Dear Members and Friends,
 
2019 will be remembered as a year of turmoil and division. These are tough times for many communities and faith communities have often been the target of those who seek to sow division and hate.  It has been a year when the work of CCJ has been ever more needed: for students on campus, in communities around the UK, bringing faith leaders together and supporting those less fortunate than ourselves. I’m pleased that with the expertise of Programme Manager Esther Sills, as Christians and Jews together we will re-double our efforts to support refugee communities in the coming years.
 
Its more important than ever that in the 75^th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, CCJ we will be enhancing its work in Holocaust Education. In 2020 CCJ will be leading a delegation to Poland comprised of Christian Clergy to visit and learn about the Auschwitz death camp. This year for the first time a prayer has been written and endorsed by CCJ’s Christian presidents to mark the year, which will be read by Christian communities around the UK for HMD. This is in addition to CCJ’s annual Yad Vashem seminar for Christian clergy led by Senior Programme Manager Rob Thompson. Rob’s work in growing the Yad Vashem Alumni network is vital at a time of rising antisemitism, populism and xenophobia in the UK.
 
We will also be publishing a new resource for Christian communities, written by Deputy Director Revd Dr Nathan Eddy and Rob Thompson that will highlight areas in Christian liturgy, preaching  and education where we can re-imagine and re-think texts towards a better and more informed dialogue between our communities.
 
Our Student Leaders led by Katharine Crew, CCJ’s Campus Leadership Manager, are a shining light on campuses around the UK, creating projects with real impact on the communities they work with: students, chaplains, and others; supporting each other in times of need, that have been all too frequent recently.
 
And underpinning all we do is you, our members, amplifying our message and bringing faith communities together for meaningful engagement; modelling a better way for others to follow.
 
Below you can read about this year’s CCJ Bridge Award given to outstanding individuals who work tirelessly to bring faith and other communities together. This year’s award was made to Lord Rothschild by His Royal Highness Prince Charles on behalf of CCJ. Also below are some inspiring words about Hanukah and Christmas.
 
With thanks to CCJ’s Chair Bishop Michael Ipgrave, trustees, professional team and members for all that you do throughout the year,
 
Whatever you are celebrating, may it be peaceful and joyful.  
 
Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko
Director

If you use social media, the best way to keep up to date with CCJ news is by liking us on facebook or following us on twitter.

 
The Bridge Award, introduced in 2017 for the 75th anniversary of CCJ, is an annual award for an individual who has made an exceptional and leading contribution to building bridges between peoples, in a Christian-Jewish or wider setting. The first award was given in 2017 to the Smith family (Holocaust Centre in Newark) and in 2018 to former CCJ President Rabbi Lord Sacks. This year it was given to Lord Rothschild by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles.
 
Lord Rothschild has a long-standing and formidable track-record as both a businessman and a philanthropist. He has built bridges between business and society as well as between different peoples and communities through his extensive philanthropy work in the UK and Israel. His Foundation in the UK, the Rothschild Foundation which he chairs, has a long history of work in arts, heritage, education, and social welfare. He has also built bridges within Israel, through his extensive philanthropic and other work.
 
The Rothschild family were involved at the start of CCJ itself, founded in 1942 at the height of the unfolding tragedy of the Holocaust. Anthony de Rothschild was on our executive committee at our inception, and later Edmund de Rothschild was an Honorary Treasurer and a Vice-President.
 
On receiving the Award, Lord Rothschild said:
“I am deeply honoured to receive this year’s Bridge Award. It gives me the opportunity to pay tribute to the Council of Christians and Jews for their exceptional work in building bridges across faiths. My family have been privileged to enjoy a long association with the CCJ and I look forward to that association continuing in the years to come. At this time more than ever, the willingness of faith communities to come together for the common good is playing a critical role in healing divisions and building a society in which all can live together with mutual respect.”
 
Lord (Michael) Howard of Lympne, Trustee of CCJ, who spoke at the reception, said:
“We cannot think of a more worthy recipient of our Bridge Award this year. Throughout his life, Lord Rothschild has built bridges in so many ways: between business and society, within Israeli society and between the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds. He has been a generous philanthropist, particularly in the arts and education. It is right that we should honour all that he has done and a tribute to him that His Royal Highness joined us for the occasion.”
 
