5:30AM-That morning we were asked to have breakfast between 5 and 5:30 AM so we could be on the road before sunrise. Jim and I had set our clocks wrong and jumped up two hours early; after we munched a pita bread and cheese and drank a quick cup of coffee, we napped on the bus. There were 25 of us, but the group was quiet on the bus. We were told to bring our prayer books, our hats, and water and to wear good walking shoes. The bus parked along side the road, and we started the walk up a rocky hill, covered with loose stones and bigger rocks. We reached the top of the hill to see over into a valley, dropping down steeply below. We walked along the edge of a steep ravine; I had my hand on Jim’s shoulder in front of me as we walked the narrow path. It was steep and I felt the fear that I could plunge over the edge. I kept my head down and my eyes on the rocky path in front of me until we reached the level spot on a point, looking over to the place where Jesus might have sat in his time of temptation. We were there to feel the presence of Christ.
Iyad, our guide, said quietly, “I know some of you had to deal with fear as you came here. It is good sometimes to have fear. Now we will share our morning prayers and then we will be silent. We have forty-five minutes and the Bedouins will come.” We read our morning prayer together and then there was quiet, each of us finding a place to sit or stand apart from each other.
6:30AM-The sun rose orange over the edge of the hills. All around were cream colored hills, rolling like waves into the desert. The silence was complete. There was no noise from any city, planes, music, humans, only the occasional rock fall over the edge of the hillside, bouncing down the side of the cliff. No birds sang; no animal cried out. The silence was like a wave on my ears, allowing me to hear my heart beat. The hills were lined with paths made by sheep or goats, crisscrossing the steep edges. Small rust colored bushes dotted the hills, and only in the deep valley did we see a few green trees, scrubby blotches on the golden expanse below. The breeze turned cool, waiting for the noon day heat of 100 degrees or higher. The silence was a gift after the chatter of our voices. I was glad I over came the fear to be there on the mountaintop to begin one of our last days in the Holy Land.
7:45 AM-I sat and prayed for our group, for our church, for my friends and for myself. I looked at the hillside and thought about the trip and what it had meant to me. Each day was a revelation of some ancient truth about Christ and this land. The group had spread out around me, as we watched the sun rise higher and higher in the sky. We were silent.
Then, I heard a strange, low animal rumble, growing louder and deeper. I turned and looked behind me. There on the hillside was a camel and the Bedouins. They had arrived so quietly, we had not heard them. They were sitting above us on the hillside, watching and waiting for our silent time to finish so they could offer us camel rides. The Arab boys had come, too, with their donkeys. A one armed Bedouin held bone necklaces over his arm, selling them for $10. Another sold scarves, traditional Arab head pieces for men. We all burst into laughter, and picked our way back along the edge to get back on the bus. We bought necklaces, head scarves and other souvenirs, jolted back into the 21 Century, and away from our visit waiting on the hillside with Christ.
It was a morning to remember, thinking about Jesus in that landscape and knowing his isolation on his hillside. It was one of many mornings when I saw Him as a man, walking the hillsides and valleys of his birthplace. It was a reminder that I should go apart from others now and then and wait for the silence before the Bedouins of my life activities arrive to distract me from His presence.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Blogging Difficulties (September 19, 2008)
Last night I blogged for four hours about what we did from the 15th to the 17th and when I pushed the command to publish my work was suddenly deleted and lost. I have no idea why, but apparently Blog Spot has such issues.
I have already spent a couple of hours today trying to recreate and cut and paste from a Word document to the blog but am receiving server errors.
I think what I will do is keep my journal notes and work them up into a full report for everyone when we return. I regret that I'm just not able to fix this situation from here.
I will post again today with details of events from the past couple of days. When I have time, I can fill in the gaps on the site if folks are interested later.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
I have already spent a couple of hours today trying to recreate and cut and paste from a Word document to the blog but am receiving server errors.
I think what I will do is keep my journal notes and work them up into a full report for everyone when we return. I regret that I'm just not able to fix this situation from here.
