Since 1999, Brighton and Hove Methodists have been linked with the Holy Land
in a partnership Project with the Arab Anglican, Christ Church, in Nazareth.
This began through the friendship of the Rev Doug Hopwood and the Anglican
Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Rt Revd Riah Abu El-Assal.
He visited the Methodist Circuit in March,1999, to launch the project. This Project is for mutual support and understanding. Brighton and Hove
Methodists are learning what it is like to be a Palestinian Arab Christian
living in Israel and Palestine today, a minority population of about 1.2%,
sandwiched between Israeli Jews and Muslim Arabs. Bishop Riah’s book,
"Caught in Between" (SPCK, 1999) describes it perfectly. Supporting our
Christian brothers and sisters in prayer and by raising funds to help
their ongoing needs, both in the church and the various institutions it runs,
are other ways which have strengthened the Circuit’s ties with Christians in
the Holy Land. On the anniversary of the first five years, Bishop Riah returned to
Brighton in 2004, to a reception at Stanford Avenue Methodist Church,
attended by a local M.P. and the city’s mayor. With a large gathering of
Methodists and friends a presentation on the progress of the Project was
reviewed, and Bishop Riah vividly described the frustrations and dangers of
living in the Holy Land, or ‘The Land of the Holy One’ as he prefers it.
The Anglican church is working for peace and reconciliation between Israel
and Palestine he said. "Peace will come. When there is peace in Jerusalem,
peace comes to the world." On the Sunday of his visit the Bishop was the preacher at services in
Patcham and Hove churches and in the afternoon was the speaker at an
ecumenical gathering at Dorset Gardens church, aided by his songwriter
friend and supporter, Garth Hewitt. On the Monday morning Bishop Riah was
a guest on Southern Counties Radio's breakfast programme for a seven minute
live interview and then went on to a local sixth-form college where he met
two classes of students studying A level politics. This was followed by an address to Brighton and Hove Interfaith Group and
in the evening, a circuit farewell at Woodingdean church during which the
superintendent minister of the Brighton and Hove Circuit, the Rev Kathleen
Allen, described ways that the five-year project might be developed. Bishop Riah then received a cheque for a further £3,000 and thanked the
Methodists of Brighton and Hove circuit for all their support and said that
he hoped the link would continue and flourish. He extended an invitation for
Methodists to visit Nazareth to see progress for themselves, and meet the
'living stones', the members of his churches. With the coming of a new priest in charge of Christ Church, Revd Samuel
Barhoum, the circuit made its first official visit to Nazareth in November
2004, to meet him and the congregation. That further strengthened the
relationship so that the following August, 2005, Samuel, Susan his wife,
and children Nelly and Yousef, accepted the circuit’s invitation to visit us.
As they went around some of the churches, we all began to feel closer to them
as we learnt first-hand how the Arab Christians are faring and what a benefit
our partnership is to the small congregation both at Nazareth, and now also
The Church of the Holy Family at Reineh, a village close to Nazareth, which
Samuel also has under his pastoral care. The ‘Nazareth’ Project, now including the work at Reineh, continues under
the guiding care of the circuit’s Project Steering Group. The Circuit Meeting
has agreed it will continue until at least 2009. We are very pleased and honoured to have this personal link with the Holy
Land, from where our faith came, and especially with Nazareth, the place where
Jesus spent most of his earthly life. In some small way we feel we are able to
put something back into the land which has given us so much. If you would like to know more, Jonathan Gravestock, or Ann Collins,
via this site
Thanks to Paul Harrington,who wrote the original article,
which has been edited and extended by Doug Hopwood.