Bringing hope to Christians in the Holy Land

Catholic Church leaders are in the Holy Land on a pilgrimage aimed at bringing support to the Christian community living there. Philippa Hitchen is travelling with the visiting Bishops and sends this report.
At the beginning of each year the bishops return to the Holy Land bringing their practical and spiritual support to the small Christian communities scattered across Israel, Jordan and Palestine. They talk about the goals of their visit in terms of the three ‘P’s: prayer, pilgrimage and pressure. Travelling to parishes, talking to local people and visiting church run projects, they learn about the problems but also about the very powerful experience walking and worshipping in the places where our Christian story .
So on Saturday morning once again, I was able to kneel at the spot inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where the manger is believed to have held the Christ Child on the first Christmas day. And the previous evening I went back inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre here in Jerusalem, just a stone’s throw from the great Western Wall, centre of the Jewish faith and the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam’s holiest sites. And that’s another of the bishops’ aims on this visit – to hear and learn more about the complex web of interreligious relations that affect all aspects of life and are at the heart of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, a conflict over the right to exist, to live peacefully and to plan a future for your family here in this ‘Promised Land’
So what can Christians in other parts of the world do to support the struggle for greater justice and peace in this rather bleak political landscape? Well, they’re certainly encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and, if possible, to come themselves on pilgrimage to experience the ‘fifth Gospel’ as a visit to these holy sites is sometimes called. Furthermore, the Church leaders are urged to exert whatever political pressure they can on their governments back home in Europe, Canada or the U.S. – any small steps that might encourage world leaders to put the faltering peace process back at the top of the political agenda.
While all that seems a little ambitious and far removed from our small gathering this week, I was able in Bethlehem to witness a very small yet effective project bringing new hope and dignity to elderly Palestinian women. The day care centre is called St Martha’s house, opened just over a year ago thanks to donations from Christian groups, including the British based Friends of the Holy Land. Around 30 elderly ladies (the eldest is 92) are picked up by minibus and driven to the centre where they can share a meal, pray together, enjoy activities like cards or bingo and have a haircut, manicure or pedicure. Some of these women have lost children to the Intifada, some have been refugees and most have seen family members emigrate in search of a better life elsewhere. The energetic founder and director of St Martha’s House is Laila Asfoura and she’s currently collecting the stories of these ladies to publish them and preserve a disappearing culture for future generations. Her aim is to buy a larger piece of land to increase the size of the centre and extend St Martha’s care and compassion to many more women in need. For just £10, anyone can contribute to the purchase of this plot of land and can therefore help in a very practical way to support Bethlehem’s struggling Christian community. Listen