Christmas message from the Rev Joel Edwards, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance UK
20 December 2006
Peace on earth has always come at a price – this was brought home to Joel Edwards during his visit to Bethlehem just before Christmas.
The land is now divided by the wall installed by the Israeli Government; but Israel's security has come at a heavy cost to Palestinians. Those living in Bethlehem rely on the tourist trade, which has almost ceased to exist.
Joel met Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem – home of one of the largest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East and spent time talking to its mayor and deputy mayor. The deputy mayor's daughter had been shot dead; but he had taken the decision to forgive.
In his Christmas message, Joel vividly describes watching a businessman weep beside the dividing wall, and visiting an evangelical Bible College in the heart of Bethlehem.
Many Christians will regard the nation of Israel as a sign of God’s fulfilled promises to his people, but Joel’s visit also led him to a deeper recognition that in the complex situation in today’s Bethlehem, the words ‘Palestinian’ and ‘Christian’ are not contradictory.
He speaks of the first Christmas, also a time of military tension, when God called both ordinary Jewish shepherds, and high-born Persian wise men, to honour Jesus.
Joel says the experience of his visit to Bethlehem has spurred him to prayer: “for the security of the Jewish people, who are returning to the land of Promise. And to work for justice for those who are oppressed.”
Christmas Message 2006
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Media Contact:
Bill Shaw / Lucy Cooper
Evangelical Alliance
020 7207 2115 / 2107
b.shaw@eauk.org / l.cooper@eauk.org
Notes to editors:
The Evangelical Alliance UK, formed in 1846, is an umbrella group representing over one million evangelical Christians in the UK and is made up of member churches, organisations and individuals. As part of a movement ‘uniting to change society’, the Alliance promotes unity and truth, acts as an evangelical voice to the state, society and the wider Church, and provides resources to help members and other evangelicals live out their faith in their communities.
