St John the Baptist Church, Crowthorne has heard the call for peace and justice coming from all the Christian Churches in Israel and Palestine. We pledge ourselves to work for peace and justice for all people living in this Holy Land – for Israelis and Palestinians, for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Every person is made in the image of God and every life is equally precious.
During 2015, we plan to:-
· Keep ourselves informed about the situation in Israel and Palestine through the weekly newsletter, St Johns News and the website as appropriate
· Continue to keep Israel and Palestine in our prayers
· Support the development of a network of UK Kairos Communities, with emphasis on the Churches within the Oxford Diocese.
· Undertake studies to understand more about the historical context and what the Bible has to say about Israel/Palestine.
· Look for, and advertise opportunities to hear more about the situation in Israel and Palestine
· Inform people of opportunities to take action for a just peace in Israel and Palestine
· Support initiatives by groups working for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine.
· Learn more about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) programme and consider whether we might take action as a Church or as individuals
· Inform people about, and encourage them to take up, opportunities to visit or to volunteer to work in Israel/Palestine
· Maintain the “Kairos Crowthorne” blog[1] with links to St John’s website.
In order to support this programme, we propose that the Kairos Group should be opened up to others, possibly including people from other local Churches.
The Kairos Group will report to the PCC annually and consult beforehand on any proposed collective actions by the Church.
[1] To be used for sharing news of events and networking with other Kairos Communities
