Making prayer visible

“Dear Pastor Mitri”, said the message inside the Christmas card, “I am 81 years of age and have visited your country twice before.  Christians in Scotland do not forget you and we are praying that God will bless and encourage you in the difficulties that face you every day in Bethlehem.”

As part of the Invest in Peace initiative of the Church of Scotland’s World Mission Council, this year churches and individuals were encouraged to send Christmas Cards to Bethlehem – to projects associated with our work here.  These included the pastor and congregation of the Lutheran Christmas Church, the Al Shurooq School for Blind Children; the Ma’an Lil-Hayat project of L’Arche Bethlehem which works with people with significant intellectual disabilities  Doaud Nassar and the community at the Tent of Nations;  the Wi’am Conflict Resolution Center;  and the artist and teacher, Faten Nastas, who had recently visited Scotland.

I was a willing ‘postie’ for this initiative, and almost 700 cards were received.  A few of them, of course, arrived just after Christmas – such are the vagaries of the international post – and also, as some people explained, they found out about the initiative too late to meet the Christmas deadline, but were still keen to participate.

One such group was Cranhill Parish Church’s ‘Crazy Church’ group, where the youngsters have an evening of games, storytelling, art and food, accompanied by parents and carers.  I was sent a picture of the young group gathered around a table, at work on their cards.  One of two of them, reportedly, quite wide-eyed at the thought of someone in Bethlehem ‘really getting one of our cards.’

Nearly all of the personal messages on the cards received said something like ‘you are in our thoughts and prayers’.   And such care and support was really appreciated.  At the Wi’am Conflict Resolution Center, Usama, who has been our guide and friend on many occasions said, “This is so wonderful – knowing that people of all ages are thinking about us across all these miles”.  And on our last visit, on Christmas Eve, Dr. Zoughbi Zoughbi spoke movingly about how practical support is always welcome, but also how much they welcomed ‘our spirituality support’ – the thoughts and the prayers that accompany their deepest selves in their work and daily living.

The group at Ma’an Lil-Hayat were still at work when we made our first delivery.  They know about Scotland because of the number of doves they have made to be sent there – at the last count, over 5,000 since the May General Assembly.  “The workers will have great fun opening these cards during their morning break,” said L’Arche’s administrator, Rusann.  “And at our barbecue on our last day of work, the 20th December, the cards will be spread out around the tree. We all write our hopes for the future on a piece of paper and then hang them on the tree.”

One card to Ma’an Lil-Hayat said, “Thank you for the lovely things you make that we can buy here – they are so unusual and are a powerful message of the work you are doing.”

Some cards were simply signed by individuals, or on behalf of congregations.  Many also expressed an understanding of the difficulties faced by people and organisations in today’s Bethlehem, and expressed a hope for the future.  And as I read these messages, I felt very positively that this coming together of hearts and minds in support and understanding is indeed one sign of hope.

The highlight of delivering your cards was when we took them to Al Shurooq School for Blind Children.  We opened them with Helen Shehadah, and Helen wanted to hear every message and to touch every card.  Afterwards, we separated the cards into two different types.  Some we put into a pile for hanging up in Helen’s office.  These were the cards which worked best visually.  The other cards we kept back for the children to feel; some were embossed, some were hand-made with raise bits and shapes, many of them made by children in Scotland.  A few of the cards had added messages in Braille, which was a real excitement.  The second time we arrived with a delivery, one of the young pupils was with Helen in her office, and as fast as we opened the cards, she was in about feeling them…and asking Helen all the time ‘ma hatha?’ – ‘what is it?’

The staff at St. Andrews really appreciated their mail collections – they collect from the Box at the Post Office in the nearby German Colony twice a week (there is no delivery to the door) – and then handing me, with a wry smile,  a black bag full of cards.  Inside there would be single cards sent by individuals and big envelopes full of cards sent from congregations.  A couple of primary schools also participated – there was one from Newhaven – and it was obvious many Sunday Schools had enjoyed in the Invest in Peace initiative.

I saw some of the additional messages that some people included – some wee notes.  One explained that the cards were from the most northerly Church in the mainland – was it Dunnet? – another person explained that they lived out in the highlands of Scotland, isolated and far away from any towns or villages. 

And as I flicked through the cards at Al Shurooq, I was surprised by just how many people said they had once visited the school – and encouraged to read a few who said they would be visiting in the coming year.

This was a wonderfully well received initiative.  The lady who wrote, ‘you will know that you are always in our prayers – these cards just make that visible’, got it quite right.

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