June 2010
Electronic, ecumenical news from Churches
Together in England
Click headings for more…
First a
Reflection…
Huge crowds, but the pain of remaining barriers
Jenny Bond reflects on her experience of the ecumenical Kirchentag.
Now
here’s the news…
Edinburgh 2010 issues a Common
Call to renewed commitment
Archbishop John Sentamu preached at
the closing service.
50 years of the Pontifical Commission
for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU)
The Mission of Peace - Thinking Global, Acting Local
Deenabandhu Manchala of the WCC
explored issues of faith and violence in the city of Leeds.
Refugee and Migrant Justice at risk of closure
It may be treated as a commercial organisation and made to
wait for payment till the end of a legal case.
Death
of Dr David Stevens, leader of the Corrymeela Community
A tribute to the former general secretary of the Irish Council of Churches
Mission in London’s Economy (MiLE) heard presentations from Sue Hutson about
her research report ‘Faith and Work’ and Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and
Public Affairs of the Church of England.
Call on Holy Land pilgrims to work for peace
Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land should show concern for the
Palestinian people said a consultation.
He
is moving this autumn from Peterborough diocese, where he has chaired the East
Midlands Churches Forum.
What's
going on in Inter-Faith relations?
A surprising amount is happening, says Celia Blackden, although it may
very often be ‘below our radar’.
CAFOD,
the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales and an Agency of CTE,
has just moved to a new green building with ground source heat pumps and solar
thermal system, sedum roof and rain water for toilet flushing, no car park and
space for 50 bikes. The address is 55
Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB.
Huge crowds,
but the pain of remaining barriers
Looking out of the window for
inspiration, several England flags wave at me from upstairs windows and a man
with an England tee-shirt walks past. Dare I confess to a total indifference to
football?! Does it date from when my brother, a besotted eight-year old, whiled
away the tedium of car journeys with loud and enthusiastic commentaries on
imagined or remembered games?
But I recently passed Manchester
City's stadium before a game was due to start and had a strong sense of the
spectacle and excitement of the game. Even from the car I felt the theatre of
it all, the exhilaration of being part of a huge crowd. I'm not normally a
crowd person myself but suddenly I understood the drama and – almost! – wanted
to share it.
Football crowds? Ideal Home
exhibition? Greenbelt? Spring Harvest? All those comparisons jostle for
attention as I struggle to convey the experience of the second ecumenical Kirchentag. It was my
first Kirchentag, although I have wanted to go for
some time. I knew it would be big – but this big? If you are a numbers person,
then some people said 130,000 people, some 230,000 people. I don't do numbers,
but we took Munich over – local people offered hospitality and all the hotels
were full. Everyone seemed to be wearing the distinctive Kirchentag travel
pass or boasting the orange Kirchentag scarf. They
stopped the traffic for us as we walked away from the exhilarating opening
service, following the bands (a clever way of lessening the log-jam as they
took different routes) and enthusiastically waving at bemused residents of
upstairs flats as we went.
What shall I write about? The
opening service with all those people, big screens ensuring we had a sense of
what was happening? The various morning bible studies? The vast market-place,
filling huge exhibition halls and showcasing every aspect of church life –
mainstream and marginal, well-known and whacky? The various seminars all over
the city, some in small rooms, some in exhibition halls? We managed to get to
the one which included Angela Merkel speaking about social inclusion and were
very impressed at the way people spoke affectionately of her – she has been a
constant participant for years. We listened to Hans Küng
–
was I really in the same (vast) room as him? All styles of worship were
available. I remember particularly the open-air Orthodox service, a thousand
tables set on a dual carriageway, each set for ten, with a cloth, earthenware
tumblers and jug of water, a bowl of oil, apples and a large cloth-covered loaf
of bread. Half-way through the service, we turned our chairs to face each other
round the tables, shared apples, bread and oil and, afterwards, shared
scripture together too.
I've come home with scarves and
bags, leaflets and badges. There's the Coventry cross I made from nails and the
wooden angel which will grace my Christmas tree next year. I've come home with
a myriad of memories and ideas. There's the thought, for example, that although
the Kirchentag is aimed at Christians, with its
mixture of worship, education and entertainment, nevertheless it was a powerful
witness, demonstrating the vitality of the Church, young and old alike. It was
good to be part of that.
