9.30 am- “WE REFUSE TO BE ENEMIES”, led by Daoud Nassar, of the “Tent of Nations”, West Bank, and Sally Azar, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem. “Tent of Nations” is a farm at Nahalin, south-west of Bethlehem, owned by the Nassar family since 1916, but now threatened by Israeli settlers, who have built an outpost (including houses) up to the farm’s fence and constructed roads on its property. The renewal of its registration (need from March 2026) is at present frozen. Movement is severely restricted, with only one road open daily, including checkpoints which could be closed without warning.
Settler violence is increasing, with Palestinians shot and killed in other places. The farm relies for protection on the presence of international visitors (15 at the moment), who help with farm work (eg the olive harvest). The oldest who has visited was a 92 yr-old Dutch woman. In the “Tent” cave chapel is a carving of Jesus breaking a machine-gun over his knee.
Keeping “We Refuse to be Enemies” is not easy- four principles help: 1. We refuse to be victims; 2. No one can force us to hate; 3. Faith; 4. Belief that justice will prevail. Refusal to be enemies is not passive, it is a commitment to transform frustration, pain and anger in practical ways.
The rules for distinct Areas (A- Palestinian civil and security control; B- Palestinian civil and shared security control; C- full Israeli control), are breaking down, with house demolitions happening in Area A, including refugee campa. Children are being traumatised by seeing how their parents are humiliated at checkpoints, so there is a need for trauma therapists to prevent damaging suppression of memories, to re-connect children with nature and the environment and to strengthen belief in their ability to change things. Jesus was born under occupation.
All are children of God, so there is no military solution, we can never remove either one or other of the communities, so we need to find a fair solution, including challenging Christians who believe that Israel is right, who are misusing religion for political purposes.
Sally Azar is the first Palestinian woman to be ordained. For the first time a congregation said they have no hope, because they are numbed by the violence. But hope does not go away, it is more than wishful thinking- to understand hope we need to touch the despair, and people through meeting stubbornly give one another hope. We plant the seeds through non-violent resistance, not necessarily seeing the outcome. Jerusalem now feels increasingly unsafe (especially if speaking Arabic), with fewer people, more soldiers and settlers, more guns. Recently a 7 yr-old child was shot in a shop selling Palestinian products.
Some Israelis know what is happening and do not care, others do not know, and their way of life needs to be challenged, to recognise what is being done in the name of occupation and security. “Normality” itself is being changed. But blaming the occupier for everything is false. There is a great need for international support, connecting churches, writing to governments against what Israel is doing- both in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, and choosing which products to buy.
11.15 UNTHINKING THE WEST- a session led by representatives of two Anglican missionary societies, the United Society Partners in the Gospel and the Church Mission Society:
Peniel Rajkumar, of USPG and Cuddesdon College: for a global view of mission, post-Empire and Colonialism: laughing at and laughing down Empire with the laughing Jesus (“Theology is fun”)- recognising that Missionary, Merchant and Military have often gone together, rather than mission and humility. But also that despite all that there has been grace.
Cathy Ross (CMS) from Aotearoa/New Zealand (a bi-cultural society, with Maori traditions emphasising gift-giving and sharing) and Congo. Recognising that the first missionaries saw nothing of value in local cultures that they could take back to Britain.
Duncan Dormer (USPG General Secretary)- in 1701 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was established as the missionary arm of a State Church and Empire- but now taking the historical context seriously, and the need to listen.
Harvey Kwiyani (CMS), brought up in Malawi on the estate given by the David Livingstone’s family to missionaries. In Kenya there is a saying that between a missionary and a white farmer there is no difference in understanding.
