Sialkot, Sunday 12 September
I arrived here in Sialkot at the St Coumba's religious Training Centre on Sunday evening. This was an excuse for some of the teachers who live at the hostel here to prepare a special rice & beans meal with potatoes and finished off with sweet rice. Following our meal we went over to the hostel where over two hundred girls who board at St Columba's watched some of their peers perform two sketches based on two parables - the Three Servants and the Ten Virgins. This was carried off with some aplomb and with typical Punjabi enthusiasm and gusto - who knew bhangra dancing could illustrate the parables?!
It was great to see Catherine Nicol again, retired for ten years but still running the show at St Columba's and telling me the life stories of the female students, many from very disadvantaged backgrounds who have a great opportunity to go to school and college and grow up in a safe place.
After I had arrived in Lahore on Saturday I went with my friend Bishop Azariah to Pandoki village on the outskirts of the city. A new church building was being dedicated and that was another happy occasion with yet more delicious Punjabi food.
Since Pastor Terry Jones did not go ahead with his threatened Koran burning there were no protests so I was able to join the congregation at Central Church, currently worshipping in St Peter's School as the almost-completely rebuilt Central Church ion Warris Road is not quite ready. I had the opportunity to assure the congregation that their fellow Christians in Scotland and elsewhere were aware of the difficulties facing Pakistan and the Christian community.
I have already had a number of meetings with people who working with us on the tricky question of property and there will be more of these in the next couple of days.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Friday, 10 September 2010
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?
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
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?
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
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.
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.
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