The inscription on the plaque reads: The Council of Christians and Jews 2019 Bridge Award - Lord Jacob Rothschild OM GBE - For outstanding efforts to build bridges and understanding between communities.

 
Dr Lindsay Simmonds, CCJ Scholar-In-Residence, has written a blog post for CCJ on Hanukah:

Hanukah is the celebration of both the miracle of a small jar of purified oil lasting eight days rather than one, and the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks during the Second Temple period in Jerusalem (in approximately 200BCE). It was established by the rabbinic authorities at the time, and is mentioned in the Talmud, particularly in tractate Shabbat. Although Hanukah is generally translated as ‘dedication’, referring to the re-dedication of the Temple, the Hebrew word Hanukah [חנוכה] is also related to the Hebrew word Hinuch [חינוך] — education, and as such education is a central theme of the festival. But what kind of education is implied by this connection?
 
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) argued that the home is the centre of all religious activity, and thus, it is the appropriate place for publicising the miracle of Hanukah by lighting the eight branched candelabra [Hanukiah]. Common ritual practice is to place the candelabra near a window, in order to ‘publicise the Hanukah miracle’; but this also demonstrates that what happens within the home is radiated outwards...
 
To read Lindsay's blog in full please click here.

Sophie Mitchell, CCJ Student Leader Alumnus, has written a blog post on Advent:  
 
Christmas day, along with Easter day, is the most important day in the Christian calendar. In Western society, it is hard to avoid Christmas… It is everywhere! Filling the shops, the adverts and every conversation possible, it is difficult to avoid Christmas… For most people, Christmas has become a season to celebrate friends, family and all the good things in life. For Christians, Christmas marks the arrival of a new born king, who changed and continues to change everything. But before his arrival, there was a long period of waiting. That is where Advent comes into the scene.

Deriving from the Latin ‘adventus’ meaning to come, Advent focuses on the preparation of the coming of Christ. In the run up to Christmas, most people are getting ready for the big day, be it buying Christmas presents, writing cards to old friends or getting enough food in for Christmas dinner. Often, parts of the Christmas preparation can become a tiring and a bit of a burden, especially when you don’t know what presents to buy for people, you have to write hundreds of cards and half the guests have dietary requirements! We know that it will all be worth it in the end, but my gosh it is exhausting. For Christians like myself, the Christmas preparation involves re-shaping our hearts and minds. Because of this, during the period of Advent, Christians immerse themselves in penance, prayer and preparation...

To continue reading Sophie's blog post in full please click here

Are you passionate about interfaith? Do you want to be more involved in your local community and attend national interfaith events? If so you may wish to become a member of the Council of Christians and Jews.

CCJ have been educating, talking, and acting on Christian-Jewish issues for over 75 years. You can make a difference too. Learn more about us by visiting our website http://www.ccj.org.uk/ 

 

CCJ staff had their end of year lunch this Wednesday but not before holding a 'Festive Bake Off' competition. Some new festive cake inventions and some of the classics were on show but all the bakes tasted delicious. We even had some guest judges from Mother's Union who were happy to judge! We announced the winner on our twitter, if you want to find out which bake won (and to keep up with any CCJ updates throughout the year) you can visit and follow our twitter by clicking here.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 (27 January) will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Inspired by this year's theme Stand Together, our annual resource reflects on the complex roles of Christians during the Holocaust. It encourages churches in the UK to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in their services and in their communities and includes suggested prayers and commentaries on the readings set for the Sunday closest to Holocaust Memorial Day. There are notes on how to lead an all-age address, examples of survivor testimony, poetry, and images to encourage reflections. We are deeply grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi, Presidents of CCJ, for their contributions to the resource. For the first time this year we have also included stories of Christians who have been recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations for their work in saving the lives of Jews during the Holocaust. These stories can be shared with congregations to encourage the sort of solidarity between faiths which the theme of Stand Together powerfully invokes. 

The resource can be downloaded here.