A brief summary of our 2009 Gatherings:

Sat June 27th - Focus: Holocaust Survivors

Venue: St Marys Anglican Church - Caulfield North

On Sat night June 27th, about 40 people met or a belated Holocaust Memorial evening—a special time to honour the survivors, to hear their stories firsthand, to remember, to never forget.  We were very privileged to hear from two survivors—now living in Melb—with two very different stories:  Mrs Helena ZylbermanMr Willy Lermer who managed to survive the concentration camps. It was also very special to have attend our gathering two twin sisters who had survived medical experiments by Dr Joseph Mengele.

After starting the evening with a time of worship, Judy (the Melb co-ordinator) shared of her time at the Christians for Israel International Conference in Jerusalem in March this year.  A very  moving and haunting part of the evening was a short documentary Judy was able to bring back from Israel that outlined the tragic poverty the Holocaust survivors in Israel are now facing—many  dying hungry, poor and alone.  You can see part of the documentary on the website of an organisation in   Israel trying to help these survivors—see http://hhcoalition.com

In the midst of our two guests sharing of their horrific time during the Holocaust, we stopped to spend time in prayer and reflection—a time to seek our God who is the Healer and the One in whom we can place our future and our past.  The evening ended with Judy singing her own song “Never Again” —written in Israel as her response to meeting Holocaust survivors at the Israeli conference.Mrs Helena Zylberman who survived the Holocaust by pretending to be non-Jewish with her mother on the streets of Poland, and Mr Willy Lermer who managed to survive the concentration camps. It was also very special to have attend our gathering two twin sisters who had survived medical experiments by Dr Joseph Mengele.

After starting the evening with a time of worship, Judy (the Melb co-ordinator) shared of her time at the Christians for Israel International Conference in Jerusalem in March this year.  A very  moving and haunting part of the evening was a short documentary Judy was able to bring back from Israel that outlined the tragic poverty the Holocaust survivors in Israel are now facing—many  dying hungry, poor and alone.  You can see part of the documentary on the website of an organisation in   Israel trying to help these survivors—see http://hhcoalition.com

In the midst of our two guests sharing of their horrific time during the Holocaust, we stopped to spend time in prayer and reflection—a time to seek our God who is the Healer and the One in whom we can place our future and our past.  The evening ended with Judy singing her own song “Never Again” —written in Israel as her response to meeting Holocaust survivors at the Israeli conference.




Never Again
In honour of the Holocaust survivors
Written by Judy McComb
©2009 Covenant Builders


The darkest of days when we saw the evil of man
What man can do to man
It’s a shame the whole world shares
In our blindness, in our silence
Evil presides when good do nothing
This time we will be heard
You were alone and so abandoned
So this time we’ll hold your hand

Never again will the church be silent
Never again will we look the other way
Never again will we betray our brother
Shoulder to shoulder our God will unite us
Our promise to you is never again

Millions are lost
Generations have all disappeared, many left alone
And your pain continues on
In the darkness while you’re sleeping
So let us help you heal, restore
And your children who share your pain
God is the one we all look toIt’s His love that conquers all

Sat Feb 28th - 6.30pm

Venue:  Home of Ernest and Elizabeth Tucker

Our first meeting of the year was an informal gathering at the home of the Tuckers in South Melbourne -
firstly sharing a meal together and what a meal it was! Many thanks for the great food everyone!!
The new Melbourne section of the C4I website was introduced with people having the opportunity to
contribute their ideas to this site.  There was many new comers, all sharing of their heart for Israel
and what C4I can do in Melbourne within the church and Jewish community.  The night ended with a
special time of prayer - praying God's own word and promises back to him - and worship together
to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.