On Wednesday 20th December, in solidarity with Palestinians, people from across Milton Keynes will come together outside The Church of Christ the Cornerstone to hold a candlelit vigil beside a life size nativity scene depicting baby Jesus lying amongst rubble.
The organisers of the vigil have been inspired by churches in Jerusalem who will not celebrate Christmas this year because of the ongoing massacre in Palestine being carried out by Israel. One church in Bethlehem has replaced the traditional nativity scene of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and their many visitors sheltering in a stable, with baby Jesus wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh buried under rubble; a scene reminiscent of the destruction and suffering being experienced by people living in Gaza today, more than half of whom are children and babies.
Speaking in a news report to Al Jazeera, Bethlehem-based Pastor Munther Ishaq said “Christmas celebrations are cancelled this year in Bethlehem for obvious reasons. It’s impossible to celebrate when there is a massacre, a genocide taking place in Gaza with our people. The idea was to send a message to the world first, but also to ourselves. A message to the world that this is what Christmas looks like in Palestine. This is what Christmas looks like in Bethlehem: the birthplace of Jesus. People, children, being pulled from under the rubble, families being displaced with their homes destroyed. And while the world is celebrating Christmas, at the birthplace of Jesus, this is what Christmas looks like.”
In the midst of seasonal festivities, those hosting the vigil on Wednesday hope they will joined by fellow citizens across the city who are distressed and horrified by the ongoing genocide happening in Palestine. A growing majority of people in Milton Keynes support an urgent and permanent ceasefire, an end to Israeli occupation and the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors for aid and adequate provision of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian assistance, as well as the restoration of water and electricity to Gaza.
The Revd Gill Barrow-Jones, a Church of England vicar in Wolverton who will be attending the vigil on Wednesday comments: “In the Christmas story we hear angels sing of the promise of peace. The song that rang out from the Bethlehem fields that first Christmas, is echoed by Christians around the world today who are praying for a lasting peace for the people of both Israel and Palestine.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the vigil on Wednesday 20th December. The event takes place outside The Church of Christ the Cornerstone and will start at 5.30pm and finish at 6.30pm. Attendees are invited to bring placards, banners and messages of solidarity to show the world that Milton Keynes wants peace, freedom and an end to British complicity to the genocide in Palestine. Attendees are also invited to bring their own homemade rubble crafted from cardboard to contribute to the nativity scene.
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