Thought for the Week - 15th October 2023

Dear Friends, 

I’m sure like me, you will have been shocked and distressed by the developing situation taking place in Israel and Palestine. Many statements and prayers have been offered and we continue to pray for peace and an end to the conflict and violence. Earlier this year the Revd Alan Donaldson, General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation, visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Of his visit he wrote, ‘Christianity, Judaism and Islam coexist in the region and result in an often charged atmosphere of tension…Churches in the region look similar to those you find across the world. Characteristic of Baptist worship was the exuberant praise and the joy of fellowship…Despite the challenges Christians face in the Holy Land, as a minority group they still have a clear impact on their local communities. Some churches offered food banks, homework clubs for children and gave homes to orphans. The Baptist School in Nazareth, attended by 1,100 local children from Christian and Muslim families, seeks to help children and young people grow into mature peace-making citizens in the region.’ At the time of writing, Donaldson also spoke of the many challenges that people faced in everyday life. The recent events will have only added to those challenges and made finding peace and reconciliation to this decade’s long conflict even harder. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Matthew 5:9). May our prayer be that God’s justice and peace become a reality, that the weapons of war and destruction be laid down in this conflict, and that precious lives would be free from terror and destruction.                                  

Grace and peace,

Neil

~ ~ ~

A Prayer for Peace in Israel and Palestine

O God of all, of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ishmael: our hearts are broken in pieces at the suffering and murder of your people. Our voices cry for peace and for justice. Comfort those who grieve, console and heal the injured, be close to those in fear, restrain with your mighty hand those who perpetrate violence. Send us your wisdom in all that we say and do, that our voice may always seek justice, peace and security for all. Amen.

from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

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