A small group of Palestinian Christians stands outside Gaza City's Baptist Church on a Sunday morning, waiting for the generator to power up. The church is cold and dark in the dead of winter, Israel having reduced fuel supplies to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas to halt rocket fire into Israel.

Freshly bound prayer books, containing traditional American hymns, are tucked into the backs of the chairs in the fifth-floor prayer room. But there are no visible religious symbols in the room or outside the building, constructed about a year ago with the help of Christian donors in the U.S. and abroad.

Just eight worshippers are present for the service, compared with more than 100 who attended Sunday prayers six months ago.

By Erica Silverman, The Washington Times, January 15, 2008

Arab Anglican leaders have called for the cancellation of a June gathering of Anglicans in Jerusalem, claiming it could exacerbate Christian-Muslim tensions in the Palestinian territories.

On Wednesday, the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, Suheil Darwani, released a statement saying the presence of hundreds of conservative Anglican bishops in the Holy Land would inject the Anglican Communion's political disputes into the diocese of Jerusalem, and could also have "serious consequences for our ongoing ministry of reconciliation in this divided land."

By GEORGE CONGER, The Jerusalem Post, Jan 5, 2008

Norman Jameson was part of a group of editors from the Southern Baptist Convention who visited Israel this month with an invitation from the Ministry of Tourism.

Before he sent his main story about his trip to Israel to the Biblical Recorder page designer, he sent it to Botrus Mansour, general director of the Nazareth Baptist School for his review. He met with Botrus during his visit to Nazareth and claims that Botrus was "greatly disappointed" in what was written.

The following is what the editor of the Biblical Recorder wrote after this reaction from Mr. Mansour.

Norman Jameson, The Biblical Recorder, Jan 24, 2008

While many Catholics in the Middle East suffer from discrimination and may even be denied religious freedom, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged them to engage in dialogue with their Muslim and Jewish neighbors and to strengthen their bonds with other Christians.

The pope met Jan. 18 at the Vatican with the Latin-rite bishops of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Somalia. The bishops were making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses.

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, Jan 18, 2008

The magistrate court of Nazareth issued a decision today (the 22nd of January) to prevent the retired Bishop Riah Abu Assal and all members of the non profit organization he formed from entering the campus of “Bishop Riah educational campus” in Nazareth until the end of the proceedings. The decision also prevents them from handling any issues related to the school, especially financial ones.

By that, Judge Nabila Dali Mussa accepted the request of the Anglican Episcopalian church and of Bishop Suhail Diwani that was discussed in court last Friday with both bishops and most pastors of the dioceses present in an unusual setting.

Special For "Come and See", Jan 22, 2008

In this book, Dr. Khoury presents three main parts that concentrate on medieval historical theological components of Arab Christians, contemporary sociopolitical as well as theopolitical challenges, and contextual theological concerns (p. 8).

The Author, Dr. Geries Khoury is the academic Dean of Mar Elias Theology School in Ibilin. The book review is written by the Director of the Academic Affairs at Galilee Bible College, an extension of Bethlehem Bible College

By Yohanna Katanacho, PHD, Special For "Come and See", Jan 22, 2008

On January 5, 2008 the impossible became temporarily possible when members of Gaza Baptist Church were issued special permits to cross into Israel in celebration of Christmas as guests of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel. For many, it was their first visit into the country, having spent years only a matter of miles away. The day was sunny and full of hopeful promise, a point not taken for granted by the family of Rami Ayyad, who gave his life as a martyr to the Christian faith in Gaza only a few months ago. Some of his family members were among members of the Gaza Baptist Church visiting Israel that day.

Special For "Come and See", Jan 15, 2008

A Messianic Pastor from Israel writes a response to “Christian Leaders Invite Muslims to Love God, Neighbors”. We publish it here:

This Sunday some of us are going to Bethlehem to worship with Arab brothers and sisters in the joy of our God. Next weekend our congregation (actually the Lord Yeshua's congregation) will be host to over 40 teenagers from that same area. Today happens to be the shortest day of the year, when the light of day in the darkest of seasons is at its briefest in this part of the globe. A little light can dispel even more darkness; how much more the sun the blackness of night; how much more even does the Light which is the Word of God, and who is Himself the Lord Jesus Christ, dispel the darkness of lies!

Howard Bass, Special for Come and See. Written in Dec 21, 2007

The second meeting of the Evangelical Christian-Muslim Dialogue convened in Tripoli during January 3-6, 2008, to engage in conversation on the themes of “Human Nature and the Divine Presence.” The dialogue, which followed a November, 2006 gathering in Chicago, Illinois, began with a welcome keynote address by Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Sharif, Secretary General of the World Islamic Call Society, which hosted the interfaith event.

Stephen Sizer web site, Jan 14, 2008