OUTWARD TOGETHER

Growing in Friendship with Cambodia and the Holy Land
Page 1

Some thoughts from Bishop Michael

As part of our project to move our diocese 'Forward and Outward Together', we are developing special links with two other parts of our Church:

THE HOLY LAND  & CAMBODIA (see the links top right)

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is very happy to develop strong links between our two dioceses. As he says, 'this Church of Jerusalem is your Church, the Church where every Christian is born. You belong to your own diocese, to your own parish in England, but you belong as well spiritually to the parishes of the Holy Land. Your parish in England is your parish, but the Holy Land also is your parish.' His words stress the close friendship we hope will grow between us.

We naturally think of the Holy Land as Christian. This is the land where Jesus was born and lived and died. For most of our lifetime, it has been a place of conflict and violence, and it remains so today. In the midst of that conflict, we can too easily forget the small Christian community there, a community which is declining rapidly and which needs our solidarity and support. The Patriarch sees three key priorities: education, food and healthcare. There is hidden malnutrition among Palestinian children. For every wage earner, nine other people rely on that wage to live. And everyone is caught up in the conflict in one way or another. A century ago, Christians made up 15% of the population of the Holy Land; they are now less than 2%. Many see their only option as emigration, and there could be no Christian communities in the Holy Land in twenty years.

We are gradually 'twinning' parishes and schools in our two dioceses, and encouraging parish pilgrimages to the Holy Land which include visits to those 'twins'. Fund-raising can help to alleviate problems of malnutrition, to supply medicines and support education. Most parishes in the Holy Land, which includes Jordan, have their own schools, open to Muslims as well as Christians; if the political situation improves, exchange of teachers and student visits may be possible. Most schools in the Holy Land have internet access, and we can encourage 'cyberpals'. We also hope to offer hospitality to priests from the Holy Land; they could study here for a few years as well as help in one of our parishes. Our prayer for each other is vital. Please remember the Christians of the Holy Land in your prayers, and pray for peace and justice, the peace which Jesus Christ came to bring to all the peoples of the earth.

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