A monthly Memorial Prayer Vigil for refugees and asylum-seekers takes place on the 3rd Monday of every month outside the Home Office, SW1P 4DF, 12:30pm to 1:30pm.
Praying for
Those who died trying to reach the UK
Victims of current wars
Those in detention and who are homeless
The UK to be a more welcoming nation
Sign up to receive email news & alerts of changes orcancellation at: homeofficevigil@gmail.com
Co-sponsored by Westminster Justice and Peace Commission London Catholic Worker and London Churches Refugee Fund
Father Fadi Diab, Rector of the Anglican Parish in Ramallah, is coming speak in the Parish Centre of Our Lady Help of Christians in Kentish Town on Saturday, 16 March, about the present situation in the Holy Land and its effect on Christian communities, and take questions. The event will last from 2-4pm. Light refreshments will be available.
Born and educated in the West Bank, Fr Fadi is the Rector St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ramallah and St Peter’s, Birzeit. Fr Fadi’s ministry includes midweek youth service, Bible study, Women’s group, Youth group, Sunday school, an Acolyte programme, a new choir and a Celebrating Family program. Fr Fadi provides leadership and pastoral support for St Andrew’s school, the Episcopal Vocation and Training Centre and his sister Parish in Birzeit with a developing elderly home project, St Peter’s.
His vision includes supporting the Christian community spiritually and socially, strengthening Christians in the Holy Land to enabling them to stay in the area and to continue witness to the Gospel of Christ. Fr Fadi is a Founder of the Youth Connection for Peace Programme, a member of the Palestine-Israeli Theologians Forum, a member of the Palestine Advisory Council of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and co-author of Kairos Palestine document and board member on Kairos-Palestine. He has presented workshops at the World Council of Churches on the theological understanding of the Palestine Israeli conflict and spoken widely at churches in the USA. He visits parishes in the UK regularly during non-Covid times.
Pope Francis has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged us to raise our voices to say ‘Enough’. Join us in this prayer Novena to add your voice.
All are welcome to join Westminster Justice and Peace for our on-going online 9-Day Novena of Prayer for the Holy Land every evening until Friday 8th March, 8.00-8.45pm
Dates: 29th February – 8th March 2024, 8.00-8.45pm
In this Novena to Our Lady Untier of Knots, we pray for the populations of Palestine and Israel suffering the terrible consequences of violence and war and for an end to all war.
We pray that they may feel the concrete reality of God’s love.
The Novena to Our Lady Untier of Knots is a wonderful nine-day prayer dedicated to the Mother of God.
It is Pope Francis’ favourite Novena and one of the most popular Novenas worldwide.
You are welcome to join us for as much or as little of the Novena as you are able.
Please email Colette Joyce on justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk to get the Zoom link if the Eventbrite booking is full.
Pope Francis issued another heartfelt appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, on Sunday. Speaking during the Angelus in St Peter’s Square, he said: “Every day, in my heart, I carry the pain and suffering of the populations in Palestine and Israel due to the ongoing hostilities.”
Expressing grief for “the thousands of dead, the wounded, the displaced, the immense destruction that wreaks pain and suffering on the small and defenceless who see their future compromised.” Pope Francis called on all men and women of goodwill to raise their cry for peace.
“Do we really think we are building a better world in this way? .. Enough, please. Let us all say: Enough, please!” he repeated: “Stop the war.”
“Let us all say: “Enough”, please!”
The Pope continued with an appeal to continue negotiations for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and throughout the region, “so that the hostages may be freed and return to their anxiously awaiting loved ones, and so that the civilian population may have safe access to necessary and urgent humanitarian aid.”
“I encourage the continuation of negotiations for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and throughout the region.”
And please, he concluded: “Don’t forget tormented Ukraine, where many people die every day. It is a place of great sorrow.”
Pope Francis’ appeal on the Third Sunday of Lent is just the latest in many he has issued since 7 October 2023.
There are still 130 Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas, with over 30 of them feared dead.
