Reflecting on life from the Soul of a stumbling, fumbling 'Level 5' student. Pip Wilson - A human becoming
Monday, March 19, 2012
A barrier that stops progress
Richard Llewellin, Bishop of Dover 1992-1999, spent three months earlier this year as an ‘accompanier’ in Bethlehem, under a World Council of Churches scheme to send volunteers to live in the occupied Palestinian ‘West Bank’ to give encouragement and support.
None of us found it much fun getting up at three in the morning to be at the checkpoint before four o’clock. every working day, about 2500 Palestinians from Bethlehem and the surrounding villages have to pass through this checkpoint to reach their place of work in east Jerusalem (still part of the west Bank, but appropriated by israel as part of ‘greater Jerusalem’).
The checkpoint is a miserable place, especially on a cold and windy morning. To get to work on time, the earliest arrivals are there by 3 am. even at that early hour, long queues form, and movement through the checkpoint is often very slow.
our task was to count as accurately as possible, each half-hour, the number of people passing through and, where possible, to encourage the soldiers at the checkpoint to allow people to pass through more quickly. our logs were forwarded each week to such organisations as the Red cross and united Nations representatives in the area, to afford them independent evidence in their discussions about checkpoints with the israeli authorities.
i happened to meet one woman whom i had accompanied through the checkpoint one early morning a day or two previously. she said: “Going through that checkpoint with you at five o’clock has taught me more about the occupation than any other experience during my time in the holy land.”
we visited a number of Palestinian villages surrounding the town of Bethlehem. in each we heard and saw the same story: how the occupation has severely disrupted everyday life, especially in those villages affected by the separation barrier. Also, villagers living near Jewish settlements (new towns for israelis built
Richard Llewellin in Bethlehem.
within the Palestinian west Bank) are frequently subjected to harassment by the settlers. some of the Jews believe that the whole of the land from the mediterranean to the River Jordan, and from lebanon in the north to egypt in the south, belongs to them by divine right. For them, the sooner the Palestinian Arabs leave for other Arab countries the better. The israeli Defence Force (iDF) is often less than zealous in preventing the harassment of the villagers.
much of the separation barrier does not follow the 1949 armistice line between israel and the west Bank: in places it bites deep into Palestinian territory, not only to encompass illegally built israeli settlements but also to enclose considerable swaths of Palestinian farming land. A number of Palestinian villages have been cut in two by this barrier, dividing Palestinian from Palestinian and cutting off villages from neighbouring villages and from their local town. This has had devastating effects on the local economy.
Then there are the house demolitions. Palestinians find it exceedingly difficult and expensive to obtain a building permit. many build without a permit, knowing that they risk their home being demolished, but having no other way of housing their families. They hope that, in the lottery of demolition, their house will be spared. some are not. since 1967, more than 24,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished by the israelis. some demolition has been to make way for the separation
barrier or other military installations, some in order to inflict punishment. most, though, serves to enforce discriminatory building regulations, all of which dispossess innocent and peaceful Palestinians of their homes.
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we also visited refugee camps, of which there are three in Bethlehem. These started out as tented villages erected by the united Nations after the 1948 Arab-israeli war, when 513 Palestinian villages were
visible because we always wore waistcoats with a distinctive logo, wherever we went.
israeli soldiers would inevitably arrive in strength, and would sooner or later bar the way, after which the outcome was unpredictable. much depended on the attitude of the officer in charge. Tear gas and sound bombs were sometimes used to disperse the crowd. it was during these demonstrations that i met Jewish israelis who were completely opposed to the occupation. These valiant people told us that they were glad of our support.
what good did we do? without a doubt, our presence was valued by the Palestinians we came to know in the relatively short time we were there, and by israeli peace activists. And i am convinced that our duties at the checkpoint were important, providing reliable and objective statistics.
we did not go to israel/ Palestine to ‘take sides’. my respect and regard for Jewish
“Going through that checkpoint with you at five o’clock has taught me more about the occupation than any other experience during my time in the holy land.”
destroyed by the advancing israeli forces, and about 750,000 Palestinians were made homeless.
The refugees were assured that they would be returning to their homes within a few weeks.
sixty-three years later, these tented dwellings have become transformed into suburbs of Bethlehem. many children of the first refugees still treasure the keys to the homes from which their parents fled, and still hope to return one day – a hope that the israeli Prime minister described recently as “a fantasy”.
one way in which we supported peace activists was by joining non-violent demonstrations against the occupation. These were Palestinian demonstrations, not ours, and our role was one of accompaniment and support, so we stayed towards the back of the gathering. But our presence was
people remains unaltered. And i grew to admire the resilience and humour of Palestinians.
i am, without apology, deeply critical of the policies of the israeli government towards Palestinians in the west Bank and Gaza. its legitimate concern for the security of israeli society cannot justify most of the restrictions and humiliations and discriminatory policies it has imposed on the Palestinian population.
i will do all in my power to persuade people that the continued military occupation is unjust, and does damage to both societies, Palestinian and Israeli.
The Right Reverend Richard Llewellin will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from November 12th-21st. For more information visit www.lightline.org.uk or by calling 01227 789515
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Great article from Shane Claiborne
about his recent visit to Palestine.
