Living stones

Sunday, meanwhile, has been full. We start in St George's Cathedral, Jerusalem. This means passing through a military checkpoint.

Three soldiers board the bus. Two are very young, no more than teenagers, which makes the machine gun slung over their shoulders all the more shocking. The girl smiles uncertainly, and says good morning.

We have been warned to carry our passports, in case of inspection, and that we might have to disembark the bus while it is inspected, but in the event we are waved through.

The checkpoints are a minor nuisance to visitors; to Palestinians, they are massive, daily obstacle in the way of trying to earn a living. We hear of restrictions of movement, people queuing at the checkpoints at 4 a.m., just to be at work in the city by 8 a.m., of permits issued and denied apparently at random.

The Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr is the seat of the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem. The service takes place in a mix of Arabic and English. The Bishop, the Rt Revd Suheil Dawani, shares the leading of the service with Bishop John.

After the service, we enjoy coffee and biscuits in the cathedral precincts, and then Bishop Suheil (the 14th bishop and the fourth Arab one) tells us about the life and work of his diocese. There are 27 parishes.

Bishop Suheil identifies three particular areas of work: pastoral care, which of course means caring for communities living in difficult circumstances; institutions,providing health and education services to those in need without differentiation; and ecumenical work, amongst the 13 church traditions in the Holy Land.

“The Christian presence is very important to the region and for the peace of the land,” he says. “In this land we should live in peace together. Jerusalem is the city of God – it is holy for the three Abrahamic faiths, and we must respect this.

"The Christian community can be a moderating influence in promoting a just and lasting peace for the benefit of all God's people, from the three Abrahamic faiths. We work as a bridge to bring together Muslims and Jews.”

We hear again about the difficulties Christians are enduring in the Holy Land. “The Christian community is easily forgotten – we are not on the agenda in the West,” he says. “We are paying the price for the Iraq war.”

The Anglican church is active in promoting peace, especially through peace education.

But they are struggling: whereas there used to be 30,000 Christians in 1967, Christians now make up less than 2% of the total populaion. There are 6000-7000 Christians in Jerusalem.

“We are losing our families and young people. There is no future, no jobs, and no housing for them. They look for a better future outside this region,” he says.