The Story of Bethlehem

Contextualising Life in Palestine

CONVERSATION WITH MERCY AIKEN & COLE MARTIN

SUNDAY, 30th NOV, 2025

2.00PM Sydney

4.00PM Auckland

8.00PM Phoenix (29th Nov)

Zoom Webinar with Q&A

Join this informative Conversation at the start of Advent. There will be time for questions following the presentation and conversation between Mercy and Cole.

About the speakers:

Mercy Aiken is a cross-cultural advocate, bridge-builder, storyteller, author, activist, and pilgrimage leader. She is the Program Director - Middle East with Peace Catalyst International. In her role she helps to develop and lead Peace Catalyst’s engagement with Palestine and Israel, hosts conversations on peacebuilding in the Holy Land, and works with local ministries, while also continuing her writing ministry.

Mercy volunteered for a number of years at Bethlehem Bible College, during that time,

she co-wrote "Yet in the Dark Streets Shining," with Bishara Awad, founder of the college.

She organizes and leads unique pilgrimages to the Holy Land designed to build empathy, understanding, and a more embodied expression of her faith, especially as it comes to peacebuilding.

She was most recently in the Holy Land when the Iran / Israel war broke out. Mercy is a gifted storyteller with deep connections to the people of the Holy Land.

Cole Martin is a photo-video journalist and Anglican from Aotearoa NZ. He recently returned from 6 months in the occupied West Bank, Palestine where he lived in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, studied at Bethlehem University, worked alongside Palestinian Christians, and documented the reality of life under Israeli occupation.

Cole will tell stories of what he witnessed from across the West Bank, including that of his friend Awdah, a peace activist, who was killed by a settler and whose village Cole had been documenting the struggles of over the last year.

He is currently developing a video resource for churches and sharing his photos and stories with communities around NZ.

Hosted by:

Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN) – www.pien.org.au

Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine (AC4PP) - https://ac4pp.com/

The Story of Bethlehem

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Shepherd Society Bethlehem