But what has gone deep for me came
from a seminar on inter-communion. Obviously the issue has been aired fairly
regularly in my ten years as Field Officer. I've heard the arguments and
counter-arguments, the explanations and the anger. Each time I participate in
the celebration of Eucharist and am unable to receive bread and wine, my
commitment to work for unity is strengthened. Each time I receive communion at
Mass while my friends and colleagues receive a blessing, it hurts, and I know
with every fibre of my being that our disunity is not what God wants. But I
came away from the Kirchentag ashamed. I listened to a Jesuit
from Oxford talking about his various friends who are in Inter-Church
marriages. Philip spoke simply of their deep and constant pain, united in
marriage – which surely supersedes ecclesial disunity – yet unable to receive
communion together. In ecumenical circles we don't like not being able to receive
communion together. It's uncomfortable and contradicts the fellowship we
experience. For some of us, it's an affront, for a common table is a grace on
the way to unity. For others, a common table is the fruit of full ecclesial unity,
so it's a sharp reminder that despite the genuine fellowship and friendship,
ecclesial disunity is real. But our discomfort is as nothing compared to the
pain of those who 'live in [their] marriage the hopes and difficulties of the
path to Christian unity' (Pope John Paul II at York, 1982). And, in the midst of the complaints and
misunderstandings, I forget that. So I am ashamed. Yes, I want to be able to
receive communion with my friends, but that is as nothing compared with the
deep desire of inter-Church families. I can do so little, but I can remember
them, remind other people of them, and keep them in my prayer. For me, that is
the abiding fruit of the ecumenical Kirchentag. Back to top
Edinburgh
2010 issues a Common Call to renewed commitment
Archbishop
John Sentamu issued a reminder at the closing worship service of “Edinburgh
2010”. Jesus told his followers, “You are my witnesses.” The Anglican
archbishop of York appealed on behalf of “the crucial importance of Christian
witness.” Alluding to the gospel
account of Peter’s denial of Christ, he added: “Jesus today is on trial in the
court of the world by our lips and lives. Jesus and his gospel are being
judged.”
Encouragement
to exercise loving hospitality towards others and humility in Christian
outreach formed the refrains of Edinburgh 2010’s closing celebration and of the
meeting’s Common Call in which delegates expressed “full awareness that God
resists the proud, Christ welcomes and empowers the poor and afflicted, and the
power of the Holy Spirit is manifested in our vulnerability.” As Archbishop
Sentamu put it in his sermon, “Human activity only begets human activity. The
prophetic Word and the Spirit make us live.” His voice echoed with an
evangelising passion that recalled preachers of the past who spoke in the same
space.
In June 1910,
a groundbreaking World Missionary Conference drew delegates from churches and
mission societies throughout the earth to the Assembly Hall of the Church of
Scotland, set on The Mound near Edinburgh Castle and St Giles Cathedral. One
hundred years later, on the afternoon of Sunday 6 June, more than a thousand
worshippers gathered in the Assembly Hall to mark the end of the Edinburgh 2010
conference surveying world Christianity and the potential for common witness to
Jesus Christ in the 21st century. Among participants in this closing
celebration were the nearly 300 delegates from some 60 nations and a broad
range of Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal,
independent and uniting churches. A “Common Call” to renewed commitment,
affirmed by this year’s conference, was addressed to the Christians of this era
and affirmed at the climax of the closing celebration. Diversity was clearly on display in the
ecclesiastical vestments and national dress worn by worshippers in the Assembly
Hall. Prayers were led in several of the world’s languages, and hymns were sung
from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania as well as disparate cultures of
Europe. Indian dancers from Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham and an African choir
were among the many forms and voices that animated the proceedings.
Historians
imagined what a delegate from 1910 would make of this year’s deliberations.
Among other things, they noted, it would have come as a shock that the current
celebration was being video-streamed live throughout the world. On the other
hand, how would a delegate from 2010 transported to an earlier time survive
without the capacity to e-mail? The presence of two direct descendants of 1910
delegates from Asia was acknowledged: the granddaughter of Yun Ch’iho from
Korea and the grandson of John Rangiah who had represented the Indian community
in South Africa. Bishop Devamani of Dornakal, Church of South India, read
excerpts of the speech given in 1910 by a young V.S. Azariah, later the first
bishop of Dornakal. Further
presentations stressed the need for mutuality in mission: westerners have much
to learn from Christians of the east, and northerners must discover how to show
greater humility and a willingness to learn from the global south.
