“Come O Prince of Peace,
refine and purify us.
Help our leaders rule in peace
and grant your favour to us.
Come O Prince of Peace,
exult o’er us with song.
Let your peace guard your children
so that justice rules.
Come O Prince of Peace,
fill the hungry with good things.
Rescue those who are oppressed
save O Lord, save us.”
Come, O Prince of Peace (opens PDF)
© 2009, Asian Planning Group. Some rights reserved.
As the noughties are coming to a close, there are all sorts of ‘best of the decade’ lists starting to emerge. One of the things I’ll remember from the noughties was the six or seven years that Banksy ran his ‘Santa’s Ghetto‘ art projects which culminated in Bethlehem in 2007.
The image of the dove of peace wearing a bulletproof vest from that final ‘exhibition’ two years ago (if ‘exhibition’ is the right word for Banksy’s efforts) is an too real reminder, at this time of year, that all sorts of places in the world continue to suffer with strife and war – not least Jesus’ homeland and the town where he was born.
Santa’s Ghetto Bethlehem in 2007 made just shy of one million dollars which was used to provide thirty university places at the only dedicated arts university in the Middle East for kids from the poor parts of Bethelehem and the refugee camps. Art is and has always been a powerful prophetic tool and if this money leads to indigenous voices rising up against oppression, then, it seems to me, it will be very much in the spirit of Christmas.
Merry Christmas everyone and all good wishes for 2010.
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