As we prepare for Christmas, we might wish to reflect on this image of the ‘Nativity Scene’ at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and also words from the Anglican Church in the Middle East and closer to home the SEC Palestine Group.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Primate of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, has launched a Christmas and Advent appeal for children and families in the Holy Land who are in urgent need.

In his Advent Pastoral letter, Archbishop Naoum has written:

“As our beloved brothers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I invite you to join the 2023 Advent and Christmas Project as a means of living into the true meaning of Christmas by giving to those in need in the Holy Land. This Christmas Season we aim to bring smiles to the faces of as many children as possible, as well as support to struggling families. And so we would welcome and greatly appreciate your love, support, and generous contributions towards charities working to provide support for needy families at Christmas.”

“Due to the current situation in our beloved Holy Land and the heartbreaking scenes that have shattered our hearts, we have decided this year to limit our celebrations to prayers, liturgies and carols within our churches.”

“In a spirit of solidarity within the Body of Christ, I invite you to join us in this discipline by reflecting on the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ more than two thousand years ago, as well as on the conditions prevailing in the land at that time.” He went on to say that “they were no better than the circumstances here today.”

Archbishop Hosam Naoum

The Scottish Episcopal Church Palestine Group has written:

“As Christmas approaches, we cannot allow our celebrations to divert attention from the unrelenting carnage being perpetrated in Gaza and the West Bank. The sentimentality of tinsel and baubles must not be allowed to obscure our apprehension of the infant Christ, born in the squalor of a stable, his life threatened before it had begun by the gratuitous violence of a bloodthirsty and repressive tyrant. The commercialization of Christmas, and the parody of Santa Claus which debases Christian charity, must distract us neither from the suffering of hungry and traumatized children nor from the example of St Nicholas of Myra.“

“Our worship will lack authenticity and integrity if those who are suffering are not held before God in prayer, and if that prayer is not reflected in the ways in which we spend money and decide what goods to purchase for loved ones or to consume ourselves. We need each to consider whether donations to charities bringing aid to the afflicted are not more urgent, and a clearer sign of human love in practice, than festive over-indulgence, and gifts to family and friends which may be of very transient value. We need also to consider whether our purchases enrich those who profit from the suffering of others.“

Scottish Episcopal Church Palestine Group