Friends of The Holy Land

Without tourism, Bethlehem's lifeblood which supports 80% of the population, unemployment has surged. With the borders closed, there is no option to seek work in Israel. Prices have skyrocketed, residents are traumatised by the constant fear and anxiety for the future while their daily lives are restricted by checkpoints and roadblocks.
 

This brutal war has already claimed over 700 lives in the West Bank and devastated countless others. Parents have run out of words to comfort their children as their loved ones perish in neighbouring Gaza, barely 50 miles away. Nearly every family has lost someone. 
 

In support of their Christmas Appeal we have on sale in the Parish Office a beautiful prayer resource at a price of £7.99. Published by 'Friends of the Holy Land' a charity supporting the most-needy Christians in the Holy Land

This book follows the route of the Holy Family through Advent and Christmas – Nazareth, the place of the Annunciation, Zababdeh, by tradition the place remembered as the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth, Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, Jerusalem, where Jesus was sanctified in the Temple, Gaza, where the Holy Family rested on their flight to Egypt.

Fr Richard Nesbitt has written poems reflecting on our journey through Advent to the Nativity of Jesus matched with contributions from the Holy Land connecting the experiences of Mary and Joseph with those of the Christian minority still witnessing to Christ today.

These provide their insights of the meaning of Christmas to their families now as well as their hopes for the future. All giving voice to the Christian communities that live in these towns – more than two millennia since the birth of Christ.