My Journey So Far

Andrew White Canon

Description

Andrew White is something of a legend: a man of great charm and energy, whose personal suffering has not deflected him from his important ministry of reconciliation. Andrew grew up in London, the son of strongly religious parents: by the age of five he could repeat the five points of Calvinism. As a child and young man he was frequently ill, but his considerable intelligence meant that his studies did not suffer. He set his heart on becoming an anaesthetist, an ambition he achieved, only to be redirected by God to Anglican ministry. Since ordination he has had a considerable role in the work of reconciliation, both between Christian and Jew and between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim. Often in danger, and always in pain, he has nevertheless been able to mediate between opposing extremes. A man of God, he is trusted by those who trust very few.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Church of England

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 27 janvier 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780745970189
• Langue: English

Extrait

I am honoured to provide a strong recommendation to read Canon Andrew White s extraordinary book. I came to know and respect Canon White when we worked in Iraq in the hectic days following Saddam s overthrow. I now serve on the Board of his not-for-profit organization which helps refugees and the underprivileged in the Middle East. This well-written book is full of Andrew s light humour and deep Christian faith. We learn of the rich spiritual life of his parents and then are taken on the wonderful voyage of Andrew s own spiritual growth over the next forty years. Andrew s lifelong struggle with health problems has only increased his devotion and faith. The book is a fitting tribute to his lifelong faith and continued work for the poor and the forgotten.
Ambassador Paul Bremer, former Presidential Envoy to Iraq
Andrew White is the most extraordinary friend I have. His story so far is a rollercoaster of a journey - and this is not fiction! This story will infuse faith, hope and love.
Revd Canon J. John
Abouna Andrew is for us in Iraq not just a spiritual leader for the Christians: he is the spiritual leader of all of us - Iraqis, Sunni, Shia, and others. He has stood with us and been our supporter and defender for nearly two decades. When people were too afraid even to come to Iraq he stayed with us. He is like the Almighty: he will never leave us. However hard the circumstances he is with us.
Grand Ayatollah Hussein Al-Sadr, The Grand Ayatollah of Khadameer, Baghdad
Canon Andrew White has devoted his life to the true mission of religion - to assist, comfort and save lives of human beings in the most difficult places of conflict. He is a messenger of divine peace in the world, and a great friend of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Norway, and former Member of the Knesset
B Y THE SAME AUTHOR :
Iraq: Searching for Hope (Continuum, 2007)
Suffer the Children (Continuum, 2010)
The Vicar of Baghdad (Monarch Books, 2009)
Faith Under Fire (Monarch Books, 2011)
Father, Forgive (Monarch Books, 2013)
ANDREW WHITE
My JOURNEY SO FAR
Text copyright 2015 Andrew White This edition copyright 2015 Lion Hudson
The right of Andrew White to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Lion Books an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England www.lionhudson.com/lion
ISBN 978 0 7459 7022 6 e-ISBN 978 0 7459 7018 9
Acknowledgments Plate section pictures supplied by and reproduced with kind permission of FRRME
Extract pp. 52-54 taken from Charles Simeon: Pastor of a Generation by Handley Moule, published by Christian Focus Publications, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland www.christianfocus.com
Extract p. 221 taken from All Of Us by Raymond Carver, copyright 1997 Raymond Carver. Published by Harvill Press. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited and The Wylie Agency.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica UK trademark number 1448790.
Other Scripture versions used: Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version . Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Front cover image: FRRME; Back cover image: Al Hasan
I dedicate this book to my mother, Pauline S. White
Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by The Rt Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali

