Please note that our AGM on Wednesday 13th is now to be held at 121 George Street. Timings are still the same : 13.00 Welcome 13.30 Meeting 14.00 Presentation with Q & A opportunities - with Rifat Kassis, the coordinator for Kairos Palestine. Tea and coffee to follow at the end. The link for online participation is https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/335512398615228?p=My0u37gREWik7u0v4g

A proposal to lease the Scots Hotel in the Holy Land to an established and reputable third-party local operator will be considered by the General Assembly. If approved, the Church of Scotland would no longer be responsible for the day-to-day management of the hotel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel but would retain ownership of the buildings and land. Read more here

Remembering, meditating, giving thanks and admiring - all these are drawn together amongst the reflections that are contained in our latest newsletter - here.

Celebrating Holy Communion with the Nassar family and international volunteers in the Chapel Cave, Tent of Nations - May 2025 The Annual Report covers topics ranging from April 2025 - changes that have challenged, given cause for reflection and allowed us to offer support over the year.

Wonderful news from Hebron International Resource Network (HIRN)! With the Israeli group, Villages Group, HIRN has been fundraising to pay the fees of Palestinian students at university, and has just finalised the fee payment for 268 students (three quarters of them women) at 15 universities in the West Bank, Gaza and Egypt. Thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters The Friends have already been able to send enough money from Project 26 to fund 5 of these student

An Easter service from the Holy city of Jerusalem will still feature the Moderator of the Church of Scotland despite the outbreak of war in the Middle East forcing the cancellation of her planned in person visit. Although she cannot be there in person, Rt Rev Rosie Frew is looking forward to preaching at St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday via this online link. https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82762914012 ... Following the cancellation of her planned Eas

Click here to r ead the Spring Newsletter from Sindyanna, including the significance of Bees for Peace - and know the importance of why we are supporting them through your donations to Project 26 .

The Church of Scotland is deeply concerned for all those affected by the unfolding situation in the Middle East. Following the attacks by the USA and Israel on Iran, and Iran’s response, which has brought destruction and anxiety to the wider region, we lament the onset of war in this precious part of the world and urgently pray for an immediate cessation of fighting. The staff of the Church of Scotland who are based in Israel and Palestine remain safe at this time. We are in

Posting from the rooftop at St George’s, praying again for peace in a time of war. This on a day of prayer and introspection during the season of Lent, the month of Ramadan, and the Fast of Esther before Purim. May our faiths help us to come together before the God of life. I reflect on the danger of ‘permanent war’ for nations, of letting it become an identity, and on the vital need for us to sustain our vision and prayers for peace and its benefits, honouring the sanctity o

Today the Jerusalem District Planning & Building Committee heard objections to plans to build a hotel adjacent to St Andrew’s Church, the only Church of Scotland church in Jerusalem. The UK opposes the plan which would suffocate the historic church and its activities. Hear from Simon Walters, Consul General in Jerusalem by clicking here

Irene McLellan’s Service of Thanksgiving will be held in Dunfermline Abbey at 11am on Monday 16 February 2026, followed by afternoon tea in the Glen Pavilion. Andrew and his sons, Andi and Ian, warmly invite all friends to attend. The service can be joined online here.

From Hostility to Hospitality; A Long Life Lovingly Lived; The Privilege of Being an Ecumenical Accompanier. All these, and more, are headings of articles in our latest newsletter . Newsletters

Dear Friends of St Andrew’s Jerusalem, One of the most enduring Christmas songs from the Middle East is Laylatal Milad ( On Christmas Night), which captures the meaning of this special time for us all year round: When we offer a glass of water to a thirsty person, we are in Christmas When we clothe a naked person with a gown of love, we are in Christmas When we wipe the tears from weeping eyes, we are in Christmas When we cushion a hopeless heart with love, we are in Christma

Read the full newsletter - https://app.activetrail.com/S/aiaiza3afed.htm - which includes updates on: Our Olive Groves Finally Coming Alive Again How Small Creatures Can Inspire Big Changes - PROJECT 26 Our Visitor Center Which is Awaiting Your Visit Olive Oil, Ancient Knowledge & Fair-Trade Values

Stewart Gillan gives thanks for the St Andrew's Day Service evening - and you can watch it here . Thanking Dave Hardman for his wonderful edit. Taking Andrew, his brother Peter, and the other apostles as our point of departure, we thanked God for their lives of costly discipleship and, many of them, martyrdom, hearing the call to us to put our bodies where our words are here and now. I thank the Rev Sally Azar, Prof Salim Munayer, Rabbi Dana Sharon, Joanna Oakley Levstein, M

The Friends celebrated St Andrew's Day at their annual Service on Friday 28th November at 2.00pm at St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Edinburgh. If you weren't able to join us, you can still watch the service through this link . The Order of Service is attached below for those wanting to refer to it. PROJECT 26 was launched, offering opportunities to support partners of St Andrew’s Jerusalem and Tiberias for the coming year. You too can become involved. Details can be found h

Click here to watch the video Stewart writes : It is a joy to post up my interview with Hadas Lahav, Leader of Sindyanna of Galilee, conducted in the Scots Grove south west of Nazareth, after a morning of olive picking last Saturday (8th November 2025). In it, Hadas speaks of Sindyanna's commitment to Fairtrade values, to sharing life and work with Arab and Israeli women, and to the need to show the way to a successful coexistence. Interspersed are scenes and interviews with

Reflections on time spent in Tiberias and Jerusalem from Rev Muriel Pearson as she returns to Scotland. Daoud Nassar's visit to Edinburgh; details of the two projects that The Friends will support over the coming year; and a reminder that our St Andrew's Day Service is on Friday 28th November, in Edinburgh. Just some of the articles in November's newsletter which you can find here on our website.

Their latest newsletter tells us of their hopes for a prolific and safe harvest. Read it on their website here

Muriel, now back in Scotland, reflects on what it means to be home. This is my last Stepping Out of the Boat blog post. I am back in Scotland having said a bitter-sweet goodbye to colleagues and friends in Tiberias, Jerusalem and beyond. It is a momentous week for other much bigger reasons too. On 7th October the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on festival goers and kibbutzim was marked. For families of hostages, alive and dead it is a painful anniversary. For Palest