Prayer stations

These are the prayer stations we used for our day of prayer and reflection on Kairos.

Prayer station 1: Using water to discriminate

1: Water to discriminate 

· Israeli per capita consumption of water is four to five times higher than that of the Palestinian population of the Occupied Palestinian Territories
· In the West Bank, Settlers consume 6 times the amount of water used by the Palestinians.
· In the Jordan Valley, Settlers consume vast amounts of water for crops while the Palestinians’ water supply has been disconnected.
· Water is not scarce in the region, but..
· Israel uses water to discriminate between Israelis and Palestinians and to force the Palestinians off the land.

Fill five containers of water from the font.
Place them in front of you, one on your left and four on your right.
Look at the single container of water, and imagine that you are a Palestinian, with not enough water for your family, your animals and your crops.
Look at the four containers of water, and imagine that you are an Israeli living in the Occupied West Bank, with as much water as you ever need.
Perhaps you would like to pray for justice and equality for all in Israel and Palestine.
Please pour the water back into the font afterwards.

2: Colouring sheets

Sit quietly and as you colour, allow yourself to pray for the situation in Israel/Palestine and that justice and peace will come to the Holy Land.

3: Light a candle

Light a candle and place it in the sand tray. Spend some time in silent prayer before the candle thinking of all those who are suffering in the Holy Land at this time, but also of all those who are working for peace, justice and reconciliation. Meditate on the words from St John’s Gospel “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”.

4: Post a prayer

Write a prayer for Israel and Palestine and stick it onto the map of Israel and Palestine. Spend a few minutes reading your own prayer and any others which have been placed on the map.

5: The Separation Wall

Information about the wall

· The barrier is over 700km long.
· Around 90% is a fence, with vehicle-barrier trenches and a 60 metre exclusion zone.
· Around 10% is an 8-metre high concrete wall.
· 85% of the wall is inside the West Bank, rather than in Israel
· The barrier separates many Palestinians from their land.
· Palestinians require a permit to leave the West Bank
· Workers queue from 4am in the morning to get through the checkpoints at the map and images of the separation barrier

The wall has been the subject of nearly 1000 graffiti images. You can even order graffiti on line and get it drawn locally!

What emotions does the wall generate in you? What message would you like to convey to the Israelis and Palestinians.

Take a blank image of the wall and draw your own message or picture, aimed at either the Israeli or Palestinian side of the wall.

Pray for the people who live on each side of the wall, that they may one day be able to live in peace with one another.

6: Take a brick from the wall

Take a brick out of the Wall and lay it on the Cross template. As you do it pray that the Wall will come down so that families and communities can be reunited and there will be proper access to work, medical resources and education.

7: Jigsaw Puzzle

Assemble the pieces of the puzzle and as you do, pray for all young people living in Israel/Palestine that though education, cultural and sporting activities they may learn to trust one another and live side by side in peace and harmony.

What is Kairos

Kairos Palestine

Kairos Palestine was issued in 2009 by the heads of all 13 Churches in Jerusalem. It is a call to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, to the International Community and to the World Churches to accelerate the achievement of justice, peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land.

Kairos Britain

Time for Action, the British response to Kairos Palestine, was launched in August 2013. It calls on British Christians to:-

· Be aware of the situation in Israel and Palestine,

· To reflect prayerfully on it, and

· To respond faithfully and courageously.

St John’s Kairos Action Plan

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St John the Baptist Parish Church, Crowthorne, approved our Kairos Action Plan in October 2013.

Since then we have been learning about the situation in Israel and Palestine.

Today is our opportunity to reflect prayfully on all we have learned.

Becoming a Kairos Congregation

On 9th July, our PCC will consider whether we should become a “Kairos Congregation”.

Please take some time this morning to help our PCC by providing your own thoughts on this issue.

If we decide to become a Kairos Congregation, we would be joining other Christians in the UK in actively seeking justice and peace for Israel and Palestine.

We would need to work out the details of how we would take this forward, but it might include some of the things listed on the sheets on the table.

Please take a sheet and tick the things which you think our Church might consider and also whether these are things that you might consider supporting personally.