AN INVITATION TO PRACTICE TESHUVA

Today is Rosh Hashanah in the Jewish calender which is followed by the Ten Days of Awe (Yomim Nora’im) leading to Yom Kippur, the Progressive Jewish Magazine Tikkun have invited inter faith friends to join in the practice of teshuva and have provided a workbook to aid the process, they say

Tikkun is not just for Jews—it is interfaith as well as Jewish. This workbook is an invitation to all people to join with the Jewish people in using the period from the evening of Rosh Hashanah (the day of both celebrating the Birthday of the Universe and of remembering who we have been this last year) until nightfall ten full days later on Yom Kippur (the Day of At-one-ment) to rethink our personal and communal reality and engage with the process of teshuva (returning to our highest selves and turning away from the ways we’ve missed the mark in this past year) .

You can download the workbook from Tikkun here and then click on first pdf file or try directly by clicking hhd2010.pdf

Image is Teshuva by Pat Allen from Art is a Spiritual Path

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back as a new term at Queen's approaches and I prepare to head up the M1 to a Welcoming Service for a Student - who begins her ministry in Leeds at the start of this new year in the Methodist Calender - I thought I would return to blogging and flag up some of the upcoming events this Autumn and also some of the happenings over the Summer.

The Spycam debacle that I referred to in a previous post has continued running over the Summer with new revelations about the inappropriate and duplicitous nature of the process. A meeting organised by the West Midlands Police Authority in at the Boardsley Centre at the beginning of August, that was due to help heal rifts between the community and the police seemed to me to do the exact opposite! Check out the latest on the Spycam campaign at http://spyonbirmingham.blogspot.com/ including a report by Steve Jolly and videos of last month's meeting.

The Methodist Report and Conference resolutions on Justice for Palestine and Israel has continued to have an impact upon Christian engagement with the issue and there have been movements towards dialogue about the report between local Methodists and the Jewish community in particular. At next Saturday's synod I intend to outline how I see us as a District working towards the call of conference to 'engage in respectful dialogue with Jews and Muslims on this issue'

After having a month off from preaching in the circuits I'm back on the road next Sunday in the Birmingham West and Oldbury Circuit. I'm running a number of courses and groups this autumn in the Asbury and Elmden Circuits and a number of one off workshops including one for preachers in Evesham and one for the Regional Evangelists and Missioners Network. There is a healthy number of students on the 2nd year course on Christianity in Dialogue at Queen's. We hope also to launch a new course in the Spring term on 'The Common Good in Christianity and Islam' with students from Queen's and the Islamic Al Mahdi Institute working together on the module. Richard Sudworth will be co-tutoring with me and tutors from Al Mahdi. I will also be working with Celia Blackden of the Inter Faith Office of Churches Together in England on a proposed National Conference hosted in Birmingham in March 2011 on 'Faith Hope and Love - Christian Discipleship in a Multi Faith World' - watch this space for further details.

Lastly I would like to flag up an interesting new resource that Richard drew my attention to from the Fuller Theological Seminary in the USA. Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue is a new online Journal available on free download which affirms the exciting developments I've talked of before in the more open section of the evangelical wing of the church that helps break the dualistic split in some understandings of Christian discipleship between witness and dialogue and the tired old categories of liberal and conservative theological positions on interfaith - check it out!

BIRMINGHAM SPYCAM SUMMIT

On Sunday I was pleased to be asked to be one of the speakers at the Birmingham Spycam Summit. A report on which you can read here and here. Some of the background to the meeting can be read in this piece by the campaign initiator Steve Jolly and the Muslim communities concern in this article . You can see all the speeches via this link on You Tube and a clearer version of my contribution here. Follow this link to a documentary from Press TV on the cameras.

Friends & Neighbours

Yesterday I had the privilege and pleasure of being a keynote speaker at the Friends and Neighbours regional event organised by the Christian-Muslim Forum at Coventry Central Methodist Church. I spoke alongside Dr Musharraf Hussain of the Karimia Institute in Nottingham and shared stories and reflections based upon my book 'A Heart Broken Open'. In the afternoon I participated in a workshop faciliated by Wahida Shaffi and Ruth Tetlow on 'Women at the Well'. It was wonderful to be able to get into dialogue about my book with people like Musharraf, Wahida and Amra Bone as well as others and I had a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching time. Thanks for the invite Christian-Muslim Forum!