I will post again today with details of events from the past couple of days. When I have time, I can fill in the gaps on the site if folks are interested later.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Home Again
Hello All, we are back in Jerusalem, and glad to be here. The breezes are cooling us off after days of 100 degree heat. I have to say our group are real troopers-no one has had a melt down. Yesterday the bus broke, at least the air conditioning did, but the Lord provided us a small store with a patio to rest for the replacement bus. Then we were taken to our guide's home to wait a little longer and we were given sweets and cold water until the real bus arrived. These are very comfortable buses and we were glad to get back on board and finally get back to Jerusalem. The tours we had in the previous days were wonderful. My particular favorite was Nazareth. Jim's favorite was the boat ride on the Galilee. He liked the "Jesus walking on the water" scripture we read, too. We are glad to hear Barbara made it through surgery OK. We pray for you all each day, many times. We'll be home before you know it. More later, Virginia
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Reports on September 14-17
On the Way to Nazareth
We were up early on Sunday morning, September 14th, for the bus to drive us northward toward Nazareth where we would stay for three nights with the Sisters of Nazareth (a Roman Catholic order originating from France and founding a community in Nazareth in the mid 1800's). This meant leaving the West Bank areas altogether and driving through the area of the country referred to as "Israel proper," the largest Arab Israeli city of which is Nazareth.
There are an estimated 1.7 million Arab Palestinian Israelis; they have 8 representatives in the Israeli government out of 120 members. Think of these numbers as compared to the population of Palestinians (who do not have Israeli citizenship) on the West Bank where there are 7.5 million Arabs. Unless one is able to be born in Israel proper or gain Israeli citizenship, traveling outside of the West Bank is very, very challenging. Israeli Jews must do a period of compulsory service in the Israeli army out of high school, 3 years for men and 2 years for women. However, for Arab Israeli citizens, military service is optional. There are 2.5 million Jews living in Israel proper and those who live in the West Bank live in the illegally constructed settlement areas which are walled and fenced off from Palestine. One of the ways to think about the West Bank is like an encroaching sea of Israeli settlements creating decreasing and isolated island communities of Palestine. Palestinians living on one island cannot travel easily if at all from one Palestinian area to another on the West Bank because of hundreds of Israeli check points which limit access for anyone without an Israeli ID.
Traveling through Israel proper, there is not the same tension at all as there is in the West Bank, and the quality of life is as one might find in the cities and suburbs of the United States. You can find anything you need easily, the roads are well maintained highways and excellent health care is excellent and unbiasedly available to everyone.
Our travel northward toward Nazareth essentially followed the ancient route of the Via Maris trade road, which moved merchant goods from Egypt through all of Mesopotamia. Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean where we explored the Roman ruins of Herod the Great's there. In Acts 9:22 and 10, Paul stayed in Caesarea with a tanner named Simon and was imprisoned in the city from 58AD-60AD. As Roman Procurator of Palestine, Pilate lived in a palace he had built at Caesarea. Given the idealic setting on the sea, he probably would not have liked his annual departure to spend time in and near Jerusalem for part of the year.
We stopped at Mt. Carmel for noon day prayer before arriving at Nazareth.
Nazareth
In the first century, during the time when Mary, Joseph and their family would have been living in Nazareth, the rural village community was composed of a close knit neighborhood of about 40 caves which were home to 300-400 people. Everyone would have known everyone else very well and probably been all nearly related by blood or by marriage. Today the town is significantly expanded with a mixture of byzantine churches, religious orders, mosques and tourist sites integrated into closely packed city buildings and shop fronts which all seem to have a bit of a rumpled and aging atmosphere to them. But it works for Nazareth, and the roof top view from the Sisters of Nazareth convent reveals that the town, once limited to a dry river bed valleyan no longer than 400 yards from end to end now densley spralls up the valley on all sides.
Within the Greek Orthodox Church on one end of the old town are beautiful icons and paintings depicting the Annunciation of Mary; down a narrow hall and short set of stairs in the darkedned chapel is a spring which still flows underground and once supplied the town with its water source at an above ground well. It is at that well, the lore says, that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. However, at the other end of the old town is a Franciscan church dating back to the Byzantine period (3rd-4th century) which has been built over the cave home which is believed to have been where Mary lived before her marriage to Joseph. Of course, the Roman Catholics say this is the site where Gabriel appeared to Mary. So, you have your choice. In either case, the history and preservation of both story and site is very rich.
On the evening of the 14th we celebrated our Sunday Eucharist in the convent chapel; the eccumenical hospitality of Nazareth is really remarkable.
Galilee (September 15)
I'll continue here as soon as I can today.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
We were up early on Sunday morning, September 14th, for the bus to drive us northward toward Nazareth where we would stay for three nights with the Sisters of Nazareth (a Roman Catholic order originating from France and founding a community in Nazareth in the mid 1800's). This meant leaving the West Bank areas altogether and driving through the area of the country referred to as "Israel proper," the largest Arab Israeli city of which is Nazareth.
