Recently, Andy Webster from McCabe Pilgrimages’ was in the Holy Land and visited a vibrant church in Nablus.

“I was fortunate to travel to Nablus in the northern West Bank, a city badly affected by the troubles of the early 2000s and since then inaccessible to pilgrim parties who used to visit Mt. Gerazim and Jacob’s Well.

I visited Father Johnny, a charismatic and enthusiastic young Roman Catholic priest who is overseeing packed pews in his Church of St Justin.  He told me over coffee that he is encouraging Christians who left during these troubled times (many to the Gulf states) to return to Nablus. The number of Christians in Nablus today is around 650, out of a total population of 135,000!

The church oversees a school (with mixed Christian and Muslim students) and a kindergarten.  A youth club is planned, subject to funds being available. This summer, around 100 pilgrims from two Roman Catholic churches in Liverpool plan to visit the church to offer support and encouragement. Father Johnny is arranging lunch and Mass will be concelebrated.

Father Johnny is desperate for support and has wonderful aspirations for the future of the church. For instance, It costs £500 to educate a student for one year at the church school. Funds are also needed to convert an old house on the church property into a youth club venue. Please, help us to help him!”

 

If you would like to be part of this work, please make your cheque payable to the McCabe Educational Trust and highlight that your donation is for St Justin’s, Nablus.

For more than twenty years, the McCabe Educational Trust has been creating partnerships with inspiring people we have met on pilgrimage.  A special Thank You to McCabe pilgrims who helped us raise £28,750 during January.  A fantastic start to our new year!

 

With your help, we will continue helping those in need we encounter on our travels.