Letters from 16
to 22 July 2007
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On the frontiers
of Afghanistan
Thank
you re your editorial on
the Middle East. Recently Bishop Riah (former Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem)
spoke in London and suggested the road to peace in Bagdad was via Jerusalem.
The western governments do appear to ignore that the Palestinian situation
has been the source of so much antagonism for decades and has
now turned into terrorism!
However
this has prompted me to write about my contact with Christians in
the NWFP of Pakistan and especially the small predominantly Anglican
Diocese of Peshawar. They are increasingly facing persecution but
much of the venom comes from being seen as 'western sympathisers'.
Western governments' actions have a huge negative effect upon our
brothers and sisters in Christ in Moslem countries.
I was a visitor
in October 2006 and went to the earthquake zone. The diocese of
Peshawar has adopted six mountain villages (all conservative Moslem)
and genuine care, support, money, energy, human power
and love helped those villagers begin to have life... again! The
diocese even brought a new supply of water that had been lost when
the spring disappeared because of the earthquake.
If you want
to see genuine Christian-Moslem partnership on the frontiers with
Afghanistan consider looking at the web site peshawardiocese.org and consult the menu. It is a remarkable story that deserves our
prayers and possibly some of our money!
Keith
L Wassall
S. Mark Millfield and S. Luke Pallion (Sunderland)
County Durham, ENGLAND
klwassall@tiscali.co.uk
16 July 2007
Off the mark?
In regard
to the front-page excerpt from
Canon White, concerning the
violence in the Middle East, and specifically in Gaza, I would
like to express my opinion in respons. He
writes: "What is clear is violence begets violence. It does not matter
who commits it, it is never the way forward. So the missiles rained
down on Sederot in Israel with increased intensity. The danger to
Israel is now increased."
The danger
to Israel has never ceased to exist, not from the day of its
inception until today. While I agree that violence is never
the way forward, how does a people and its country (Israel), who've
been the victims of countless attacks, killing of its civilians
and children through the murderous and insidious method of "suicide" bombings
not also count? Are we weighing the lives of one group over another
in the light of self-defense? I do not blindly support the actions
of the Israeli Forces in every instance, but I do for certain know
that restraint is something that is most always shown and that
armed response is targeted, not random.
The Anglican
Church has had a thread of anti-Israel sentiment throughout
its history and today's article doesn't do well to disprove
that fact.
Philip
J Condenzio
New York, New York, USA
16 July 2007
The view
from a Christian Iraqi
Just
a quick follow up on
your fine
piece on Christians in the Middle East. I
commend a recent book — Christianity
in Iraq — by Dr Suha Rassam [Gracewing 2005]. She covers
a lot of ground and as an Iraqi Christian has an inside track.
The Reverend
Andy Bawtree
Church of England
River, ENGLAND
rockabillyrev@hotmail.com
16 July 2007
Prayer Books
for Iraq
I wish to
publicly thank the Reverend William Thiele and Mrs. Thiele and the
parishioners of St John's (Flemington, New Jersey, USA) for the
very kind donation of Books of Common Prayer. Having proper
prayer books has greatly improved our time of worship. They have
facilitated a time when we can gather here in Iraq and, in our service
to God, be made aware of our connection to Christians around the
world and our families back home. I know this is something that
brings satisfaction and comfort to all those who have become part
of our Anglican Community.
CH (CPT)
Steven Rindahl
The Anglican Community of Camp Liberty
Camp Liberty, Baghdad, IRAQ
21 July 2007
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