There are an estimated 1.7 million Arab Palestinian Israelis; they have 8 representatives in the Israeli government out of 120 members. Think of these numbers as compared to the population of Palestinians (who do not have Israeli citizenship) on the West Bank where there are 7.5 million Arabs. Unless one is able to be born in Israel proper or gain Israeli citizenship, traveling outside of the West Bank is very, very challenging. Israeli Jews must do a period of compulsory service in the Israeli army out of high school, 3 years for men and 2 years for women. However, for Arab Israeli citizens, military service is optional. There are 2.5 million Jews living in Israel proper and those who live in the West Bank live in the illegally constructed settlement areas which are walled and fenced off from Palestine. One of the ways to think about the West Bank is like an encroaching sea of Israeli settlements creating decreasing and isolated island communities of Palestine. Palestinians living on one island cannot travel easily if at all from one Palestinian area to another on the West Bank because of hundreds of Israeli check points which limit access for anyone without an Israeli ID.
Traveling through Israel proper, there is not the same tension at all as there is in the West Bank, and the quality of life is as one might find in the cities and suburbs of the United States. You can find anything you need easily, the roads are well maintained highways and excellent health care is excellent and unbiasedly available to everyone.
Our travel northward toward Nazareth essentially followed the ancient route of the Via Maris trade road, which moved merchant goods from Egypt through all of Mesopotamia. Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean where we explored the Roman ruins of Herod the Great's there. In Acts 9:22 and 10, Paul stayed in Caesarea with a tanner named Simon and was imprisoned in the city from 58AD-60AD. As Roman Procurator of Palestine, Pilate lived in a palace he had built at Caesarea. Given the idealic setting on the sea, he probably would not have liked his annual departure to spend time in and near Jerusalem for part of the year.
We stopped at Mt. Carmel for noon day prayer before arriving at Nazareth.
Nazareth
In the first century, during the time when Mary, Joseph and their family would have been living in Nazareth, the rural village community was composed of a close knit neighborhood of about 40 caves which were home to 300-400 people. Everyone would have known everyone else very well and probably been all nearly related by blood or by marriage. Today the town is significantly expanded with a mixture of byzantine churches, religious orders, mosques and tourist sites integrated into closely packed city buildings and shop fronts which all seem to have a bit of a rumpled and aging atmosphere to them. But it works for Nazareth, and the roof top view from the Sisters of Nazareth convent reveals that the town, once limited to a dry river bed valleyan no longer than 400 yards from end to end now densley spralls up the valley on all sides.
Within the Greek Orthodox Church on one end of the old town are beautiful icons and paintings depicting the Annunciation of Mary; down a narrow hall and short set of stairs in the darkedned chapel is a spring which still flows underground and once supplied the town with its water source at an above ground well. It is at that well, the lore says, that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. However, at the other end of the old town is a Franciscan church dating back to the Byzantine period (3rd-4th century) which has been built over the cave home which is believed to have been where Mary lived before her marriage to Joseph. Of course, the Roman Catholics say this is the site where Gabriel appeared to Mary. So, you have your choice. In either case, the history and preservation of both story and site is very rich.
On the evening of the 14th we celebrated our Sunday Eucharist in the convent chapel; the eccumenical hospitality of Nazareth is really remarkable.
Galilee (September 15)
I'll continue here as soon as I can today.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Catching Up!
September 17, 2008
As Sandy Taylor has shared with our community, our group headed out to Nazareth and Galilee, and we were away from St. George's College for 4 days and 3 nights. While exploring the area we stayed at the convent of the Sisters of Nazareth which does not have computer network access, and the only phone that calls out requires a special phone card service.
So, Virginia Wagner and I were not able to blog at all, and I'm very sorry for that. I'm going to catch you up once I myself have caught up on some sleep tonight back in Jerusalem. Then I am going to write a reeeallly long blog based on the detailed notes that I have been keeping every day so that I can keep track of all the sites we are seeing, things we are doing and information we are receiving.
I have spent a couple of hours catching up on email this evening and enjoying how much cooler it is in Jerusalem than in the sub sea level desert of the Galilee and Jordan area.
Travel Tip: do not take chocolate as a trail snack into Galilee unless you intend to apply it cosmetically.
One thing I want to share with you now though while the image is fresh in my mind: when we were exploring the first century Roman ruins of Sipporas, Virginia had purchased an umbrella at the gift shop before we started out to use as a screen against the strong sun that day. We got about 30 yards along the old Roman road when I heard a little shriek behind me.
I turned around to see that a gust of hot wind had abruptly turned her new umbrella inside out such that it was no longer being very effective against the sun or anything else. Jim managed to help her get it the right side out again, but several of the frail metal struts were bent sharply downward on one side. Facing these toward the front, Virginia trooped onward, her stride highlighting the large paper price tag still attached to the umbrella and flapping like a tiny spunky tail behind her.
