Dr Bernard Sabella’s 2006 Sydney address

No. 26 of 47. First published 16 Dec 2007. Dr Bernard Sabella is an interesting and energetic person. He is a Roman Catholic, a member of Fatah, an elected representative of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and professor of Sociology at Bethlehem University. It was my pleasure to sit next to him at the Jerusalem Heads of …

The Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre

No. 25 of 47. First published 9 Dec 2007. In my last post, I introduced the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme (EAPPI) that operates from the offices of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Center (JIC). The JIC is a recent initiative of the Jerusalem Churches in association with the Middle East Council of Churches and the World Council of …

Dinner with Heads of Jerusalem Churches

No. 24 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. On Thursday night our Australian delegation hosted a fantastic dinner for the Heads of the various churches of Jerusalem, at the Notre Dame Monastery in West Jerusalem. It was an unforgettable occasion (especially for an Australian Baptist like me!), and one I'm unlikely to experience again. …

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme

No. 23 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. One of the most impressive church-based initiatives in Israel and the Palestinian Territories is EAPPI, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, associated with the World Council of Churches. Valentina Maggiulli, the EAPPI coordinator here in Jerusalem, joined us on some of our visits this …

Visit to the al-Arroub Refugee Camp

No. 22 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. From Hebron we made our way back toward Jerusalem, stopping for lunch at a pleasant restaurant, and at theย al-Arroub refugee camp, established in 1950 to house Palestinians who had been forced to leave their land when the new Israeli state occupied it.ย  We often think of …