The Rt Rev Prof Peter Stephens, bishop of Gambia, in his regular 'Reflections' in the Methodist Recorder discusses Muslim Christian relations in this weeks edition.
The Gambia has a population that is 90% Muslim and less than 5% Christian, however, he records that all major gatherings begin with both Muslim and Christian prayers. Bishop Stephens writes that good relations depend on, and are helped by, 'knowing Muslims personally, by seeing them and their faith at their best, not their worst, and by discovering the similarities and differences'. He also reflects that 'besides sharing with Muslims we can also learn from them. They can help us to discover what we have lost in many churches. Through contact with them we may recover a sense of the sovereignty of God, the rhythm of a life punctuated by prayer and the reality of his concern for the whole life of our society (political, social and economic) and not just our personal life'.
It is not my usual practice to quote extensively as I have above, but what Bishop Stephens wrote seemed to be what each of us need to hear.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
CCJ visit to Israel and Palestine
In November I had the opportunity, courtesy of sponsorship by the Council of Christians and Jews [http://www.ccj.org.uk/] to participate in a twelve day study visit to Israel and Palestine. The group consisted of members of different Christian denominations, the majority of whom were Anglicans.
Father Revd David Cloake, one of the group, maintained a blog during the trip. You can read it at http://yadvashemccj.blogspot.com/
It was an enormous priviledge to part of the group, and I am deeply grateful to CCJ both for inviting me and organising the necessary sponsorship. I found the visit very challenging and am still processing what I saw and heard.
If anyone is interested in visiting Israel and Palestine, both CCJ and Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine [http://www.fodip.org/] - whose Director Dr Jane Clements was leader of the study trip - organise them.
Father Revd David Cloake, one of the group, maintained a blog during the trip. You can read it at http://yadvashemccj.blogspot.com/
It was an enormous priviledge to part of the group, and I am deeply grateful to CCJ both for inviting me and organising the necessary sponsorship. I found the visit very challenging and am still processing what I saw and heard.
If anyone is interested in visiting Israel and Palestine, both CCJ and Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine [http://www.fodip.org/] - whose Director Dr Jane Clements was leader of the study trip - organise them.
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