The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes on the Gaza strip has exceeded 30,000, with many thousands more missing. More than 70,000 people have been injured, while there is very limited medical available, as all the hospitals have been bombed and are desperately short of medical supplies. More than 1.3 million people have been displaced and facing a catastrophic humanitarian situation. Two-thirds of them are women and children.
The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council who has just returned from Gaza has said there is now a famine in the north of the territory. Yan Egerlund told the BBC that he had been prepared for a nightmare, but what he saw was much worse. He said that was because Israel was not opening nearby border crossings to let aid in. He also condemned the United States, Germany and the UK for selling weapons to Israel.
During his Angelus address Pope Francis also mentioned the upcoming International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness challenging our family of nations to be bold and work for disarmament.
At a time in which military and arms spending is soaring due to the many conflicts afflicting the world, the Holy Father urged all members of “the great family of nations” to be courageous and work for disarmament.
He recalled that on March 5, the second International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness is observed.
“How many resources are wasted on military expenses that, due to the current situation, sadly continue to increase!” He expressed his hope for a shift in mindset and investments.
“I strongly hope that the international community understands that disarmament is, above all, a duty: disarmament is a moral obligation… Disarmament is a duty: a moral obligation.”.. “We need to engrave this in our minds!”
“This requires courage from all members of the great family of nations: to shift from the balance of fear to a balance of trust.”
In this Novena to Our Lady Untier of Knots, we pray for the populations of Palestine and Israel suffering the terrible consequences of violence and war and for an end to all war.
We pray that they may feel the concrete reality of God’s love.
The Novena to Our Lady Untier of Knots is a wonderful nine-day prayer dedicated to the Mother of God.
It is Pope Francis’ favourite Novena and one of the most popular Novenas worldwide.
You are welcome to join us for as much or as little of the Novena as you are able.
Please email Colette Joyce on justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk to get the Zoom link if the Eventbrite booking is full.
As we move into Lent and begin our spiritual preparations for Easter, “Friends of the Holy Land” invite you to use this time to remember and support our brothers and sisters in crisis throughout the Holy Land. They need you now more than ever.
Friends of the Holy Land have set up a special fund to help the Christian community in the Holy Land endure this crisis and become more resilient. For those who sign up throughout Lent they will tell you more about the initiatives you will be supporting, but here’s why they need the Fund right now:
Gaza: directly helping those in need
Contacts in the Holy land report that there are still about 820 adults and children sheltering in Gaza’s two main churches. Every day involves fear, prayers, and one piece of bread to eat.
International aid can’t reach them, so we are directly helping with financial support for their basic provisions – we must keep it up until there’s a ceasefire.
The West Bank: building resilience
In Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank, mass unemployment has hit hard.
80% of Palestinian Christians have lost their income as tourism has collapsed and travel to work is restricted.
In the short-term, Friends of the Holy Land are helping desperate families pay the bills. In the long-term, they will help them develop other businesses that are less reliant on tourism.
Could you contribute £1 for each day of Lent? That £40 would go a long way.
More than 60 Christian, Muslim, Jewish and secular charities have signed the following open letter to MPs and government ministers urging them to vote for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza ahead of an SNP motion in Parliament today (21 February). They write:
Dear Members of Parliament,
As humanitarian, human rights and campaigning agencies, many of us with teams operating in Gaza and the West Bank, we are writing to draw your urgent attention to the critical situation in Gaza. As you may be aware, there will be a vote tomorrow (Wednesday 21 February 2024) in the House of Commons regarding this matter. We, along with 71% of the UK public, urge you to support the motion for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to benefit everyone in Israel and Palestine, facilitate the provision of adequate humanitarian assistance, and the release of hostages, and curtail the risk of regional conflict amid multiple strikes in several countries.
In Gaza, the ongoing conflict has resulted in unfathomable death and destruction. At least 28,576 Palestinians have been killed, while thousands remain missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The humanitarian situation is dire. For 135 days, the UN and NGOs have warned of a shortage of medical supplies and clean water, overcrowded shelters, widespread food insecurity, and a collapsing healthcare system and spread of diseases among the displaced civilians, resulting in catastrophic health indicators and urgent humanitarian needs. Nearly every child is at imminent risk of starvation and malnutrition, women resort to using scraps of tent in place of period products and go weeks without showering, and surgeons are operating on patients without sufficient anaesthesia. Unexploded ordnance resulting from the bombardment poses a serious risk both to civilians and humanitarian aid workers.