METHODIST CONFERENCE SUPPORTS PALESTINE/ISRAEL REPORT

The Methodist Conference voted yesterday to receive the report on Palestine/Israel and to support all the motions attached to it. Below is a statement from the Methodist Church about this and you can follow the debate on the conference archives at this link. The Just Peace for Palestine Campaign have issued a statement of support that can be read here and the Jewish Chronicle carries a report condemning the decision here and The Independent reported on the debate here

Methodist Church to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements

The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.

The decision is a response to a call from a group of Palestinian Christians, a growing number of Jewish organisations, both inside Israel and worldwide, and the World Council of Churches. A majority of governments recognise the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as illegitimate under international law.

Christine Elliott, Secretary for External Relationships, said, “This decision has not been taken lightly, but after months of research, careful consideration and finally, today’s debate at the Conference. The goal of the boycott is to put an end to the existing injustice. It reflects the challenge that settlements present to a lasting peace in the region.

“We are passionate about dialogue across communities and with people of all faiths. We remain deeply committed to our relationships with our brothers and sisters of other faiths, and we look to engage in active listening so that we act as agents of hope together.”

In December, Defra introduced new advice on labelling, recommending that packaging of products imported from the West Bank should distinguish between Palestinian areas and Israeli settlements.

The Conference also adopted a statement calling for a full arms embargo against all sides in the conflict. “This conflict is further fuelled by partisan support by other countries. Violence from all parties in this conflict must be denounced, and a just peace sought for all peoples living in the region,” said Christine.

The move to boycott is just one among a number of measures agreed by the Conference, which also include a commitment to regular and informed prayer for the needs of those in region. Methodists across Great Britain are also encouraged to visit the region, write to their MPs and engage in respectful dialogue with Jews and Muslims on this issue.

SUPPORT FOR METHODIST CONFERENCE REPORT ON JUST PEACE FOR PALESTINE AND ISRAEL

The Methodist Conference will be debating an excellent report next week entitled Justice for Palestine and Israel unfortunately the report has unfairly come under attack as being biased and damaging to Inter Faith relations. In response to these attacks a statement co-ordinated by the Just Peace for Palestine campaign has been issued in support of the report from Jews and Christians involved in supporting peace and justice initiatives in Palestine and Israel and inter faith engagement. The press release and the statement follow below.

METHODIST ‘JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE AND ISRAEL’ REPORT ATTRACTS JEWISH-CHRISTIAN SUPPORT

SIGNATORIES: REPORT MISREPRESENTED BY CRITICS WHO EMPTY COEXISTENCE OF TRUE MEANING

GROUPS IN UK AND PALESTINE/ISRAEL AFFIRM NEED FOR A JUST PEACE - “A TIME FOR ACTION”


A joint Jewish-Christian statement supporting the ‘Justice for Palestine and Israel’ paper being presented at this year’s Methodist Conference has been signed by 30 organisations and individuals.

The signatories, Christians and Jews from the UK and Palestine/Israel, offer their “wholehearted support” for the “humane and principled conclusions” of the Methodist working group, and criticise those who have “misrepresented and attacked” the report.

Supporters include Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Pax Christi, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK, Amos Trust, Friends of Sabeel UK, Holy Land Trust, and the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People. A range of Jews and Christians from Palestine/Israel have signed, including Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Ramzi Zananiri, Executive Director of Near East Council of Churches-Jerusalem, and Michael Warschawski from the Alternative Information Centre, Jerusalem.

The statement notes that as the illegality of Israeli settlements is a “consensus issue affirmed by the United Nations, the UK government, and countless NGOs like Amnesty International”, boycotting their produce is a “refusal to aid a gross breach of human rights and an obstacle to a just resolution”.

The signatories urge the Methodist Church to take “the opportunity to listen to the cry for solidarity of the Palestinian Church as expressed in the Kairos document and respond. A just peace for Palestine will mean peace and security for Israelis – now is a time for action.”

Ben White, Campaign coordinator for ‘A Just Peace for Palestine’, said: “This is a clear show of support from Jews and Christians who understand that a real peace for both peoples requires justice. It stands in stark contrast to the disingenuous threat that listening to the call of Christian Palestinians and upholding international law and human rights will damage ‘inter-faith relations’ – on the contrary, inter-faith dialogue is not facilitated by ignoring serious questions about injustice.”

