A Statement by three former Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on the Israeli Annexation plans
“Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings from the Land of the Holy One, Israel and Palestine.
The Holy Land is in fire, in a situation of war, and needs to be restored to its holiness. It is full of human sufferings, because justice is absent. The land of God calls on all churches, governments, and people of good will, to act and put an end to this tragedy. All believers are responsible.
A short interview with Andrew Page, creator of The Mark Drama. The Mark Drama is an innovative way of experiencing the Gospel of Mark and communicating it to others, performed as theatre-in-the-round. Find out more here themarkdrama.com/
In April, at the invitation of Bishop Nathan Amooti, Stephen returned to Cyangugu Theological School in Rwanda to teach a course on Judaism to students training for Christian ministry in the Diocese.
The Revd John Angle participated in the Hub exhibition at Spring Harvest, Minehead. I interviewed him about the Christian community in Gaza. John is active in supporting the Hope Christian Trust and Bethlehem Bible College.
Members of the faculty at Bethlehem Bible College share some of the challenges they face as Palestinian Christians. This video was shown in the Hub at Spring Harvest, Minehead.
How do we nurture our souls in a secular world? Historically, Christians have responded in two very contrasting ways:
Nurturing the Soul Through Asceticism The first approach, popular among some early Christians, was to retreat to the desert thinking they could escape temptation and find holiness through asceticism. By the fourth century CE many Christians were living as hermits and monks in monasteries out in the desert. A fifth century monk, Simeon, took this to extremes. To get away from the hordes of disciples and onlookers who came to visit him, attracted by his already extreme self-denying lifestyle, he climbed a pillar and lived there. He once survived 40 days without eating or drinking anything, which made him even more popular. He spent the rest of his life on a succession of ever higher pillars, to try and get away from the crowds who continued to visit him. Food and water were delivered by village boys climbing up his pillar. After he died, scores of others tried to imitate Simeon, and became known as Stylites from the Greek word for pillar, “style”. The problem is that we can never escape from temptation and sin, least of all retreating from the world into the desert. Jesus was himself tempted by Satan in the desert.
Peacemaker Trust 