Church of Scotland Moderator to Visit Holy Land

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. David Lacy, is set to leave for the Holy Land on Sunday 30th October, the first serving Moderator to visit the Israel/Palestine region since the Rt. Rev. John Cairns in March 2000.

|TOP|Part of the two-week visit includes a visit to the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem, as well as meetings with leading figures from the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

The Rev. Lacy outlined three main purposes to his visit to the conflict-rife region: “First, I want to visit Christian congregations in Israel/Palestine; their numbers have reduced significantly over recent years and many feel themselves under pressure.”

He continued: “I simply wish to let them know that the Church of Scotland remembers them, prays for them and stands with them.”

The Rev. Lacy will also stop by the Church of Scotland School at Tabeetha and the Kirk’s controversial centre at Tiberias in the Galilee.

He said: “Secondly, I want to draw attention to our wonderful new hotel in Tiberias and, by going myself, perhaps encourage others to follow.”

The £10million Tiberias centre, the source of controversy within the Church when it opened last year, aims to function as a space where “Jew and Arab can meet together and share in peace-building dialogue”, according to Rev. Alan Grieg, convenor of the Board of World Mission.

|QUOTE|“Thirdly, I will visit all three Church of Scotland projects in the Holy Land – the Tiberias centre, St Andrew’s Jerusalem, and Tabeetha School in Jaffa – to affirm them with the continuing support of the General Assembly and to underline the Kirk’s intention to continue working with them,” added Rev. Lacy.

The Church of Scotland Moderator will also visit a number of the region’s significant religious sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.

Rev. Lacy said: “I am grateful to both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities for their help and cooperation and hope to pay visits to both presidents.”