Archbishop
John Sentamu’s sermon followed a reading of Ezekiel’s prophecy that brought new
life to a valley of dry bones. “As leaders in mission,” said the archbishop,
“we must help our churches by acting prophetically, speaking out for freedom
against injustice. Our forebears have done so in the past against slavery and
more recently against apartheid, world debt and poverty. We must continue to
speak out against injustice shown to asylum seekers and all in need.” He continued, “As we do this, we must
remember that speaking prophetically is not the same as condemning other
people’s failures, but rather helping us all towards the acceptance of common
goals which uplift the heart. To help lift up the heart of a nation is an
exciting challenge, and it is one which we can do together, because it is what
God has called us to as part of our mission and discipleship.”
The previous
evening, a final discussion session at the conference reviewed the study
processes leading to 2010 and the deliberations undertaken in small groups and
plenary conclaves on the Pollock Halls campus of Edinburgh University. “This is
probably the most comprehensive mission gathering since 1910,” remarked Vinoth
Ramachandra, a Sri Lankan leader of the International Fellowship of Evangelical
Students. Like other speakers, Ramachandra recognised many promising
developments in the 2010 gathering yet expressed disquiet at the high
percentage of religious and academic professionals compared to the many lay
workers present a century earlier. He called this a “blind spot” in
contemporary church gatherings, a failure to realize that “the primary work of
mission takes place in the daily lives of ordinary Christian men and women”.
The next such world-wide event, he said, will profit from an attempt to include
more members of the laity, women, youth and representatives from the southern
hemisphere. Existing boundaries need to be “deconstructed, though not
destroyed”. In particular, “the artificial boundary between clergy and laity
needs to be deconstructed”. The essential thing in these times, Ramachandra
said, is that “boundaries of all kinds must be eroded.” Back to top
The
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) has played a
significant role in helping bishops educated in a dated ‘theology of exclusion’
to move towards a genuine ‘ecumenical commitment’. This was one of the remarks
made by a leading Vatican figure at a press conference held at an international
conference on world Christianity.
On Saturday 5
June 2010, the 50th anniversary of the formation of what is now the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), Bishop Brian Farrell, who has
served as its secretary for the last eight years, spoke at a press conference
alongside Revd Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and
Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit of the World Council of Churches (WCC). They addressed the topic ‘Christian unity today’
in a morning press conference at the Edinburgh 2010 Conference. The gathering
commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the landmark 1910 World Mission
Conference which took place in the same city. Some 300 delegates from over 60
countries and virtually all Christian traditions are attending the event.
Referring to
the PCPCU 50th anniversary, Farrell explained that the body that was its
predecessor was created by Pope John XXIII to facilitate the participation of
observers from other Christian bodies, representatives of the so-called ‘separated
brethren’, in the life of Second Vatican Council. He emphasized that documents
produced during the Second Vatican Council “recognized the already existing
ecumenical movement as a gift of the Holy Spirit”.
Geoff
Tunnicliffe, the WEA’s international director, observed that individuals tend
to look at history “through their own prisms”. For example, he said, members of
the evangelical movement look back to the Edinburgh conference of 1910 and see
a meeting that was all about mission and led to new approaches towards world
evangelization. Others see Edinburgh 1910 as the birth of the modern ecumenical
movement and trace its outcomes primarily through councils encouraging the
visible unity of the churches. “This is a difference,” he said, “but it is
understandable.” Several observances of this centennial have been organized
with differing emphases, in Tokyo, Edinburgh, Cape Town and elsewhere. But
while tensions between Christian streams have led to reluctance in some circles
to use the term ‘ecumenical’, it is now possible for diverse groups to come
together as stakeholders in an event like Edinburgh 2010.
Olav Fykse
Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, argued that the 1910 conference “brought a
new dynamic into all of Christianity and raised the question of unity in
evangelism”. He continued, “We are here to remind ourselves that we should not
divide our calling, but we should share our calling.” He insisted that it would be a mistake to
assign one group of churches the task of evangelism, and another the task of
seeking social justice and peace. Rather than accepting such a division of
labour, “we must respond to our common calling together. The world needs the
gospel. The world also has the need for justice and peace.” For this reason, he said, the WCC tries to
offer “a wide space, a meeting-place for a variety of traditions but also a
space for the powerless, for those who have trouble making themselves heard in
the world.” “Don’t expect this
conference to solve all the questions on the table,” Bishop Farrell advised.