Theology functions as a surrogate space where colonialism is rehabilitated, though there are attempts to bring about more radical change. Western theology stems not from the “tolerance” of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia (where Protestants and Catholics agreed to allow one another freedom in their separate states), but from the exclusivism of 1492. Today it is not a matter of abolishing Western theology, but of making space for other voices (like Pentecost- hearing the Gospel “in their own language”- ie in their own culture). In Africa mission should not target individuals but communities- though African voices still too often sound like an echo of westerners. Challenging white supremacy in Europe and the USA, and mission as a call to subvert the oppressive structures, where neo-colonial economic control is often more destructive that the old Empires (the one who gives you food and money determines what you should do). There is an inevitable tension between Christian Faith and the “national interest”- which is often hard to shift. Sharing the good news of Jesus is not sharing the good news of European Empires. Church is at its best when it is “on the edge”, but there is need to get to what underlies people’s fears and assumptions (eg about asylum-seekers), recognising the real vulnerability of those who have power.
Mission has three temptations: to protect the institution and “cover-up”; to judge and control from Europe; to reject diversity and opt for homogenisation. Colonised Galileans were the missionaries in New Testament time- they were not first taken to Rome and re-trained. The colonised mind is harder to deal with than the coloniser.
14.00 THE CHURCH I NEVER KNEW I WAS LOOKING FOR- a session about the recent Bible Society report “A Quiet Revival”, how since Covid young people, especially men, have started going to Church. The tent was full and the sound system did not reach the edges of the crowd that was outside.
Instead we listened to the last part of “WHO AM I TO JUDGE”, with High Court Judge Dr. Victoria McCloud and Rachel Mann, the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford. Talk of a genocide on trans-sexual people may appear exaggerated, but it was the kind of talk that in Germany led to the Holocaust. There are ways to deal with hotels etc who only offer male and female facilities in order to persuade them to change their policies.
3.30 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, with Ian Christie, soon to retire as an Associate Professor at the University of Surrey. Enough of kicking the can down the road on Climate Change and its link with Bio-Diversity. Enough income, which has given utopian lives to the generation born post-1945. Hence a need for a campaign for more taxation from the affluent for solidarity with future generations and the poor of the world. Enough motivation and technology to take action. We have the money, but a lack of political will to act on the evidence, because politicians fear they will lose votes if they say that more taxation is needed.
Danny Dorling in “The Next Crisis” argues we should talk about the impact of affluence and over-consumption by the under-taxed rich on the climate crisis. Climate science is clearer than any doctor’s diagnosis that temperatures could rise 2.5 degrees,though might keep below 2 – this has been piling up since the late 19th century. There are nine Planetary Boundaries, of which 6 (or possibly 7) have already been breached. Apart from self-preservation there is a moral case because the poorest are hit worst, and have done the least to cause the problem. Carbon inheritance (and long-lasting emission) has been known about since the 1980s in academia, but not by the general public. Renewables and conservation makes nuclear and carbon capture unnecessary.
Total world annual income is $105 trillion and Net Zero for the UK would cost about 2 percent of its 3 trillion (compared to the mass adoption of computers in the 1980s, which cost 6 percent). Over the last 40 years the policy has been to lower taxes on the wealthy to encourage economic growth- but most of the resulting growth has gone to the rich (27 percent to the richest 1%). An annual income above £65,000 puts you in the richest 10 percent of the UK. Worldwide over $35,000- the richest 10 percent generate half global emissions (15 percent from 1 percent- the “polluter elite”). The richest 20 percent contribute most of the rest- two-thirds of the total comes from the United States.
The richest 10 percent in the West have the capacity and the potential to act- many of them say they want to see more equality and better public services, so more tax- for example “Patriotic Millionaires” in the USA. Many business leaders, the political Centre Right (eg the Conservative Environmental Network) and churches need to become mobilised, and as determined as the minority of social psychopaths. Future security for middle-class people is important (at present we have a UK-style health service, but US-style social care. Higher taxes on wealthy incomes, and on pensions, property, land and capital gains are needed, plus a Carbon Tax (to be paid to the poorest, so they can afford sustainable living). Young people need to get into politics. We need a better world, not a better bunker.
References: Tim Draxton: “Prosperity without Growth”; Gary Stephenson: “Gary’s Economics” (Utube); Katherine Heyhoe- Talk about it- https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_hayhoe_the_most_important_thing_you_can_do_to_fight_climate_change_talk_about_it