My Dear Friends,

It is a strange thing for a Scotsman to celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land.  In Jerusalem there is no sign of Christmas- no Christmas trees, no decorations, no seasons greetings, not even a mention of Christmas. It is the same in Tel Aviv and so many other Israeli cities and towns. This is not a Christian country and so  there is silence about the coming of the Son of God into the world.  This makes May (my wife) and I profoundly sad.  The eternal Logos was incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, yet for Israel there is no Christmas. For Israel it is always a winter of conflict but never a Christmas of peace. We believe that there is coming a time when this will not be the case, but it is the case now.   Now, there is silence at Christmas. 
 
Nazareth is very different from the rest of the country. I believe that it is correct to say that the majority of Christians in the Holy Land live here and in the surrounding Galilee region.  In Nazareth there are Christmas trees everywhere, holiday lights, vivid decorations, nativity scenes and the like. On Christmas day the church bells ring out, and in the hearts and on the tongues of the Christians of Galilee they say, “Ahalan wa sahalan Yessua!” or “Welcome to our family Jesus!  The way is made straight for you.”  There is no silence here, only rejoicing.   None of the Christians in Israel are silent about their faith in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, and they are not silent about Christmas.  In Nazareth, as in Bethlehem in the West Bank, Christians relive the Christmas story and worship Emmanuel, God with us.
 
It is the great privilege and honour for NETS to serve and be involved in the life and churches of the  Christians of Israel. We seek to feed those who would feed the people and to feed them well.  We seek to replace the silence of Israel with the Word of God.  We hope that through good theological, Biblical and spiritual training we are equipping the Christians of the Holy land to break the silence in a way that builds the kingdom of God here in the place where it began in the world. 

And we request of you, dear brothers and sisters, to break the silence of Israel by praying for all of the Christians and followers of Jesus here in the Holy Land. Pray that all Christians will be together in seeking  the peace of Jerusalem which can only be wrought in Christ.  Pray for Christian unity and that united the Christians of Israel, as the presence of Christ in this place, will sound the trumpets of the Lord breaking the silence of ignorance, emptiness and despair for ever.   

Brothers and sisters your encouragement and support means everything to us. Through your uniting with us we are not orphans but a beloved part of the Great Assembly of believers. May we wish you a very blessed and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
May the Lord truly bless you this Christmas,

Rev Dr Bryson Arthur
President
Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary
PO Box 50105
Nazareth 16100
Israel

Tel:  +972 4 6464898
Mobile: 050 890 8860