Leith Community portal, edinburgh, eh16, Leith, Persevere

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend David Lunan, has written to the Foreign Secretary and Israeli Ambassador urging for a peaceful resolution to the Gaza crisis and has issued the letter below.

the Moderator

Dear Sir,

I regret very much the excessive force used by the Israeli military to punish the leadership in Gaza for the recent shelling of Ashdod in Israel and I am deeply concerned by the reports which our Church is receiving from our partners on the ground.

Dr Bernard Sabella, who was a delegate at the last Church of Scotland General Assembly, has written from Jerusalem: “The situation in Gaza is absolutely disastrous…. The borders remain closed and the bombardments are inflicting civilian casualties. As a result, Gaza is in a most deplorable humanitarian situation as the Israeli air strikes have devastated the governmental and civil society infrastructure such as universities, mosques and other localities where civilians usually congregate. The targeting of individual homes raises concern that civilians would be hurt and entire families would be wiped out. We are deeply concerned about these developments and we are praying and hoping that the Israeli air strikes and naval bombardments would come to a close immediately. Powers and States need to put pressure on the Israeli government to get it to take the decision to stop this awful situation in which hundreds of Palestinians are falling victims, not to speak of the social and psychological scars left by this conflict.”

The casualties reported as a result of the Palestinian shelling may be relatively few, but it too must stop. The death toll in Gaza is already around 300, with over 1000 casualties. The shelling appears as futile as a pin-prick against a machete.

As Bishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem stated yesterday: “Of immediate concern is the urgent medical services needed by the victims of this violence. The immensity of providing care for the injured and wounded is overwhelming a healthcare system struggling to provide essential healthcare services for 1.5 million Palestinians, most of who live in refugee camps.”

We are proud that our partner the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, with its many Scottish connections, continues to offer medical care to all who need it, continuing a commitment, which has been unbroken for more than a century, to the well being and peace of the community in Gaza City.

The stakes are high in this tinderbox region, in which the Abrahamic faiths all have a rightful interest. Would there be any willingness for faith leaders to talk together to see if there is no common ground, no way to shared goals, no possibility of living together, no path to peace? ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit’ says the Lord through the prophet Zechariah.

Governments have their responsibilities and today I have written to Israeli Ambassador Ron Proser and our own Foreign Secretary David Milliband to urge a peaceful approach to resolving the crisis. I also call on the governments of the EU, the USA, and the Arab states to use what moral influence they have to restrain. The problem has become too big for the Israelis and Palestinians to solve themselves, and now is the time for the UN to unite the nations, and for the religions of the world to demonstrate the nature of the God we believe in.

For church members and all people of good will this is the time to write to their MPs and to the Prime Minister, and to make this whole dreadful business a matter for sustained prayer, in the name of the one who has come among us as the Prince of Peace.

Dr Sabella concludes: “The conflict in Gaza and in fact in Israel and Palestine cannot and will not be resolved by force. Only the victims pay the price and politicians are left to weigh the advantages to their positions, especially at the eve of upcoming Israeli elections. In the long run, however, what is right is right, and violence will not move us in this land towards an acceptable end of conflict.”

Rt Rev David Lunan
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Ends.
Note to News Desks
For further information please contact Colin Renwick, convener, World Mission Council, work tel: 0141 959 2496, mobile 07796828626, email c.renwick@btinternet.com

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Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary has branded Christmas “evil” in a sermon posted on the internet. for more click here

“As you read the short article below/above, ask yourself what the “establishment media” would be saying today if the “Chairman of the Society of Christian Lawyers” had publicly proclaimed that Ramadan is “evil,” and a “pathway to hellfire.”

Remember, the Muslim lawyer who branded Christmas “evil” is not just any Muslim, but the Chairman of the Society of Muslim lawyers.” for more click here

ook an another anti muslim video , Eurabia.. is repeteadly in Youtube comunity
Wikipedia says Eurabia :
Eurabia is a political neologism that refers to a scenario where Europe allies itself to and eventually merges with the Arab World. for more click here

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Gordon Brown were at loggerheads last night over the morality of the Government’s plans for Britain to spend its way out of recession.

Dr Rowan Williams took the extraordinary step of suggesting that Labour’s high-spending solution to the economic crisis was like ‘an addict returning to the drug’. for more click here

n England the weather grows colder, children fidget with anticipation, and events are being held to mark a major feast – that’s right, Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival
of sacrifice. At one Nottingham primary school, it has meant the postponement of the annual nativity play, given the “effect” of many Muslim students remaining at home this week to celebrate: for more click here

A riot broke out over plans to convert a building in a Cairo suburb into a Christian church on Sunday.

Muslims and Christians clashed in Mataria after worshippers arrived for a service at the site of the planned church.

One man died in Aswan on the same day during a separate riot over the police killing of a suspected criminal. It is believed he died after inhaling tear gas. for more click here

Just such a Teutonic mystic is Professor Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a German convert to Islam who teaches Muslim theology at the University of Munster. Kalisch recently laid a Gnostic egg in the nest of Islam, declaring that the Prophet Mohammed never existed, not at least in the way that the received version of Islamic tradition claims he did. for more click here

WASHINGTON—World leaders gathering at the United Nations this week for a special session of the General Assembly to advance interfaith dialogue should have no illusions that their efforts will miraculously promote mutual respect between religious communities or end abuses of religious freedom.for more click here

Hi everyone,
Knowing how fast and comprehensive the rumour mill is in Leith, and how often also it gets things out of proportion, I thought I’d circulate this note.

This morning I informed my congregation that I had been offered and have accepted the post of Minister at St. Andrews Kirk, Jerusalem. I do not have many details at the moment – there are still some final details to be sorted out – but I thought it was important, out of respect for the members of my congregation, to tell them now before anything gets into the public domain, and to give them as long as possible for planning for change.

It is likely my move will take place some time in early spring 2009. It will be difficult leaving my congregation, and so many friends in Leith and even in Edinburgh.

Best Wishes,
George

Rev. George Shand
107, Easter Warriston
EDINBURGH EH7 4QZ
0131 467 7789
georgeshand@blueyonder.co.uk

St Thomas’ – Junction Road Parish Church, 123 Great Junction Street, LEITH, Edinburgh. EH6 5JB

World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, said in Taiwan on 26th November 2006:
“The World Council of Churches’ policy on nuclear proliferation is very clear. The world should be rid of nuclear weapons. WCC calls for all countries with nuclear weapons not simply to commit to not using them, but to destroy them entirely. No country should claim nuclear weapons for themselves and at the same time question the right of others to have them.”