This year Christmas celebrations have been cancelled in Bethlehem. Munther Ishaq, the pastor of the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, describes why there is no Christmas tree in the Lutheran Church. In the place where the tree usually stands the baby Jesus is surrounded by rubble. The characters from the Nativity stories, Magi and shepherds, search in the rubble just as people search in the rubble of bombed houses in Gaza to see if there is any sign of life. Please read the account about the Christmas Church in this Aljazeera report.
The Kairos Palestine Christmas Alert 2023 offers reflections and prayers for each Sunday of Advent by different Palestinian writers. The Christmas Day message is by Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch Emeritus. The reflections take the Biblical stories of Christmas and recast them in the light of the current war on Gaza and the continuing assault on vulnerable Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
Thirdly, on a lighter note, I include a reference to a Christmas Song for Gaza by children of the Ramallah Friend’s School, the Quaker school in Ramallah. I think you will find the song uplifting and moving.
In conclusion I wish you a peaceful Christmas. We continue to pray and work for an end to the unspeakable violence taking place in Gaza.
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