An unusually holy vacation

A week ago, the Rev. Dr. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, England, was scheduled to go on a 7-day vacation to Salzburg, Germany. But the second highest ranking clergy person in England decided that with the conflict ongoing between Israel and Lebanon and tensions within his own country, it was not the time to go on vacation.

Instead of making the trip to Germany, Sentamu took his vacation time to "camp inside York Minster where he has asked people from all over the country to join him in heart and mind to pray every hour for peace in the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, and for good community relations in Britain."

The Archbishop finishes his unusual vacation of prayer and fasting today. In his own words, Sentamu describes his actions like this

I have received letters and calls from people about this conflict, and people are asking "What can I do?" They feel helpless, they feel bewildered but they want to do something in response to the suffering that they have been watching on their televisions, hearing on their radios and reading in their newspapers.

So my call to everyone is to join me in prayer, join me in fasting join me in providing a meal for every displaced person – especially women and children, medicine for the sick; and at a future date be part of the reconstruction of the areas, in both countries, that have been destroyed.

Will you join me in standing up against violence as an unacceptable means of trying to change one another’s views and lives ? Whether in our own skies or the skies above the Middle East, bombing and violence cannot be the way in which we seek to change that which we don’t like in the world. There has to be another way. Each one of us has to be the change we want to see in the world.

In the archives is the blog entry A Grueling Start & a Little Nut from when I heard Archbishop Sentamu speak in person at the start of this past June's General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church