Humanitarian response agencies need to not only restore but significantly scale up the delivery of vital health, education, mental health, protection, and livelihoods services. This includes vital programming to support the unique and urgent needs of women and men, boys and girls, mainstreaming inclusion of people with disabilities, older people, and others disproportionately affected by the crisis. This is not possible under bombardment. We need a lasting ceasefire, not ‘pauses’. Without a lasting ceasefire, humanitarian organisations cannot re-establish principled operations on the necessary scale, and there will be further loss of life.
It is imperative that the UK Government takes immediate action to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire, for which there is growing international consensus.
An immediate and permanent ceasefire will halt the cycle of violence, facilitate the release of all hostages, allow for the restoration of essential services, allow for international humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, and provide an opportunity for dialogue and negotiation towards a lasting peace that benefits everyone in the region.
We cannot afford to delay any longer. Private diplomacy and cautious statements are not enough – stronger action and accountability needs to be applied or the humanitarian catastrophe will likely surpass even the horrors we have seen over the last four months.
We urge you to support the motion for an immediate ceasefire.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your support and swift action.
Signed:
1. Action Against Hunger 2. Action For Humanity 3. ActionAid UK 4 Age International 5. Amnesty International UK 6. Amos Trust 7. Bond 8. Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) 9. CAFOD 10. CARE International UK 11. Christian Aid 12. Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK) 13. Convivencia Alliance 14. Development Initiatives 15. Elrha 16. Embrace the Middle East 17. European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect 18. Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) 19. Greenpeace UK 20. Humanity & Inclusion UK 21. Inminds Human Rights Group 22. International Alert 23. International Health Partners (IHP) 24. International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) 25. International Rescue Committee UK 26. Islamic Relief UK 27. Jewish Network for Palestine 28. Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights 29. Mercy Corps 30. Mines Advisory Group (MAG) 31. Minority Rights Group 32. Muslim Aid 33. Muslim Community Helpline 34. Muslim Hands 35. Na’amod 36. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) 37. Omega Research Foundation 38. Oxfam GB 39. Peace Direct 40. Peacemaker Trust 41. Penny Appeal 42. Plan International UK 43. Protection Approaches 44. Quakers in Britain 45. Resistance Kitchen 46. Sabeel-Kairos UK 47. Saferworld 48. Save the Children UK 49. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) 50. Scotland’s International Development Alliance 51. Stamp Out Poverty 52. Tearfund 53. Trócaire 54. The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) 55. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network 56. United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) 57. War Child 58. War on Want 59. Welfare Association 60. Womankind Worldwide 61. Women for Women International 62. Women’s Platform
Westminster Justice and Peace were represented at the launch of a 10-Day Vigil of Prayer, taking place outside the Houses of Parliament from 14th-24th February 2024.
We were surprised by the cameras from GB News and an interview by Jacob Rees-Mogg with Christian Climate Activist, Melanie Nazareth.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has written to priests in the diocese to ask for a special focus of prayer on 8 March for peace in the Holy Land.
In his message, he writes: ‘As we are all aware, the situation in the Holy Land has not improved, with failed negotiations, increasing humanitarian distress and a rising death toll.
‘As Lent begins, I would like to urge that we continue our efforts, not least in prayer.
‘And so I ask that, on Friday 8 March, there is a special focus of prayer for the Holy Land across the diocese. This could take the form of a dedicated time of prayer, perhaps before the Blessed Sacrament, for peace in the Holy Land. It could be as simple as making any regular Lenten devotions you may be having on that day for this intention.’
He asks priests to make their ‘parishioners aware, and encourage them to make a special effort to take part.’
The Cardinal invites all the faithful in the diocese to take part in these prayers and devotions in their parishes.
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 