“But if we are on a journey, we need to stop from time to time, check our
progress and our direction, refresh ourselves for the way ahead.”
Edinburgh 1910, Edinburgh 2010 and other events along
the way “are stations on our common journey,” remarked Tveit. “If the outcome
of this conference does not strike us as revolutionary, it will be because we
have experienced so much already. We have a deepening recognition that we all
are called to proclaim the gospel, and we are learning to do so together.” Back to top
The Mission of Peace - Thinking Global,
Acting Local
The recent
Edinburgh 2010 gathering, celebrating the centenary of the 1910 World
Missionary Conference, brought several hundred prominent world church figures
to the UK. A number of those visitors indicated their willingness to speak in
other parts of the country. As a result, West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council
(WYEC), with other local partners, looked through the Edinburgh attendance list
and approached one of the delegates whose CV resonated with local mission
concerns. Clive Barrett from WYEC went to the Closing Ceremony and returned to
Leeds with Deenabandhu Manchala, an Indian Lutheran who works for the World
Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva.
Deenabandhu’s
background was in coordinating and reflecting theologically on the WCC’s
‘Decade to Overcome Violence’, which comes to an end next year. He is also
working on issues related to churches as ‘Just and Inclusive Communities’. In a
fascinating meeting in Leeds, Deenabandhu worked with a group of local
Christians, exploring issues of faith and violence in the city. Inspired by a
local Peace Trail, the group took time out to look at the city market from a
perspective of peace and violence. From bookmakers and pawn shops, toy guns for
sale, busy ‘£1’ stalls, to a homeless people’s workshop selling restored
furniture, with multiple faiths, languages and cultures represented, the market
was a microcosm of the issues being faced.
In a world of
structural violence, where is power? What part do the churches play in this?
What is the relationship between love and power? How did Jesus deal with power,
both his own and that of others? What about our own power? As was said at the
meeting, "Without a sense of vulnerability, you will never see Christ in
the other person". That insight applies to all peacemaking, whether in
churches, our local cities or the wider world. Back to top
Refugee and Migrant Justice at risk of
closure
For some thirty years the Refugee
Legal Centre, now called Refugee and Migrant Justice, has provided publicly
funded high quality legal representation for asylum seekers and migrants. It
has also led the way in conducting many 'public interest' cases before the High
Court, where new legislation or the interpretation of law by statutory groups
like the UKBA (Home Office) or the immigration courts was deemed unfair. Now, thanks to new legislation coming into
force, RMJ is at risk of being treated as a commercial organisation and made to
wait for payment till the end of a legal case.
Anyone with some experience of asylum law will know that such cases can
go on for up to ten years, and interim payments are needed to keep an
organisation's cash flow reasonably sound.
The Ministry of Justice's Legal
Services Commission now intends to treat RMJ as a for-profit outfit with
working practices comparable to a shop or factory. Not only does this mean
payment at end of a case, but often also the commercial practices of delaying
such payment to the last minute. RMJ is
at risk of insolvency and will have to close within a short period, at best two
months. Some 110,000 asylum seekers'
future safety depends on their work (see their website http://refugee-migrant-justice.org.uk)
RMJ operates some 7 offices
throughout Britain, a head office in London and others clustered around the
various detention centres near Heathrow and Dover and in NASS dispersal cities
like Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. RMJ tackles the deeply unfair Detained
Fast Track procedures at Harmondsworth and Yarlswood. It rescues asylum seekers
from incompetent and exploitative solicitors. Many of our very best lawyers
started their career being trained by RMJ. Now they work as barristers, judges,
solicitors, with a number starting their own firms of very high quality. Without its services, the whole asylum legal
sector will lose much of its backbone. Back to top
Death of Dr David Stevens, leader of the
Corrymeela Community
On hearing of the death of Dr David
Stevens, leader of the Corrymeela Community, Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC
General Secretary, wrote
‘With others in the international
ecumenical community who have had the privilege of walking with David, we would
like to honour and celebrate the faith, integrity and passion that David shared
with many and to a wider world. His constructive analyses, theological insights
on forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, and great compassion enabled him to
guide churches and lead communities to approach conflict resolution with
honesty, courage and love. His work
mirrored his profound involvement in the plight and the potential of the people
of Northern Ireland.
