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Vicar of Baghdad peace event in Norwich

Canon Andrew White, known as 'The Vicar of Baghdad', is set to visit Norwich to talk about the role of faith in Middle East peace making. 

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The Norfolk & Norwich Council of Christians and Jews are hosting  he meeting on Monday 26 March when Canon Andrew White will be speaking in Norwich Cathedral.  Because of the popularity of the event, it has been moved from the Hostry into the main Cathedral.

This will be a great opportunity to hear first hand from a man who is has an extraordinary ministry of reconciliation and conflict mediation in the Middle East. A seminar for clergy and lay leaders will take place in the afternoon.

Having worked for many years in Israel and Palestine, including negotiating the end of the Bethlehem siege in 2002, Canon White now works almost exclusively in Iraq. As the news reminds us almost daily, this is one of the hottest spots in the world to be a vicar! Andrew has also developed a major focus on reconciliation in the Holy Land as well as involvement more widely around the Middle East. 

In October 2010 Canon White was in New York, collecting the Train Foundation Civil Courage prize. This prize is awarded to individuals who have shown steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk to themselves. Most previous recipients of that prize are now either dead or in prison.

White says: “I have been detained at gun-point, been thrown into a room with people’s chopped-off fingers and toes all over the floor, and have had my picture posted on walls around Baghdad with a notice saying, ‘Wanted, dead or alive.’ Members of my church have been kidnapped or killed. I have lost many friends. It is very difficult.”

Event details

Council of Christians and Jews: Buber Lecture - 8.30pm

Everybody is welcome to come and hear Canon Andrew White address the issues of Peace and Reconciliation with particular reference to the Holy Land and the links between Israel, Iraq and Egypt.

Andrew looks at present conflicts and hopes for peace in the context of Isaiah 19.23, ‘On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians’.

• Cost – £3.00, including refreshments, payable on the door.
  Time: 8.30 pm
  
• Location: Norwich Cathedral, NR1 4DH
• Entry from 8.15 via the West Door (Please arrive quietly)
  Some may also wish to attend the Cathedral Eucharist
  for the Feast of the Annunciation 7-8 pm

Faith under Fire; Afternoon Seminar for Clergy and Christian Leaders - 2pm

All Clergy, Ministers and leaders from any church in the area are invited to attend this seminar when Andrew will be speaking on ‘Searching for peace in the Middle East’.  He will tackle issues that confront for Judaism, Christianity and Islam in that region, give an analysis of the situation in Iraq and reflect more generally on the Arab Spring. There will be two addresses with time for questions/discussion and a short break for tea in the middle. Admission is free with an offering in support of the church in Baghdad.

• Time: 2.00 – 5.00 pm
• Location: Cathedrall Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, NR1 4DH.