In November, every form group in St Julie’s sent a Christmas card to schools and parishes in the Holy Land; Israel, Palestine and Jordan.

The cards were a symbol of love and solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters in an area of the world where there is much unrest and suffering. Living in solidarity with others is one of the strands of Catholic Social Teaching, which runs through everything we do in school.

We sent these cards in the hope that they would reach their destinations but anticipated that some may not.

However, during the Christmas break, we received a lovely email from Fr. Imad Twal from Marka Parish – Mary Mother of the Church in Jordan which reads:

In the name of My school and community, I would like to thank you for the wonderful and beautiful signatures. This is a symbol of love and solidarity. 

I’m now a parish priest in the city center one of the poorest area. Thank you. You are in my daily prayers. 

Merry Christmas and Happy new year 

Our Chaplain has done some research and the name Marka, meaning a place of rest is derived from the disciple Mark. The town was in a strategic location along the pilgrimage route from Damascus to Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah passing through Zarqa, Ruseifeh, Marka, Amman and Ma’in. The residents of Marka are mainly Christian, and are a mix of professional, skilled and unskilled workers, wuth the majority finding employment in the surrounding area. The economy of the town and the surrounding areas is average, with less industry and mostly small businesses, shops and offices.

Fr Imad also kindly sent us some pictures of line in his parish!