Communities far beyond Northern
Ireland have benefited from the effective and inspirational leadership David
gave to the Corrymeela Community. He was instrumental in helping Corrymeela
become a safe environment for groups to meet and begin to develop trust and
partnerships between communities. His
writings and talks on what Christians can bring to the search for
reconciliation are recognized internationally. His wise, warm and forthright
approach challenged and spurred change even in the most difficult situation.
His humbling call to churches dealing with conflict resolution is a stark
reminder for all churches on the contrite approach we have to take. “We in the
churches have a responsibility for the present state of relationships in this
community,” he told a conference in 2004, noting that “there is a necessary
‘Kyrie Eleison’ – Lord, have mercy – for us in dealing with this issue”.
His life of ministry is an inspiration. A dedicated ecumenist, David was general secretary of the Irish Council of Churches 1992 to 2003. A Presbyterian elder, he exemplified how a member of a particular community can work to build bridges between different communities and across deep divisions in society. He reflected this in a lifetime of service – from his role as a young volunteer to leadership roles in many facets of society including the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights and the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council.’ Back to top
David Driscoll of Mission in
London’s Economy (MiLE) reports:
‘A very successful Workplace
Chaplains Day was held last month which also saw the launch of the Faith and
Work research report. Sue Hutson, who conducted the research, gave a
presentation of her report and Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public
Affairs of the Church of England, spoke about the recession, models of
chaplaincy and the project he commissioned on the theology of work.
In the discussion which followed
Sue Hutson’s presentation, it was said that we need to be clear about ministry
to the workplace, how it might be delivered and who might be involved,
including laypeople and the role of the local church. There was a need to
re-imagine ministry, especially in the ever-changing work context. It was
important too for chaplains to acquire economic literacy as well as conveying
ideas about spiritual literacy to managers having an interest in chaplaincy.
Inevitably, as in all forms of ministry, chaplains experience at times a sense
of isolation and untidiness in their ministry. However, it also had to be pointed out that ‘chaplaincy’ was just
a part of the wider picture; for example, church leaders had to enable
congregations to rediscover Christian vocation and discipleship in the
workplace, especially where moral decisions were rarely clear cut and it was
more of a question of having to deal with shades of grey.
Malcolm Brown prefaced his talk by saying that he
spoke out of a Church of England context, although most of it would have been
relevant to people from other
denominations. His talk was divided into three parts:
(1) The Present Recession: despite the talk of the
recession hitting the South harder than the North, it was the industrial areas
which always suffered most. In a strange way, however, the effects of the
recession had yet to bite and the question how they might occur was complex.
Interestingly, the recession had rekindled interest in the 1980s report, ‘Faith
in the City’ although the current situation was very different.
We also had a new government whose philosophy, shaped
by Philip Blond, had produced mixed messages and where David Cameron was
essentially a pragmatist. Some ideas were ‘off the wall’, but others were of
interest with the possibility for religion in the public sphere to be
reinstated as part of the common discourse. For example, Cameron rightly
differed from the Blair/Brown belief that there was no intermediary between the
State and the individual (although some people in the Third Sector might
disagree with Malcolm’s analysis. He also noted the resurgence of Evangelical
Social action and given the present state of the Church of England it was
important to recognise this and engage with it. He also agreed with Sam Wells
and Ian Markham on the importance of reconnecting the Church’s liturgy with
Christian ethics.
(2) Chaplaincy: Malcolm reiterated the necessity
within a secular context to justify the need for chaplaincy. Taking the title
of Malcolm Torry’s recent book he commended the idea of chaplains being ‘bridge
builders’ both as an extension of Christian ministry and as ‘useful’ from a
secular point of view. Whilst recognising that they weren’t exclusive, Malcolm
described 3 possible models of chaplaincy:
·
Chaplaincy to the powerful: those
in positions of power often had to take decisions involving enormous risk, and
it was therefore important that such people could call upon chaplains to offer
them special spiritual sustenance, and also that the Church regularly prayed
for people carrying large burdens on our behalf.
·
Chaplaincy to people without access
to anyone else, for example those in prison. With ever increasing pressures of
time and irregular hours, including weekends, a good case could therefore be
made for workplace chaplaincy.
·
Finding God in the workplace: this
in many ways went back to the Ted Wickham/Sheffield model of chaplaincy where
the Church had distanced itself from the workplace and had to be converted.
