Israel/Palestine

Over the last two years we have been supporting Jane and Peter Nott who are CMS mission partners in Israel/Palestine. Christianity in the Middle East is struggling to survive and Israel/Palestine is no exception. A recent conference on the fate of Christians in the Holy Land also highlighted concerns that, as the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem has put it, there is “a risk that the Holy Land is becoming a “spiritual Disneyland” – full of glittering rides and attractions, but empty of its indigenous Christian population.”

Jane and Peter’s desire is to encourage, equip, empower, and be the ‘aroma of Christ’ amongst the Arab Israeli community. An initial placement at Bethlehem Bible College in 2007, led to the start of Jane and Peter’s mission work with the Arab population in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. During their two-year stay, they have dedicated their time to a number of multi-role jobs, ranging from teaching English to organising ministries.

As a former police officer, Peter’s experience in community affairs and planning has come in handy. While working in the chapel and garden at the Christian hospital where the couple lived, he helped create a system for water to be re-cycled from air-conditioning units. This has proven to be a great success as water is such a precious commodity in the Middle East and a similar project is now being considered for the rest of the hospital.

Peter is also a licensed reader, so was able to support and provide encouragement to the local Anglican priest, dealing with many problematic and challenging church related matters. In addition, he spent many hours helping at Galilee Bible College with administration and in the library.

Jane, a paediatric nurse and counsellor, worked on the wards in Nazareth hospital and also alongside the chaplain offering pastoral care and support.

While the couple are currently in the UK because of visa regulations, they intend to return to Israel/Palestine after a short-term mission placement in January, and continue to need our prayers and support. For them, living in Israel/Palestine, particularly within the ecumenical Christian hospital in Nazareth, has been a joy and privilege. They both feel strongly that having been given the unique opportunity to work alongside, serve and befriend people from the Christian and Muslim communities of Nazareth, they want to carry on with this work and continue to ask God for guidance for creative ways to do this.