Priest bans carol after visit to West Bank

BLANDFORD FORUM, England, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- An Anglican priest who visited the West Bank recently has said his English congregation will not sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" this Christmas.

The Rev. Stephen Coulter, vicar in Blandford Forum in Dorset, said that Bethlehem now has security guards tracking the population, not shepherds watching their flocks, The Daily Telegraph reported. He also described the words "how still we see thee lie" as having little to do with life in Bethlehem.

The carol was written by the Rev. Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest from the United States who was inspired by a visit to Bethlehem in 1865.

Coulter showed his congregation a nativity scene carved by one of his guides. A security fence like the one now surrounding Bethlehem separates the three wise men from the infant Jesus.

"My parishioners know why we will not be singing 'O Little Town' in church this year," Coulter said at a civic carol service sponsored by the North Dorset District Council.