Church House was revisiting in little ways the concept
of chaplaincy as a distinctive part of the mission and ministry of the Church
even if this ministry wasn’t likely to produce an income stream. The Church
Commissioners were actually financing small projects which were thought to
build up the mission of the Church and had the potential for growth. Malcolm
also spoke of the need for far more clarity in the meaning of the word,
‘mission’.
Malcolm also questioned an uncritical approach to
‘multi-faith’ chaplaincy. There were areas of common purpose but we had to be
clear of our understanding of chaplaincy in a Christian context without any
stridency.
(3) Work: Following on from the General Synod
resolution on ‘work’ two years ago, the Division of Mission and Public Affairs
had set themselves two tasks:
·
To help develop a theological
understanding of work by commissioning five theologians to write on the subject
from their different backgrounds. This was important since this was an area in
academic theology that had seriously been neglected. The five theologians were
John Hughes, author of ‘The End of Work: Theological
Critiques of Capitalism’; Esther Read, writing on ‘vocation’; Christine
Fletcher, an RC arguing the case for Anglican social ethics over against its RC
equivalent, and championing the work of Dorothy L. Sayers; Eve Poole from
Ashridge Business School giving an ‘apologia for managing’, and Stuart Weir
writing from a Charismatic Evangelical background on the Holy Spirit and the
work of unbelievers. Their papers would appear in the January 2011 issue of
Crucible.
·
Resources for Parishes: Malcolm
discovered there were plenty of good material around to help Christians make
connections between their faith and daily work, but he was surprised how little
of this material was actually being used and he wondered why. Perhaps we paid
insufficient attention to work as a vocation and the tensions that produced,
especially when trying to maintain one’s integrity.
There
were two issues that came out of the discussion following Malcolm’s talk, where
he mentioned Andrew Shanks, Canon Theologian at Manchester Cathedral saying
that in the context of present day society Christians couldn’t retain models of
the persecuted early church. Secondly, it was important to bring the home into
a triangular relationship with faith and work.’ Back to top
Call on Holy Land pilgrims to work for
peace
Christian pilgrims visiting the
Holy Land need to go beyond a mere homage to ancient sites and instead show
concern for the Palestinian people living there, whose lives are severely
constricted by the Israeli occupation of their land.
This was the message sent by a
group of 27 theologians, Palestinian Christian activists, tourism organizers as
well as representatives of advocacy organizations from 14 countries, who
gathered at Chavannes-de-Bogis, near Geneva (Switzerland),
from 18-21 May.
“Justice tourism concentrates on
political realities. Only by living what Palestinians experience all the time
can a visitor recognize the injustices that are their daily bread. With this
understanding comes a desire to help end the accumulated injustices in
Palestine,” said Rami Kassis, executive director of the Alternative Tourism
Group. Participants at the meeting in
Chavannes-de-Bogis asked pilgrims to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian
Christians. After 2,000 years of continuous presence in the land, their numbers
have been steadily diminishing over the last decades as the hardships they face
due to occupation have lead many to emigrate.
Pilgrims coming to the Holy Land on
Israeli-organized mainstream tours often ignore the Palestinian people and
their situation. That they only hear and then reinforce the Israeli narrative
can contribute to the problem, the group concluded. “They think they are bringing hope, but they are actually taking
away hope from the whole region,” said Rifat Kassis, representing Kairos
Palestine. Modelled on the South African Kairos document, Kairos Palestine is a
Christian initiative that gives theological grounding to recommended actions
for a just peace.
Tourism to Palestine was identified
as an opportunity for a “pilgrimage of transformation” representing a deeper
Christian experience that invites pilgrims to a genuine encounter with the Body
of Christ by connecting with Palestinian sisters and brothers in faith. The meeting strongly recommended that
pilgrims follow the Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land, a document
drawn up by a Palestinian network that gives guidance about trip preparation,
behaviour, and follow-up actions. Participants
expressed grave concern about the monopoly that Israel exercises over Holy Land
tourism and the crippling restrictions it imposes on Palestinian tour
operators, hotels, and guides that limit development of this key sector of the
Palestinian economy.
The Israeli occupation impacts
Palestinian life drastically. About 400 Israeli military checkpoints dot the
West Bank, hindering Palestinian travel for work, school, family visits, and
health care. The separation wall that slices through vast swathes of their land
further cuts off Palestinians from each other and from East Jerusalem, the
traditional centre of Palestinian religious, cultural, and commercial life.
