Please pray for Pakistan

It has been almost a week since I left Pakistan after 11 days in a country that is reeling under the multiple crises of floods, political instability, price increases and cricketing controversy.

It is impossible to sum up any experience of a complex country like Pakistan in a single thought. I have reflected on two major themes. First, and perhaps most obvious, is the floods. The scale of devastation and not in just in terms of people displaced or land submerged is immense. How will people prove their academic record if their school certificates have disappeared in the water and mud that swept through houses and villages? How can families and communities prove their title to land when records have been lost and boundary markers swept away? How will people be fed when crops have been flattened and fields covered in mud and debris? With roads, bridges, power stations, railway networks all damaged in the floods, how will this infrastructure be rebuilt and how long will it take? How will the government, aid agencies and churches continue to meet the needs of millions of people who need food, medicine and shelter if the international community does not continue to donate aid? All these and many more questions, but no sure answers.

But I was also present when the newly-built St Joseph’s Church was dedicated by Bishop Samuel Azariah. I saw the almost-completed Central Church in Warris Road, Lahore. I was swept along with the enthusiasm and exuberance of the girls acting and dancing the parables in Sialkot. I was impressed by the commitment and sense of responsibility exhibited by people in Jalapur Jattan and Gujrat who see church land and property not only as their inheritance, but as a resources for mission and service. And the way that relief workers from our partners distributed goods to people affected by the floods with respect and dignity was noteworthy.

Pakistan remains in the grip of multiple challenges but the professionalism and resilience of many people made a lasting impression. They demand and deserve our respect, our support and our prayers.

Travelling south

On Friday 17 I travelled south to Sind and discussed various issues with Rt Rev Rafique Masih, Bishop of Hyderabad, including how Church of Scotland grants can continue to support diocesan priorities.



Mrs Caleb &  Bishop Rafique at St John's High School, built with WMC funding

On Saturday we went to Mirpurkhas where I saw the second floor containing classrooms, science and computer laboratories at St John’s High School. Church of Scotland grants had paid for this construction over the past two years and now the rooms have to be painted and equipped. The Principal, Mrs Najma Caleb, asked that her thanks be conveyed to the Church’s World Mission Council for this financial support. Students from the Muslim, Christian and Hindu faith communities all study at the school showing the diocese’s commitment to service to all, regardless of faith.

On Sunday morning I joined the congregation at the refurbished 150-year old St Thomas’ Cathedral for the communion service and was introduced by Bishop Rafique. We sang Psalm 99 in Punjabi to the tune of Auld Lang Syne and Rev Naseer John preached on being Children of God from 1John 3:1-11.

When I arrived in Sind on Friday, it was in time to see a dramatic presentation of the story of Ruth by girls and young women at the end of a meeting of the diocesan women’s fellowship.

They performers had obviously put a lot of work into this production. They knew their lines, had prepared costumes and knew their places. But as the narrator intoned her way through the Bible verses my feeling was “What has this to do with the lives of the women present, or those who endured drought earlier this year, those who are displaced in camps because of the floods, those who suffer from feudal violence and misogynist prejudice today and every day in Sind and elsewhere in Pakistan?”

Why does the Church not encourage and enable people to read, study, understand and use the Bible in a way that connects with their experiences and empowers them? This, of course, would involve risk, would involve giving away some power, would mean being challenged and maybe even changed, at least for those who are currently in authority and control the agenda.

To borrow a slogan, What Would Jesus Do?

Leaving for Pakistan

I am feeling more apprehensive than normal just before I begin the journey to Pakistan. I have my documents ready, bags are packed and I have done this many times before, so why the difference?

It isn't because the cover of a recent New Statesman described Pakistan as the world's most dangerous country - the Economist has a very similar cover story when I visited in January 2007 just after Benazir Bhutto had been killed.

The first few days will be full of meetings on the thorny issue of property. This is an issue that has dragged on for years as the Church of Scotland tries to ensure that the land it still legally owns in Pakistan is controlled, managed and developed for the benefit of the Christian community.

Land is always contentious and is at the centre of many disputes in Pakistan. We seem to be making a little progress on some very complex matters but a lot of the time I am way outside my comfort zone. Thankfully I have great support from colleagues in Scotland and Pakistan but there are difficult issues to deal with and some people oppose some of the changes we are trying to implement.

Looming above the situation is Pastor Terry Jones' threat to burn copies of the Koran on Saturday, anniversary of 9/11 tragedy and in the middle of Eid ul Fitr, the feast that marks the end of Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast. This has rightly been condemned by right-thinking people around the world, including the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news/nr520910.htm

I have received two messages from Pakistan - one, a report and photographs of a protest by Pakistani Christians against Pastor Jones and another advising me not to go to church on Sunday in case there are protests against the Pakistani Christian community.

The thought of not being able to worship with Christian brothers and sisters - something I always enjoy when I visit partner churches - is disappointing and hurtful. Does Pastor Jones realise what the consequence of his actions could be for millions of Christians in the Muslim world?

And how can we show solidarity with Christians in places like Pakistan and also demonstrate to Muslims that Pastor Jones does not represent the views of Christians or Westerners?

Please donate to Christian Aid's Pakistan floods appeal

The advice from the Church of Scotland's World Mission Council is that concerned people make donations towards flood-relief efforts through our partner Christian Aid, or to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), of which Christian Aid is a part.

Your donations will help make a difference to the people of Pakistan whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed in what the UN is describing as the worst natural disaster since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Christian Aid has sent £750,000 to help Act Alliance partners respond to the devastating floods that have killed more than 1,600 people.

ACT Alliance partners is providing food, shelter and medical assistance to around 230,000 people in Balochistan, Khyber Paktunkwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces.

World Mission is in close contact with our partner church, The Church of Pakistan, and has sent an emergency grant of £10,000 to help relief work.