Blogs
Tu BiShvat: Waiting for Spring
Posted Jan 16th, 2019Monday 21 January will be Tu BiShvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees. This day, a marker for calculating fruit tithes, could have been relegated to obscurity once most Jews were no longer involved in agriculture. But trees are a powerful symbol, and Tu BiShvat has been invested with new meanings over the years. Read more
In the Bleak Midwinter: Christmas in a time of challenge
Posted Dec 17th, 2018One of my favourite Christmas carols is In the Bleak Midwinter. Read more
Bringing the light: A reflection on a ceremony to mark the contribution of Christians in the Middle East
Posted Dec 6th, 2018I needed some time to gather my thoughts following a moving ceremony that I attended this week at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the contribution of Christians in the Middle East. Of course this was also a time for reflection on the immense loss endured by Christian communities in the region in recent years due to violence, loss of human life, destruction of homes and sacred places of worship. Read more
In memory of Edith Gold z’l
Posted Nov 29th, 2018As a gap year student I spent a year on Kibbutz Lavi in the Galilee. The kibbutz was literally built by the hands of kinder, brought first to the UK on the Kindertransport and several years later to Israel, after spending time on a farm in Essex that prepared them for farming life on a Kibbutz. Lavi had a wonderful tradition of Kinder ‘adopting’ students and acting as surrogate ‘parents’. Read more
A reflection on the 2018 Yad Vashem Seminar by the Revd Ann Rigby-Jones
Posted Nov 27th, 2018The Revd Ann Rigby-Jones is Superintendent Minister of the Wirral Methodist Circuit. Ann participated in CCJ’s 2018 Yad Vashem Seminar at the International School of Holocaust Studies.
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A reflection on the 2018 Yad Vashem Seminar by the Revd Lucy Dallas
Posted Nov 27th, 2018The Revd Lucy Dallas is a Church of England Priest and Director of Pastoral Studies at the Eastern Region Ministry Course. Lucy participated in CCJ’s 2018 Yad Vashem Seminar at the International School of Holocaust Studies.
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On the 80th anniversaries of Kristallnacht and the Kindertransport
Posted Nov 6th, 2018Two weeks ago I returned from Yad Vashem where every year, at the International School of Holocaust Studies, CCJ leads a seminar for Christian clergy and church leaders. I am delighted that so many participants from 12 seminars over 11 years have been able to attend our commemoration this morning. Read more