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Aspiring to be catalysts for peacemaking, especially where minorities are persecuted, where justice is denied, human rights are suppressed or reconciliation is needed

Celebrating our 5th Anniversary

<<First Name>>, this month we celebrate the 5th anniversary of the founding of Peacemaker Trust. As a charity we affirm the Five Marks of Mission widely adopted as an understanding of contemporary Christian mission.

The following are just a representative selection of our projects and initiatives undertaken over the past five years.

1. To Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

For over 15 years, I have been an advocate and trainer for the Christianity Explored course. In 2017 I helped to launch the Arabic edition of CE in Beirut, Lebanon and Cairo, Egypt. Around 300 Egyptian, Lebanese, Sudanese, Druze and Bedouin Christian leaders were introduced to the course. The same year I also visited Casablanca, Morocco, to train local Christian leaders to use the CE course.

Before restrictions on travel due to Covid, I regularly travelled to East Africa, especially Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi to help train clergy to use the CE course. More than a million people have undertaken the course in the last ten years as a result. Highlights included an invitation from the Right Revd Charles Andaku, Bishop of Madi and West Nile Diocese, Northern Uganda, to train his diocesan youth leaders to use the Christianity Explored course. West Nile is the largest diocese in Uganda with over 700 churches. It is a strategic location, bordering the Congo and South Sudan in the far north west of Uganda.

2. To Teach, Baptise and Nurture New Believers

In 2018, the Rt Revd Darlington Bendankeha of Kagera Diocese in Tanzania, invited me to teach ordinands undertaking a three-year diploma course for ministry at the Diocesan theological college. Kagera is situated in north west Tanzania high on a ridge overlooking the borders of Burundi and Rwanda near the shores of Lake Victoria. It is one of the poorest regions of Tanzania. Absalom Vyankende, the Principal of KCTC, asked me to present a week-long course to the ordination students on Messianic types and prophecies in the Old Testament and a short series showing the harmony and continuity between the Old and New Testaments.

The same year, the Rt Revd Nathan Amooti, Bishop of Cyangugu, Rwanda, invited me to teach a module on Judaism and Christianity at the new Diocesan Theological School, which opened in March that year. The mission of the school is to equip clergy and lay-leaders for service in the Church of Rwanda. In particular, the school is training lay-leaders who live and work in rural locations. The level of teaching provided is adapted to meet the needs of those with little or no formal education as well as those who are gifted academically. The Diocese of Cyangugu is located in the southwest of Rwanda and has 17.000 communicant members and is growing fast. Due to its popularity, I returned to Cyangugu in 2019 to teach the course on Judaism and Christianity for a second year.

3. To Respond to Human Need by Loving Service

In 2019 I became a trustee of the charity, Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group (SWVG) who befriend and support 200+ asylum seekers and refugees in the Southampton area. On Mondays I help with an English language café held in a city centre church. On Wednesdays I help with a weekly English lesson held in conjunction with Southampton Library. Most of our clients are from Ukraine and Iran.

On Fridays I assist with a weekly drop-in centre for asylum seekers held in a local church. We welcome between 50-60 people each week. They receive English lessons, advice, and a safe place to relax. We also provide them with bags of donated food and clothes.

In October 2021, I organised a meeting for SWVG trustees with the Muslim Council of Southampton executive at the Medina Mosque to discuss how we might collaborate in caring for refugees and asylum seekers in our community.

In March 2022, in the light of the unfolding tragedy in the Ukraine, I organised a Peace Vigil for Ukraine which was held in the Guildhall Square, in the centre of Southampton. Bishop Debbie accepted an invitation to speak, along with the Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Alex Houghton; Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry – Leader of Southampton City Council; Nikki Walters – Southampton City of Sanctuary; Dr Parvin Damani MBE – Muslim Council of Southampton and several other local religious leaders and activists.

4. To Seek to Transform Unjust Structures of Society, to Challenge Violence of every kind and to Pursue Peace and Reconciliation

Justice Conference Asia

In October 2017, I was invited to speak at the Justice Conference Asia held in Hong Kong, organised by TearFund and several other mission agencies. The conference brought together several hundred practitioners and activists from around the world including 18 Asian countries. I gave a presentation on Christian Jihad: A Biblical Basis for Proactive Peacemaking.