More here
He is a
Greenbelt Festival speaker from the past
and this YEAR TOO
see the BRAND NEW GREENBELT WEBSITE
http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/
Shane Claiborne on his week in the Holy Land from Christ at the Checkpoint on Vimeo.
GREENBELT FESTIVAL
More lineup for 2012: Nitin Sawhney, The Leisure Society, The Proclaimers
We have further announcements of lineup for Greenbelt 2012: Saving Paradise, including the inimitable Nitin Sawhney, highly acclaimed folk-pop from The Leisure Society, and festival favourites The Proclaimers.
It’s all taking place 24 – 27 August 2012 on Cheltenham Racecourse. Get your tickets now »
See all the announced 2012 speakers and artists here »
Greenbelt is a collision of the arts, faith and justice. Engaged with culture, inspired by the arts, sustained by faith, we aspire to be an open generous community reimagining the Christian narrative for the present moment.
In our strategy for 2011 to 2013, our goals are to:
- Present and create a variety of art forms – mainstream and challenging, established and unknown, large-scale and intimate
- At the festival and throughout the year, explore the breadth of Christian faith, be a catalyst for activism and encourage dialogue and understanding between people of faith and no faith
- Safeguard the future of the festival through financial security and by resourcing and supporting those who make it happen
- Be generous with our knowledge and resources
- Develop partnerships that reflect our mission and values and engage new and existing audiences
My Learning this week
Thank you
For being with me
Offering me your eye contact
Emotion
Depth of life experience
Wounds
Journey
That we entwined
Our beauty
Our. Hurts
Together
In Learning
Becoming .....
.
For being with me
Offering me your eye contact
Emotion
Depth of life experience
Wounds
Journey
That we entwined
Our beauty
Our. Hurts
Together
In Learning
Becoming .....
.
Friday, March 16, 2012
.
"You will lose someone
you can’t live without,
and your heart will be badly broken,
and the bad news is
that you never completely get over the loss
of your beloved.
But this is also the good news.
They live forever in your broken heart
that doesn’t seal back up.
And you come through.
It’s like having a broken leg
that never heals perfectly—
that still hurts
when the weather gets cold,
but you learn to dance
with the limp."
— Anne Lamott
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LATEST YMCA ENGLAND VACANCIES
Finance and ICT Manager, Birmingham YMCA
Chef, West London YMCA
Active Families Coach, Nottinghamshire YMCA
Casual Security Concierge, Nottinghamshire YMCA
Supported Housing Worker, YMCA Bedfordshire
Volunteer Chaplaincy Assistant, Forest YMCA of East London
Human Resources Advisers, YMCA England
Contact the YMCA in question direct
.
With my friend Oyvin from Norway yesterday
we were talking about feedback
in the work we do
hearing it
feeling it
needing it
our own self esteem.
I showed this Pipturesque to Oyvin.
I was leading this residential/session
earlier this week
BHPs not used to
residentials/sessions
articulating self
digging the soul
yet experienced in life
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
all what we have lived
experienced ..........
AND
this beautiful human
..... he showed me his tattoo
I asked if I could take a picture
I asked if I could blog it
the best feedback i could ever get
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
beyond beyond
words
Love and Tears come streaming down ...........
.
.
“A huge problem is that the soldiers are not given time to heal
before they are redeployed.
It is a military-wide problem,
and there is a lot of it going on at this base.”
- Jorge Gonzalez,
a veteran from Joint Base Lewis-McChord
who served 15 months in Iraq and now is
executive director of Coffee Strong,
a coffee house and
nonprofit resource center for soldiers.
(New York Times)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
I have been away and offline and
busy when within reach of 3G -
never wifi in the last few days.
Have been spending a couple of days
with these beautiful humans.
What stories they have to tell.
Such energy
such personalities
so accepting
so passionate
so willing to collide with me
so terrible at listening.
I said
'what is happening when everyone talks at once?'
Someone said
'no-one is listening' hey hey
a step forward.
I love being with these guys
(they were all male/no women at this gig)
they are so
unpredictable
unreliable
they say it as it is
and I love that authenticity.
I am inspired .....
.
Our new website
Today we’re pleased to announce the launch of our new website. We hope it allows you to quickly and easily find out everything you need to know about this year’s festival.
But Greenbelt is more than a one-off event, so our website is more than an information point. We know we’re never going to recreate the festival online, but we want to try at least. So our media section is home to thousands of talks, videos and photos from the past thirty-eight years. And besides the most recent talks, everything is available completely free of charge. Take a look, be inspired to make your corner of the earth a little brighter and then share the dream.
-
Bruce Cockburn
After more than decade's absence, Bruce Cockburn returns to Greenbelt to headline our Friday night Mainstage bill. Off the back of his latest record, Small Source of Comfort, Bruce brings his politically, ecologically and spiritually impassioned songwriting back to stir the soul of Greenbelt en masse. The presence … -
Bellowhead
Voted Best Live Act no less than four times at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, as one of the best festival bands ever Bellowhead are sure to bring Greenbelt mainstage 2012 to an uproarious climax on Monday. Great humour, great musicianship, great songs and a tradition reinvented all …
Monday, March 12, 2012
SENIOR YOUTH WORKER VACANCY
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http://www.easttowest.org.uk/index.php?view=details&id=8:job-vacancy-for-senior-youth-worker&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=71
Sunday, March 11, 2012
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