International
During the 75th commemoration of what Palestinians refer to as the nakba, or “catastrophe”—when hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted during Israel’s creation in 1948—World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary The Rev’d Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with member churches in the Holy Land
Justice & Advocacy
“Shawarma is from the Arab-Middle East region, but a recent major tour company promotion described the shawarma as an Israeli delicacy. This is a far cry from the friendly tussle between Australia and New Zealand over pavlova!” says Helen Rainger, General Synod member and President of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network
“In the ancient coins, lamps, manuscripts, marble statues, and mosaics that remain, the imagery and imagination of a distant time and place can be found again, allowing us to find new ways to tell the stories of the past for the present,” says Dr Sheilagh Ilona O’Brien, with The Rev’d Dr Gregory Jenks
It’s not easy being a youth leader in the Holy Land. “Our youth have a need to recognize God’s calling in their lives,” explained Nadine Bitar, general secretary of Christian Youth in Palestine, a group that supports youth leaders in the homeland of Jesus
“Many of the songs we sing in church look forward ‘one day’ to resurrection and eternal life, but I wonder if there are enough songs which express longing and hope for this life,” reflects Bishop Cam Venables
“It is one thing to study the Bible when you are 14,000 kilometres away, but it is a completely different – some say life-changing – experience reading it while in the Holy Land,” says The Rev’d Daniel Jayaraj as he reflects on modern-day pilgrimage
The Rev’d Dr Ray Barraclough, former lecturer at St Francis College in Milton and former senior lecturer at St George’s College in East Jerusalem, reflects upon the story of a young Christian Palestinian woman, Areej Masoud, who recently visited Australia on a speaking tour
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