Sabeel Jerusalem & Kairos Palestine

I am a trustee of the charity Sabeel-Kairos UK. We are a network of individuals, organisations and communities of all backgrounds across the UK who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people by promoting and advocating on the messages of Sabeel Jerusalem & Kairos Palestine who represent all the mainstream denominations in Palestine. We seek a just and lasting peace in the region based on the realisation of full human and political rights for all.

In December 2019, I spoke at the First Sabeel International Gathering in Bethlehem on the theme of Advent and deconstructed the deeply destructive eschatology held by many Christian Zionists. Due to Covid restrictions on international travel, I have contributed to several online conferences addressing human rights in Palestine. During the same week, I spoke at the Kairos Palestine 10th Anniversary Conference held in Bethlehem in Dar Al Kalima University College.

In September 2021, the theme of the annual Sabeel-Kairos UK conference was “A Christian Response to Israeli Apartheid.” I led a short bible reflection on Apartheid based on Isaiah 56 and led a workshop on a Biblical Response to Israeli Apartheid. This included a brief history of apartheid tracing its roots from European colonialism, white supremacism and black slavery, through to segregation in the US, Fascism in Germany to Apartheid in South Africa. I then summarised of how the Bible has been used to justify white supremacism, segregation and apartheid and gave a clear biblical refutation of apartheid. I also drafted the conference statement endorsed by participants:

‘Having considered a Christian response to Israeli apartheid, we affirm that all people are created equally in the image of God; we commend the B’TSelem and Human Rights Watch documents designating Israel as an apartheid state; we repudiate all forms of racism and discrimination; and we recommit ourselves to working for justice, peace and reconciliation in Israel/Palestine.”

5. To Strive to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation and Sustain and Renew the Life of the Earth

In February 2019, I participated in the Olive Tree Planting Campaign organised by the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA\YWCA in Palestine. Over 12,000 olive trees were funded by international donors. We managed to plant 800 during the week on four Palestinian farms threatened by land confiscation resulting from the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. I have also promoted dialogue on climate change. In 2021, I interviewed Professor Scott Elias, an internationally recognised expert, we examine the threats to the Arctic from climate change.

Promoting Religious Harmony

I am a member the Jewish Network for Palestine (JNP) and spoke at their AGM in 2021. In partnership with the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), JNP has been encouraging Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders to join a new Middle East peace initiative called the Convivencia Alliance which seeks to harness the spirit of the Spanish Golden Age. The Convivencia Alliance was launched in London 8th May.

I helped to draft the Convivencia Declaration and have been in dialogue with several Christian leaders including Rifat Kassis (Kairos Palestine); The Most Revd. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis; The Right Revd Riah Abu El Assal; Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, retired Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem who have now all endorsed the Declaration.

The Good Friday Agreement brought an end to the decades of violence and bloodshed in Northern Ireland. However, Brexit and the British withdrawal from European Human Rights legislation threatens the peace agreement. There are real fears of a return to violence and extremism. The influx of refugees and asylum seekers has further tested the harmony and coexistence in the community. In 2018 I therefore helped facilitate a series of meetings at An Cuan, the YWAM Centre in Rostrevor, bringing together Republicans and Unionists, Roman Catholics and Protestants as well as representatives of other faith minorities, to address their seemingly irreconcilable hopes and expectations constructively.

The outcome was the publication of the Rostrevor Declaration, which I helped to draft, which it is hoped will strengthen the Good Friday Agreement and maintain peace in Ireland.

As mentioned, this is simply a selection of projects and initiatives Peacemaker Trust has been privileged to contribute to. There are many more such as Book Aid, Nile Valley and Surfers not Street Children, listed on our Blog as well as Project page of our website.

Thank you for journeying with us for some or all of the past five years. We appreciate your continued prayers and support.

If you wish to give regularly, you may download a standing order form and return to your bank. You may also donate via PayPal (use button above) or by making a transfer directly into our Peacemaker Trust Metro Bank account, using our bank account number 19949718 and sort code 23-05-80. See here for more details of other options.

May the Lord bless you and those you love.