Day, the day of Resurrection. However, this year's celebration of Christ's new life is remembered in the middle of total chaos, and persistent suffering of a lonely people, who has long been fighting for their freedom and dignity. The services in the Cathedral this morning took place with half the number of people we normally have due to closures and checkpoints. This year, the Easter story has been as vivid and clear as never before. The biblical drama continues; the actors change, but the plot remains the same. We have been witnessing the many Judas Iscariots, who continue to betray the Truth, and the many Pilates, who wash their hands, to defend their own safety. We weep before those who continue to watch the cross from afar, as if the scene means nothing to them.

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Urgent Appeal Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees Middle East Council of Churches

Jerusalem

Irreconcilability of Israeli Military Action with Basic Human Rights of the Alive and Dead.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We have just finished our Good Friday service at St. George’s Cathedral, after walking the Via Dolorosa. Good Friday has come to Jerusalem, amidst the sounds of helicopters, police sirens, and tank movements. The atmosphere is frightening and this did not allow many to attend. One is reminded of that atmosphere two thousand years ago. The streets are conspicuously empty.

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The Liturgy at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem has just ended. I listened to the lessons as they were read and tried to picture myself in the places and with the people that were mentioned. At one level it was a wonderful feeling to be so familiar with the places, but another feeling quickly dominated as I thought about the people. Those disciples surely felt the same kind of despair that I feel today. They had put their hope in Jesus and risked their lives that they were right. That is not an unusual observation to hear, but it has a completely different power in the context of today's events.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury joins with pilgrims for the annual Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem to the Old City.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Salaam and grace in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ and blessed greetings to you from Jerusalem.

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The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East - 21/22 February 2002

As a result of these meetings just completed, the Right Reverend Clive Handford, Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, was elected President Bishop following the retirement of the Most Reverend Iraj Mottahedeh at the end of April 2002.

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What has been called one of the "poorer years" for St George's College by its Dean, 2001 saw only 146 pilgrims in contrast to 450 in 1999. The Very Revd Ross Jones, an Episcopal priest from the United States, met with his executive committee at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria this week in hopes for wide support from around the Anglican Communion during this time "as we struggle to survive with the dearth of pilgrims."

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More than a dozen senior Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from the Holy Land have concluded an unprecedented joint declaration pledging themselves to work together for a just and lasting peace.

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One week ago the Israeli military attacked and demolished 53 Palestinian homes in Rafah, in the south of Gaza on the Egyptian border. Tanks and military bulldozers invaded Rafah refugee camp at 2 am and proceeded to destroy these homes with no provocation. The area was quiet at the time, and people were in their homes during a particularly cold spell of winter weather. Rafah is on the Mediterranean Sea, and at the same time 24 motors were confiscated from local Palestinian fishing boats and access to the sea prohibited. This attack has left over 700 people homeless, including 400 children. These families have lost all their possessions in the demolitions, and to date have been prevented from returning to the ruins of their homes to obtain possessions in the rubble. The International Red Cross and the UN (UNRWA) have responded by providing tents, clothes, blankets, and food.

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We come today to remember those five thousand innocent civilians who were killed in the tragic attack of September 11th.

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We live in a tumultuous and restless time.  The post-September 11th world has left many fearful for their security and uncertain about the future.  The words 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' have become routine in people's conversations.  Suspicion and doubt about others are becoming all too common.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, begins a six-day pastoral visit to the Middle East this week taking in Bahrain and Qatar (Wednesday 31 October 2001).

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