As we pray for all who weep and grieve, may we continue to pray for peace and justice for all.
Tag: Israel
Bishop Rachel’s visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Bishop Rachel has visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (15-19 June 2024) to show solidarity with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and local Christians, and to listen and understandContinue reading
Bishop Rachel for Church Times: On listening to the voices of Palestinian Christians in the West Bank
Bishop Rachel is this week featured on the Church Time’s podcast, interviewed by Francis Martin about her visit this month to Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. “One of theContinue reading
Message from Bishop Rachel, 23 January 2024
This Saturday is Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), held each year on 27 January which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Every year, HMD is not only a day to remember the millions of Jews and ‘others’ murdered in the Holocaust, but also the acts of genocide which have happened elsewhere in the world in the years that followed. HMD is an invitation to pause and reflect alongside people of different faiths, views and backgrounds regarding how easily people are ‘othered’. We are invited to pay attention to the dark path that othering takes us down, whether it be about groups and neighbours in our local contexts, or about peoples and groups in distant parts of the world.
‘Together for Humanity’ peace vigil
Together for Humanity is a coalition of charities, community organisations and faith groups who have come together to give a voice to the majority of the public who stand againstContinue reading
Bishop Rachel’s invitation to stand ‘Together for Humanity’ at peace vigil
As we continue to watch the events in the Middle East, we mourn the loss of all those who have been killed in Israel and Palestine, and we long forContinue reading
Message from Bishop Rachel, 9 January 2024
In these early days of 2024 I have enjoyed the beauty of creation whilst also being aware of the devastation of wind and earthquake, and storm and flood, not least within our diocese. Indeed, I’m sure that each of us has begun this year acutely aware of the pain and turbulence in our world, whether that be locally and in our own lives, or whether it is the horror of what is going on in Gaza and across Israel and Palestine, or in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Christmas crib surrounded by rubble
Christmas crib surrounded by rubble as Tewkesbury Abbey remembers the suffering of Gaza and Israel
LIFE Together 2023: Highlights
It’s been two years since we focused the spotlight of our LIFE vision into the five areas of the LIFE Together vision. We’re seeking to live ‘life in all itsContinue reading
Message from Rachel Howie, 7 November 2023
This time of year is an important time for remembering. We have made space and time in our churches on All Souls’ Day to remember all those that we have loved who have died, we have marked All Saints’ Day, honouring those who are remembered as saints having experienced an extraordinary outworking of the Holy Spirit, and we are almost at Remembrance Sunday.
Message from Dean Andrew, 31 October 2023
One of the questions I often find myself being asked by people I meet is this: what is your favourite verse from the Bible? There are so many verses I could choose, but the themes in the scriptures that have always most inspired me are those that speak of light and hope.
Israel-Palestine conflict: “We must not be silent.”
In our diocesan Bulletin I wrote of the danger of seeing the world through a simple binary lens, and I included the situation in Israel-Palestine. The details of the evilContinue reading
Message from Archdeacon Phil, 17 October 2023
One of the questions we sometimes ask candidates being interviewed for clergy posts in the Diocese runs along the lines of ‘What, for you, is the heart of the good news of the Gospel, and is there a Bible verse that is central to this?’ … I am always struck by the range of responses and find myself reflecting on what my answer would be.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 10 October 2023
In the midst of all the different strands of my ministry at present, I continue to reflect on a world in which oversimplistic binary views are so prevalent and so easily shape the way people view the world, yet the truth is that stories and lives are far messier than that.
Violence in Israel and Gaza
A message from Bishop Rachel I urge people across the diocese to pray for peace amid the horror of the violence in Gaza and Israel, and I support the Archbishops’Continue reading
