Building Bridges with the Holy Land

2012 Project: A Grave Problem

Pilgrimage Tours to the Holy Land

The Diocese of East Anglia is linked with both the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Diocese of Battambang in Cambodia.  We are building bridges of faith and friendship with both communities.

On his return from a five-day visit to the Holy Land in January 2005, Bishop Michael said: ‘As Pope John Paul tells us, “the Holy Land needs bridges, not walls”. The Israeli authorities are building a massive ‘security wall’ or ‘separation barrier’ around the Palestinian areas.  Our Christian calling is to pull down walls and break down barriers, and instead to build bridges between all peoples and nations, whatever their faith. One way we can build bridges is to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, not only to visit the holy places but also to spend time with the people there.  Because of the developing links between our Diocese of East Anglia and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and between parishes in each diocese, we can visit the Christians of the Holy Land not as tourists but as friends, sharing their lives and seeing at first-hand something of the daily round of intimidation which is so often their lot.’

A growing number of parishes and communities in East Anglia are now linked with the Holy Land: 

St Ives  -  Aboud

Our Lady and English Martyrs, Cambridge  -  Bir Zeit

St Philip Howard, Cambridge  -    Taybeh

Downham Market - Latin Patriarchate School, Gaza

Newmarket - Beit Sahour

St George’s Parish, Norwich – BASR Hospital, Beit Jala

All Souls, Peterborough  -  Ramallah

St Edmund's First School in Bury St Edmunds  -  Latin Patriarchate School, Ain Arik

St Bede's Inter-Church School, Cambridge - Latin Patriarchate School, Bir Zeit

St Benedict's School, Bury St Edmunds - Latin Patriarchate School, Beit Sahour

The diocesan fundraising in 2005 was for Sister Sophie's orphanage in Bethlehem.  In 2006, the diocese supported the furnishing of a community centre in Jenin.  The 2007 project was helping to re-roof the church in Zababdeh: about £13,000 was sent as half the cost. The 2008 project was to raise money for a housing project in Aboud. In 2009 we raised over £12,000 to provide bagpipes and drums to several of the catholic scouts groups in the holy Land. 2010 saw over £12,500 sent to refurbish the parish centre in Al Wahadneh parish, Jordan.