By Ultan Russell, Archdiocesan ecumenical officer​

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During the Labour conference in Liverpool, a march of witness took place between the city’s two cathedrals. Nadine Daniel, a member of the Justice & Peace Commission, was closely involved in its planning. Here, Nadine, who is also an ecumenical member of our synodal council in addition to serving on the Church of England General Synod, explains its significance.

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This event had been a long time coming; five years, in fact. Back then, the diocesan synod of the Anglican Diocese of Carlisle sent a motion to the General Synod of the Church of England asking that they receive the cry of the Christians of Palestine as expressed in the Kairos II document. Attendees knew it should be debated, but everyone could see the potential for division. The motion was not taken immediately.

 

In July this year, the General Synod’s last sessions of the five-year term were held at York University. The motion would be heard, debated, and finally passed. Ahead of the sessions, the motion hit the headlines. Concerns were expressed. Tensions (and tempers) rose. A chance meeting with Christine Allen of CAFOD and John Plant of Christian Aid led to the idea that the Time to Act coalition, an ecumenical group of faith organisations, might do something at the start of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. The question was, what? I suggested a reprise of our annual Pentecost walk between the two cathedrals. Many meetings, risk assessments, phone calls and online discussions later, Sunday 27 September dawned bright and sunny, but with rain forecast.

 

Time to Act is an ecumenical partnership which calls for dialogue with and active listening to all involved in the Middle East crisis. The afternoon started at the Metropolitan Cathedral with a beautiful service of choral evening prayer. Bishop Thomas Neylon and Bishop Ruth Worsley attended together with the respective deans, Monsignor Tony O’Brien and Revd Dr Sue Jones. Also present were the President of the Methodist Church, Revd Mark Slaney, and representatives from coalition members including CAFOD, Christian Aid, All We Can, Embrace the Middle East, and Sabeel-Kairos. After the service, we met at the steps and set off down Hope Street towards Liverpool Cathedral.

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​As people gathered outside, both bishops spoke and prayed for peace. Inside the Anglican Cathedral, in the Lady Chapel, extra chairs were required for the discussion that followed. The first panel member to speak was Daud Nassar, founder of Tent of Nations, who provide a peaceful response to settler violence. He explained how his family had started their farm 100 years ago and spent the past 35 years challenging the attempted confiscation of their land through the Israeli courts. He told us: “Our approach is non-violent resistance. Even when they cut down trees, damage our water tanks and threaten us with guns, we refuse to be victims or to hate; we refuse to be enemies. We have to believe one day justice will prevail. We are suffering and we feel, as Palestinian Christians, we are becoming a minority – we feel forgotten.”

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We also heard from Revd Dr Yazid Said, an Israeli-Palestinian priest, whose family has lived in Nazareth for more than a thousand years. Fr Yazid is an associate priest at Liverpool Parish Church and a lecturer at Liverpool Hope University. He spoke of the pain of being a refugee and the struggles of his family still holding on in Nazareth.

 

The principal reason for this event was to ask the Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, to sanction trade with the illegal settlements. Even though this had been achieved a couple of weeks earlier, we felt it important to continue with this visible call for peaceful action and to upholding Christ’s commandment to love one another as He has loved us.

 

More information on Time to Act can be found here: justpeacecoalition.com/act