Christian charity Friends of the Holy Land has produced a series of spiritual videos created by the Christian communities in Palestine.
Holy Sites, Holy People: A Lenten Journey comprises six videos each featuring a holy site in the Palestinian territories.
The videos are introduced by Father Fadi Diab, who as well as being the rector of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ramallah, is the chair of the ecumenical committee of Christian volunteers who help guide the work of Friends of the Holy Land in the country.
Each video aims to bring to you the Biblical text and historical context of the featured site together with the lived experience of the local Christian community, not only in their current grave circumstances but also over more than the past 75 years. This journey begins in the City of Bethlehem.
Father Fadi says: “This city where our Lord Jesus was born, the city which gave love and hope to the world, is now a sad, hopeless city, vacant of its visitors.”
Reverend Dr Munther Isaac explains further the many challenges facing the community of Bethlehem today.
He said: “[There are] many new checkpoints, close to 900 new gates. Can you think of that in a small area like the West Bank? This means that travelling from place to another now takes hours.”
For the Church, he says, the biggest challenge is responding to people’s fears for the future.
He added: “With all these restrictions and with a bad economy people are leaving. As a result the Church is focusing its efforts to help people survive.”

Friends of the Holy Land is working with churches through many programmes to come together to help the community have “sumud” (resilience) and the comfort of God.
The filming and other work necessary to complete this series was undertaken in the challenging conditions imposed by the current tightened occupation of the West Bank as a result of the war and the current ceasefire.
Friends of the Holy Land CEO Brendan Metcalfe said: “We hope as you walk with our brothers and sisters through this Lenten season, you will pray for them and continue to advocate for peace and justice in the lands of the Holy One.
“We are grateful to the Global Partnerships Office of the Episcopal Church (USA) for their help with funding, as well as the dedicated team mentioned by Father Fadi Diab at the end of the video. 
“We hope these videos will inspire you to support our Lenten Appeal – Hope is Rising from the Ashes. With your help we rebuild lives, businesses and opportunity for our brothers and sisters.”

YOU CAN WATCH THE FIRST VIDEO IN THE SERIES AND READ THE REFLECTIONS AND PRAYER HERE

TO DONATE TO THE APPEAL, VISIT friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/lent.