Chapter 1 An Unusual Beginning

Chapter 2 Turbulence

Chapter 3 Just Like Heaven

Chapter 4 Called by God

Chapter 5 The Academic Hothouse

Chapter 6 A Prophetic Word

Chapter 7 Life-defining Events

Chapter 8 A New Life

Chapter 9 Several Landmarks

Chapter 10 Sent to Coventry

Chapter 11 To the Middle East

Chapter 12 Return to Iraq

Chapter 13 The Road to Alexandria

Chapter 14 Relief and Reconciliation Go Hand in Hand

Chapter 15 Back to Coventry

Chapter 16 Brought Back to Life

Chapter 17 An Oasis of Healing

Chapter 18 Don t Take Care; Take Risks

Chapter 19 A Normal Day

Chapter 20 The Bigger Picture

Chapter 21 My Choice

Chapter 22 Very Special People

A Reflection: Tariq Aziz

Epilogue: Late Fragment

Afterword

Photo Section
Acknowledgments

Whenever I attempt to thank all the people who deserve to be acknowledged, who have helped in the writing of one of my books, there are always far too many - but I want, at least, to list the bare minimum.
I have to mention my family. First of all, the people who have put up with me the longest: my wonderful mother, Pauline White, my wonderful wife, Caroline, and my dear sons, Josiah and Jacob.
In addition to my children are my godchildren and especially those closest to me: Alexander Muir, Hannah-Rivkah Martin-Thomas, and Alice Cross. I thank God for these people every day - each is an inspiration in my life.
Thank you to all my staff in the UK, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and the US. Special thanks go to Lesley Kent and Phillip Rowdan, my assistants in the UK, and Hanna Ishaq, my assistant in Israel.
I also acknowledge those who have been closest to me in Baghdad: my unofficial adopted children, Dawood, his wife, Sandy, and their baby, Andrew, dear Fulla, who now lives in Chicago, and Sally Multi, who is still in Baghdad.
One other person I must mention is Dr Sarah Ahmed, who essentially runs my life.
Finally, I cannot thank enough those who made this book possible: my publisher, Tony Collins, and his team at Lion Hudson, and my wonderful editor, Tim Pettingale. Thank you so much. You are all the greatest.
Foreword

I have known Andrew for a long time, especially as his mother lived in my former diocese of Rochester. It was, however, not until he asked me to visit him in Baghdad that I began to realise what a remarkable person he is. In this book he mentions the need religious leaders have for comfortable accommodation at conferences. This is certainly not the case with him! He lived, as he says, in the simplest possible way in one room in a small house next to St George s Church. I have stayed with him there and I do not know how he managed it, particularly with his debilitating illness.
Andrew has a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time - at least from a human point of view! Whether it is the intifada in Israel/Palestine or terrorism in Baghdad, there he is! This may be frustrating for security-wallahs, diplomats, and policy makers but for Andrew it is because of his obedience to divine direction.
His ministry at St George s has been nothing short of miraculous and we must pray that it will continue with the most remarkable Iraqi Christians there, now that Andrew no longer is. It has been, and is, an example of holistic mission with worship, prayer, healing (medical and spiritual), feeding, witnessing, and loving all going on side by side.
Andrew has been driven by his own Isaiah Vision, drawn from Isaiah 61:1-4. This has led him to love the unlovely, to befriend the friendless, to bring enemies face to face so they can become friends and to hold together reconciliation and relief for the hungry, the homeless, and the sick. The results are there for all to see.
Although the world has seen him, most recently, as the Vicar of Baghdad , in fact his vision is for the whole of the Middle East. It may be that he is being led back to addressing the wider task of reconciliation and peace in that violent part of the world.
It is not just Andrew s work, of course, that deserves notice, but the miracle of his personal story. The immediacy of his walk and his talk with his God is obvious to anyone who is with him for any length of time. He is himself the wounded healer bringing healing to others, whilst being seriously ill himself. In this, he is a witness to the crucified Christ, the One he serves with heart, mind, and body. We need also to note the sacrifices made by his family in releasing him for this ministry. Let us hope that they will now see a little more of him.
I am glad he has written this book so that we can better understand his passionate commitments and his strong faith in the One who continues to sustain him.
The Rt Revd Dr Michael Nazir-Ali , former Bishop of Rochester
C HAPTER 1
An Unusual Beginning

My earliest memory is of being told how much Jesus loved me. I was brought up in a Christian household and my parents took every opportunity to reveal the love of God to me. Consequently, I cannot remember a time when I didn t know about Jesus: He was part of my life right from the beginning, and I loved Him just as much as He loved me.
Even without being told, I guessed that I should speak to Jesus every day, so I did. My parents would pray with me every night while settling me into bed, and then I knew that it was my time to talk with Him. My childlike prayer ran the same way each night:

Dear Lord Jesus, I love you so much. Thank you for loving me so much too. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayers.
To this day, I begin my night-time prayers with these same words. Until now I have never written them down, and doing so makes me feel like bursting into tears. I m trying