Tag: Reconciliation

Battered & Bruised but not defeated

Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum addressing the Church of England General Synod
in York on July 15th.

The address given by Archbishop Hosam about the situation in the Holy Land was so moving that the Archbishop received two standing ovations and was held deeply in prayer. This is the Report from the Anglican Commmunion News Service (ACNS) and other sources.

In his address Bishop Naoum said that hospitals continue to be bombed in Gaza, with medical supplies in short supply and a ‘horrifying’ system of food distribution, comparable to the dystopian series The Hunger Games, with three sites open one hour a day for two million people.
Calling for a restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine, under UN supervision, Archbishop Hosam said there should be no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff.
He called for the release of all hostages and captives and a permanent ceasefire for the end of the war and rebuilding of Gaza – ‘not ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by the Israeli and US Government.”

As always,the church is committed to peace building and reconciliation – a message that he has repeated ‘time and time again’ – but these are ‘alien terms’ that people across both sides of the divide refuse to talk about or even listen to, he said.
“I realise that as a church we live and embody the gospel and we are not politicians.
However, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people and our calling as Christians.”

“I’m grateful for the (Church of England) House of Bishops’ statements that have been taking our story as Christians in the Middle East and especially in Jerusalem, very seriously.”

Archbishop Hosam spoke of his desire for peace in the region, for the humanitarian aid system to be reformed and for an end to acts which oppose the Geneva Conventions. He stated that, “Medical supplies are in short supply. The food distribution system is horrifying.

“Advocacy is urgently needed for Israel’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions, as its current practices are unacceptable.” He called for “no bombing of hospitals, lifting of the siege, restoration of humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, under UN supervision, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff and the release of all hostages and captives.” 
In the face of this, Bishop Hosam said that “We are battered and bruised but not crushed.”. As a Church we must be committed to peace and reconciliation and be deeply committed to our Lord’s teaching of Peace and Love. We are called to a ministry of presence and resilience and of support, sustenance and healing. The Church is call to be a source of hope in an hopeless situation, but where a church is wounded and constrained, we need the wider body of Christ to help us to be the church in brutal and damaging times.”

The Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York in the Church of England, led a prayer for Archbishop Hosam at the conclusion of his address.

“Father, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We thank God for the faithfulness, friendship and ministry of our dear brother Hosam. We cry out to you for peace and justice in our world and especially in Israel, Palestine, in Gaza and in that whole region. We ask for the leading of your spirit, for the peace of your world. We ask this in Jesus’ name.”

In the words of Archbishop Hosam, with people around the world, we pray:

O God of all justice and peace
we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma
of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land.  
Be with those who need you in these days of suffering;
we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land.  
While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace,
we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples.
Guide us into your kingdom
where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children
for, to all of us, you are our Heavenly Father.  
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum is the 15th Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, a role he has held since 2021. He was born in Haifa and grew up in Shefa’amr in Galilee.

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem is home to about 7,000 Anglicans worshipping within twenty-eight different congregations. It is also responsible for more than thirty institutions, including hospitals, schools, clinics and rehabilitation centres. The Diocese is scattered across five separate countries or territories: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

[Compiled by Mr G]

May hatred melt away – the message of a cross of nails for 9/11

Cross of Nails, Coventry Cathedral photo by Mr. G

On November 14th, 1940, the Luftwaffe blitzed the City of Coventry with bombs. So fierce was the bombing that a new word was coined by the Nazi’s for wholesale destruction – to Coventrate.

A victim of the bombing was the medieval Cathedral. It also had a word : Forgive.

Today, if you visit Coventry, the new Cathedral, designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962, hugs the old. A remarkable fusion of death and re-birth, though truthfully, the symbol for both is of reconciliation and Resurrection.

Another symbol is the Cross of Nails.

On the morning after the destruction, a local vicar, whose own church had suffered much damage, picked up from the Cathedral ruins three sharp nails, which had been part of the roof, and with a bit of wire, bound them into a cross.
He was not to know then that his Cross would become the potent sign of what was to be a worldwide community of the Cross of Nails, dedicated to prayer and action, especially in dark and broken places.

Those three nails, now gilded and placed in the Sanctuary of the new part of the Cathedral, (see photo above) were to inspire a remarkable ministry.
It was, and is, a portent for good in a dark world so much  in need of light and hope.

This ministry is summed up in the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation and in this weekend of special remembrance both of the atrocities of what happened 20 years ago, known forever as 9/11, and all that has transpired subsequently both bad and good, it is an appropriate Litany to pray, either alone or with others.

COVENTRY LITANY OF RECONCILIATION

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The hatred which divides nation from nation,
race from race, class from class

FATHER, FORGIVE

The covetous desires of people and nations
to possess what is not their own.

FATHER, FORGIVE

The greed which exploits the work of human hands
and lays waste the earth.

FATHER, FORGIVE

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,

FATHER, FORGIVE

Our indifference to the plight of
the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,

FATHER, FORGIVE

The lust which dishonours the bodies
of men, women and children’

FATHER, FORGIVE

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves
and not in God,

FATHER, FORGIVE

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another,
as God in Christ has forgiven you

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You may also like to ponder these prayers offered in remembrance of 9/11 and those whose lives were lost and the many whose lives were forever changed.

The prayers are from an array of faith leaders from many religious traditions. They were found in the internet from Huffington Post, Prayers for Peace & Healing on 9/11 Anniversary.

 Jesuit Prayer:

In times of pain, give me comfort, in times of despair, give me hope. In times of hatred, give me love. In times of doubt, give me trust. And even when I feel far from you, be close to me, Loving God.

                                                        Fr. James Martin, S.J.

Jewish Prayer:

We pray to live with memory, with constant love, with the promise both to combat evil and to cherish goodness. Do not let our pain cloud our hopes or crush our hearts. Help us grow through this tragedy, keep faith with its victims, and sustain our trust in you.

                                                      Rabbi David Woipe

Hindu Prayer:

While our landmarks collapsed in a cloud of smoke and debris, beneath a surge of shock and rage, something awakened in our hearts: compassion.

                                                      Radhanoth Swami

Sikh Prayer:

Universal Creator, grant us resilience in the face of hate, and the courage to face it with dignity. May we all unite and share one another’s pain and tears. May the hatred in the world melt away in Your boundless and everlasting love. And living in Your Will, may all find peace, harmony and serenity.

                                                      Dr. Satpal Singh

Christian Prayer:

 Dear God: We seek your grace to strengthen us as we commemorate the lives of loved ones who have been lost on this day of anguish for our country and our world. Lord, teach your children to love each other as much as they profess to love you.

                                                 Bishop T. D. Jakes

Muslim Prayer:

There was a prayer from an Imam but this picture, of a young Muslim holding up cardboard signs, is to my mind, one of the most powerful expressions of hopeful prayer.

Pray for him and all that he stands for.

[Mr G]