Brothers and Sisters,
This is the time when I had hoped that we would be on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land!
The disappointment that we may feel at having to postpone our pilgrimage is as nothing compared with the plight of our fellow-Christians in the Holy Land and the wider biblical countries. Life is politically and socially very hard there always, but the complete absence of any income from pilgrims is a terrible blow.
My hope had been that our visit would have been able to play its part in supporting the Christian community in Israel and Palestine, both morally and financially. This cannot happen as we had intended, but it is nonetheless still possible to give spiritual and prayerful support. For that reason, I share with you the Christmas Appeal of the Friends of the Holy Land: ‘Giving Hope to Vulnerable Christians’: Further information can be found by clicking on the banner below.
We are not being asked by Friends of the Holy Land to launch a formal diocesan appeal. Rather, we are asked to be prayerfully mindful of our fellow-Christians in these ancient and venerable and holy places who carry such a heavy burden of poverty for their faithfulness. With this in mind, I attach the Appeal Brochure, commending it to us for awareness, for prayer, and for any individual gift that we may wish to make.
In Christ,
+Peter