Israeli authorities also block West Bank Palestinian Christians, whose families
would normally celebrate Easter and other Christian feasts by worshipping in
Jerusalem, from entering the city. However, reports on the Palestinian tourism sector show that
despite restrictions it is both vibrant and growing, offering authentic and
unique experiences and an array of tours and opportunities to meet specific interests.
On the Nativity Trail, for example, tourists travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem,
interacting with local Palestinians, including Christians, Bedouins, and other
communities along the way.
The meeting in Chavannes-de-Bogis
was organized by the Alternative Tourism Group in cooperation with the World
Council of Churches’ Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF), the Ecumenical
Coalition on Tourism (ECOT) and Kairos Palestine. ` Back to top
Bishop Frank White, Bishop of
Brixworth in the Diocese of Peterborough, is to be Assistant Bishop of
Newcastle. Revd Terry Oakley, current
Chair of the East Midlands Churches Forum, writes:
‘Bishop Frank White served as Chair
of the East Midlands Churches Forum from November 2004 until November 2009. He
helped to move the Forum on through a period of change in challenging
circumstances. He oversaw the move of the office base from Lincoln to
Nottingham and the change of staff from an Administrator to an Executive
Director. He acted as manager of Revd Tim Clarke, the first Executive Director,
and chaired several themed day conferences on issues affecting the Churches in
the Region. The exploration of a new form of governance was another major piece
of work, and although the proposed Charitable Company (EMBARC) has not yet been
formed he laid the foundations for that move when it is appropriate. He liaised
with the leaders of East Midlands Development Agency, Government Office East
Midlands and other regional bodies, and was a vital link to the Church Leaders
of the region. He always brought a positive attitude towards the way the Church
engages with the life of the region.’ Back to top
What's going on in Inter-Faith relations? Celia Blackden
writes:
‘Recently, for example, at the
London office of Churches Together in England we had a visit from the Mosques
and Imams Advisory Board, (MINAB) seeking to learn from the experience of CTE
in its ethos, structures and connections.
The two bodies have very different origins, remits and goals, but our
visitor found the conversation helpful.
A few days later I was able to put her in touch with a Christian Women’s
group regarding the experiences some Christian women have when they make visits
to mosques in England.
Christian Jewish Relations are a
principal interest and I am glad to draw your attention to the news on the
Christian/Jewish Relations pages of the CTE website (under
themes/dialogues/interfaith/towards a culture of dialogue) about the CBE
awarded to Rabbi David Rosen, one of the leading architects of Christian-Jewish
Relations at international level.
More significant for us here in
England is the currently evolving dialogue between Jewish Rabbis and Ministers
of Black Majority Churches, under the wing of Churches Together in Britain and
Ireland and the Council of Christians and Jews. Bishop Joe Aldred, convenor of Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs,
writes: ‘I was glad to participate in
the second meeting between black ministers and Jewish rabbis. Our conversation touched on many subjects of
mutual interest including the Jewish experience of the holocaust and African
experience of the Slave Trade; and the contrasting Jewish and Pentecostal understanding
of Pentecost. I am confident that this
dialogue can enlighten both communities leading to greater mutual
understanding, good relations locally, and the breaking down of barriers and
prejudices.’
A well researched publication on
Sikh/Muslim relations was published, as was a document ‘Women of Faith – an ongoing dialogue’ by the Board of Deputies of
British Jews and the Hindu Forum of Britain. News of these is on the CTE website:
(www.churches-together.net). The new Roman Catholic document ‘Meeting God in Friend and Stranger’ is comprehensive and clear and
reflects much experience over recent decades.
The summer months are occasions
when multi faith pilgrimages of peace take place in different towns, cities and
even rural areas. My inbox is constantly filling with information from
organisations and groups, local and national. If you have a particular or
indeed general interest, you can ask groups, centres or organisations to put
you on their e-mailing list. If you
wish to receive my quite rare mailings, please let me know (celia.blackden@cte.org.uk).
Coming up in November is the second
Inter Faith Week 21st-27th November. The CTE website carries news of this. The
main IFW website is www.interfaithweek.org.uk IFW will provide an opportunity to deepen
our understanding of why friendship and exchange with our neighbours of other
faiths is intrinsic to our Christian faith and to take some steps towards
developing those friendships.’ Back to top