Earlier this week I went to visit Sindyanna of the Galilee, based in Cana of Galilee. Sindyanna supplies all the olive oil used by the Scots Hotel and one of their prize winning olive oils comes from the so-called Scots Grove. Some fifteen years ago now the Church of Scotland supported the planting of thisContinue reading “Consider the bees…”
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Next (small) steps…
I flew back to Israel last week, a week after my father’s funeral and two days after my birthday. The plane was unusually quiet, although a surprising number of families with small children were flying into Israel to celebrate Pesach. The flight was uneventful; although I was the only passenger, it seemed, whose suitcase didContinue reading “Next (small) steps…”
All I have is a voice…
A couple of weeks ago on a Sunday evening, I heard a wonderful selection of music and poetry on Radio 3, The Black Sun, themed around Oppenheimer and the development of the nuclear bomb. It is all worth a listen. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000llhd Carlos Serbia ‘Black Sun’ But the selection that leapt out at me was partContinue reading “All I have is a voice…”
Reading the signs of the times
Dahlia Scheindlin is an Israeli pollster and commentator. A recent headline in Haaretz Newspaper would have confirmed many Israelis’ worst fears: Three-quarters of Palestinians Support Hamas’ Attack on October 7, says new poll. But one further word points to a much more nuanced analysis. The word ‘Why?’ The raw data (of a very small sample)Continue reading “Reading the signs of the times”
101 Days and counting…
Today is 101 days since hostilities erupted into the open with Hamas’ attack on southern Israel and the inevitable overwhelming response from the state of Israel. The toll of death and suffering and the fear that grips everyone involved in the conflict is hard to imagine, let alone describe. A brief dip into the 84Continue reading “101 Days and counting…”
Come, Prince of Peace
How do we hear the Christmas story and celebrate in worship in the light of the catastrophe enveloping Palestinians and Israelis in real time? Dave Hardman, Methodist Liaison Officer with the Methodist Church, based ordinarily in Bethlehem but currently in the UK, suggested that the second candle of the Advent wreath – the Bethlehem candleContinue reading “Come, Prince of Peace”
When the world was dark…
The manger scene in Christmas Church Bethlehem this year has the Christ child among the rubble. ‘Beloved, in these difficult times let us comfort ourselves with God’s presence amid pain, and even amid death, for Jesus is no stranger to pain, arrest, torture, and death. He walks with us in our pain. God is underContinue reading “When the world was dark…”
How do we expand our aching hearts?
I’ve been back in Scotland for just over a month now. Plans and activities that were routine are now distant memories. I’m trying to plan ahead, looking to a return to Israel as Mission Partner based in Tiberias next to the Sea of Galilee. But there is so much to get my head around. TheContinue reading “How do we expand our aching hearts?”
A future free of fear
I wrote this blog last week, and so in a fast-moving situation it is somewhat dated, but it mostly holds true. Looking back to a time before 7th October 2023 and the Hamas slaughter of so many is like looking into a different world. I had just said farewell to a visiting group from ScotlandContinue reading “A future free of fear”
Together in our hearts
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has a marmite effect. You love her or hate her. Whenever she posts on Twitter (X) about an atrocity in Huwara or shootings and home demolitions elsewhere she receives a torrent of abuse. She is seen as very partisan, supporting the Palestinian cause, andContinue reading “Together in our hearts”
Stepping out of the boat... 