Tears in Iraq

Two years ago I met Andrew White at HTB. Andrew is Vicar of Baghdad, and probably holds one of the most demanding and tough jobs in the Christian world. Andrew suffers from MS, and is one of the most courageous, and godly people I have ever met. He exudes grace and love, and yet carries the pain of the people he pastors. His congregation in the centre of the city is made up of Iraqi Christians, and so many of them have suffered, been tortured and indeed died.

As our news has been filled with the news of the murdered hostages in Iraq, I got a circular email today from Andrew which I wanted to share a little with you.

"Well, today has been awful. For two years we have worked every day on getting the two Jasons back. They were my friends; I ate with them and lived with them. One day when I was ill, one of them cared for me in the hospital; he had been an army medic. These people were not just hostages I was working on, they were my friends. Every day I prayed for them and sought their release.

In the midst of all this we are told to love our enemies. It is so, so difficult but this is what we are called to do.I confess that once the news was confirmed about the two Jasons, I cried. David was with me and he was also in tears. I cannot imagine the pain of their dear families. How terrible it must be for them and how we pray for them.As I was in tears I was trying to preparing for our service. At one point, I did not even think I would be able to do it. The lectionary reading today was about David and Goliath. We did a play in church with the Children. I was Goliath, David was one of the little boys. When I preached on the subject, I told them about what had happened; they have been praying so hard for so long. As I looked around at the many hundreds of people, literally everybody there has suffered much. I told them that despite all the awful things that have happened to us, we must all love G-d and follow Him anyway. Often it is the little people and small things in life that overcome what is huge and seems insurmountable, just like David and Goliath.Church was great as usual, the people are all so nice and so encouraging; together we shared our pain and love. So I will return to England this week and my colleague Samir will stay and continue working on the case. Please pray for us, we need all the wisdom and guidance possible."

Please pray for Andrew and his people at this remarkably tough time

Coded messages

It's funny how excitement at a headline can be lost in the detail. Driving home last night, I heard the headline on Radio 4 that the Israeli Prime Minister, Binjamin Netanyahu had said for the first time, that he accepted the need for a 2 state soultion in the Middle East. I nearly drove of the road! Could this be the same hardline Likud leader who when Prime Minister last time, who said he would never accept a 2 state solution.

Of course the world has changed since then. The USA has elected a Rockstar President, who made a stunning speech in Cairo, and in his other carefully nuanced comments, had made clear he saw the 2 state solution as the only game in town.

So when I heard the headline I thought, this could genuinely be a kiaros moment for peace in the middle east. Then I got home and read the speech. Netanyahu accepts that a Palestinian state could have it's own government, flag, and borders. However, jewish settlements remain on the West Bank, and the President of the United States has said they must stop. Also Netanyahu states that the new government in Palestine cannot have its own military, yet Israel can. There is no movement on Jerusalem, and the Palestinians cannot control their own airspace. I was downheartened. More Israeli preconditions.

Then I heard that the White House has welcomed the acceptance of the 2 state solution. I welcome that too, but if Northern Ireland teaches us anything, it is that lists of preconditions of which sacred cows cannot be slayed, is no basis for negotiation or finding a middle way.

Then I thought some more, and realised I had missed a trick. I think Netanyahu is a remarkably clever politician, and the hard right in Israel will maul him for even daring to suggest a 2 state solution. The settlers in the West Bank will call him a traitor for even suggesting a Palestinian state could be created. This was a speech that said we need to accept change.

David Trimble when he was Ulster Unionist Leader moved too fast in Northern Ireland and didn't carry the Unionist people with him in the peace process. In doing so, he lost their trust, their votes and the process stalled. It took Ian Paisley, with all his bluster and his might at the ballot box, to slowly move and take the majority with him. He needed to move slowly, and public opinion changed when they had the hardline Paisley lead them. Nethanyahu is the hard liner of old, and it will need him to slowly shift his people towards a shared future for that troubled land.

I think Netanyahu is trying to slowly move his people towards the vision President Obama set out in Cairo. Yes he didn't go far enough, but he went far enough to accept the 2 state solution and hopefully persaude Israeli public opinon to move. This was a brave speech, and with enough coded messages to make the DaVinci Code look dull ! So I will not join the chorus today criticising Netanyahu, I think he has made a very clever speech.

The whole region as ever will be in my prayers.

First blogging Primate!

I apologise for my lack of blogging over the past 3 weeks. A combination of being way too busy, and not having anything I wanted to put on here. Not that my normal content is particularly creative, I was struggling from writer's block! Apologies to those who missed me!

I was delighted over the weekend to hear that my fellow blogger and friend, David Chillingworth was elected the new Primus for the Scottish Episcopal Church! Before you ask, I know, why would a bishop be elected to be a camping stove! The Primus, is the lead bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church, coming from the latin, primus inter pares, meaning first amongst equals. He is the lead bishop in Scotland, and effectively as far as the outside world is concerned, the leader of the Episcopal Church in Scotland.

David is a great guy, full of energy and drive, and of course I am equally delighted because he is a good Northern Irishman ! In fact when I was a boy, David was the Rector of the Parish where I went to school in Portadown. David is passionate about mission, and making the church more relevant and accessible, and he has my full support and good wishes.

David is also a fellow blogger, and I am sure this must make him the first ever blogging primate. You can read his excellent blog HERE

Do pray for David as he prepares to take up his exciting new appointment!