END

Notes:

1. The Conference is an annual gathering and decides Methodist policy. The ‘Justice for Palestine and Israel’ report was produced by a working group and can be found online at http://www.methodistconference.org.uk/assets/downloads/confrep-14-justice-for-palestine-israel-170510.pdf

2. The full statement and signatories:

We, the undersigned, are Christians and Jews who have invested our energies and hopes in working for a just peace in Palestine/Israel. We write to offer our wholehearted support for the ‘Justice for Palestine and Israel’ report being submitted to this year’s Methodist Conference.
Disappointingly, the working group’s humane and principled conclusions have been misrepresented and attacked by those who empty powerful terms like ‘coexistence’ and ‘reconciliation’ of their true meaning.
Coexistence is not advanced by the bulldozer’s blade as it demolishes Palestinian homes and uproots olive trees; nor is reconciliation furthered by segregation and a decades-long militarised regime of control. In opposing such injustices, the resolutions simply affirm international law.
The illegality of the settlements, for example, is a consensus issue affirmed by the United Nations, the UK government, and countless NGOs like Amnesty International; boycotting their produce is thus a refusal to aid a gross breach of human rights and an obstacle to a just resolution.
We do nothing to advance a just peace without being realistic about the structural imbalance between Israel and the dispossessed, stateless Palestinians. In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote that the greatest ‘stumbling block’ to freedom was the ‘moderate’ who preferred ‘a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice’.
The Methodist church has the opportunity to listen to the cry for solidarity of the Palestinian Church as expressed in the Kairos document and respond. A just peace for Palestine will mean peace and security for Israelis – now is a time for action.

Signed,

Nader Abu Amsha, Director, East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Programme and Beit Sahour YMCA
Nidal Abuzuluf, Program Manager, YMCA/YWCA Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI), Beit Sahour
Rev Alex Awad, Dean of Students, Bethlehem Bible College/Pastor, East Jerusalem Baptist Church
Bishara Awad, President, Bethlehem Bible College
Sami Awad, Executive Director, Holy Land Trust
Constantine S. Dabbagh, Executive Secretary, Near East Council of Churches Committee for Refugee Work, Gaza Area
Aaron Dover, Deborah Maccoby, Diana Neslen, Naomi Wayne, on behalf of Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Pat Gaffney, General Secretary, Pax Christi UK
Rev Ray Gaston, Inter Faith Enabler, Birmingham District Methodist Church
Abe Hayeem, RIBA, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine
Rev Canon Garth Hewitt, Canon of St George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem/Director, Amos Trust
Rifat Kassis, General coordinator, Kairos Palestine
Rami Kassis, Executive Director, Alternative Tourism Group - Study Centre, Beit Sahour
Jennifer Oldershaw, on behalf of Friends of Sabeel UK
The Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People, Beit Sahour
Pat Price-Tomes, on behalf of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) UK
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, President, Diyar Consortium, Bethlehem
George S. Rishmawi, Coordinator, Siraj, Centre for Holy Land Studies, Palestine
Dr. Walid Shomaly, Executive Director, Palestinian Centre for Research & Cultural Dialogue (PCRD), Bethlehem
Michael Warschawski, Sergio Yahni, Avital Mozes, Tania Kepler, Yossi Bartal, Connie Hackbarth, Shir Hever, of the Alternative Information Centre, Jerusalem
Ben White, Campaign coordinator, ‘A Just Peace for Palestine’
Mr. Ramzi Zananiri, Executive Director, Near East Council of Churches-Jerusalem

**********************************************************************************
Media contact:
Ben White, Campaign coordinator, ‘A Just Peace for Palestine’
T: 02075882638
E: info@justpeaceforpalestine.org; W: http://www.justpeaceforpalestine.org

CHRIST HAS NO NATION ....The World Cup ..Afghanistan and multiculturalism

It's a shame to see Englands' participation in the World Cup being used as an opportunity to promote support for the very contentious, contested and increasingly unpopular occupation of Afghanistan, making a dubious connection between support for the new imperialistic ventures of the 'liberal interventionists' and support for England Football Team. The video below from the anti racism campaign Kick it Out is to my mind a much more positive portrayal of an inclusive vision of support for England in the World Cup that incorporates our multi faith and multi cultural reality and constructs an understanding of national sporting identity that offers a creative alternative to the promotion of militaristic nationalism.