I don't think the umbrella is something they will be bringing home as a souvenir, but that's just a guess.
More in a few hours. I'll dream of you in my sleep!
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
As Sandy Taylor has shared with our community, our group headed out to Nazareth and Galilee, and we were away from St. George's College for 4 days and 3 nights. While exploring the area we stayed at the convent of the Sisters of Nazareth which does not have computer network access, and the only phone that calls out requires a special phone card service.
So, Virginia Wagner and I were not able to blog at all, and I'm very sorry for that. I'm going to catch you up once I myself have caught up on some sleep tonight back in Jerusalem. Then I am going to write a reeeallly long blog based on the detailed notes that I have been keeping every day so that I can keep track of all the sites we are seeing, things we are doing and information we are receiving.
I have spent a couple of hours catching up on email this evening and enjoying how much cooler it is in Jerusalem than in the sub sea level desert of the Galilee and Jordan area.
Travel Tip: do not take chocolate as a trail snack into Galilee unless you intend to apply it cosmetically.
One thing I want to share with you now though while the image is fresh in my mind: when we were exploring the first century Roman ruins of Sipporas, Virginia had purchased an umbrella at the gift shop before we started out to use as a screen against the strong sun that day. We got about 30 yards along the old Roman road when I heard a little shriek behind me.
I turned around to see that a gust of hot wind had abruptly turned her new umbrella inside out such that it was no longer being very effective against the sun or anything else. Jim managed to help her get it the right side out again, but several of the frail metal struts were bent sharply downward on one side. Facing these toward the front, Virginia trooped onward, her stride highlighting the large paper price tag still attached to the umbrella and flapping like a tiny spunky tail behind her.
I don't think the umbrella is something they will be bringing home as a souvenir, but that's just a guess.
More in a few hours. I'll dream of you in my sleep!
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Day 3 Getsemane, Mt. Scopus, Mt. of Olives and Jerusalem
We were up early today to arrive at the church of the burial site of Mary and a nearby cave known as Gethsemane before larger crowds arrived. These sites are only yards from one another, both being caves (are you sensing the continuing theme?). The area is easily visible from the eastern slopes of the Old City overlooking the Kidron Valley. Gethsemane, Mt. Scopus and Mt. of Olives are all on the western side of the valley.
Entering the church of the burial site of Mary one steps from bright sunlight into sudden blackness as one attempts to descend a long descending well of uneven steps carved from stone that are several yards across. The depths become darker and darker as one continues down into a subterranean night lit only by prayer candles and the soft glow of olive oil vigil lights marking the remembrance of the tomb of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The tomb is cloistered within a small chapel within the cave; to enter the low and narrow doorway, one must duck low.
After emerging once again into the bright morning light, we took a left hand turn to enter the "place of the olive presses," which is the English translation of the name Gethsemane. It is very supportable and likely that this is the place and cave where Jesus stayed with his disciples on the night he was arrested. When Jesus went apart from where they slept in the cave so that he could have privacy and quiet to pray, he would have walked up a gradual hill toward the south of the cave entrance to the nearby grove of olive trees. This place is marked by the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Agony. The sanctuary is built around the rocky outcrop associated with the place where Jesus prayed that the "cup" of his destiny might be removed from him.
Just below the crest of The Mount of Olives is a Chapel called the Dominus Flavit ("The Lord Wept") marking the site associated with Jesus looking westward over the Kidron Valley toward the City of Jerusalem on the opposite slope. Farther east of the Kidron is Bethany and the Jordan and it is from here that Jesus walked from Bethany to the Mount of Olives, crossed the valley westward and up to Jerusalem.
The old 1st century Roman street Jesus and the apostles would have taken having entered the city through the Golden Gate still exists, and we visited it where its remains run beside the Church of Peter which mark's the location associated with Caiaphas's house where Peter denied Christ three times. Interestingly, as our group stood looking westward toward the route Jesus would have taken to the spot, we could hear a rooster crowing in the distance.
If you recall, Jesus was kept under arrest until the Sanhedrin could determine the next morning what should be done with him. While awaiting this trial, Jesus is said to have been kept in an underground prison or pit which had been a former cistern associated with Jewish ritual baths. Prisoners were lowered into the pit by ropes tied about their waste, where they were left in utter darkness until hauled up from the pit once more. Our group went down into this small pit and left with a keener appreciation of what some of the psalms (such as psalm 33) refer to as the dark pit of the one who experiences spiritually challenging times or the "dark night of the soul" as would have been literally experienced by anyone kept in such a place.
So, it was a day of caves, rocks, mountains and trees -- all of which, as Iyad pointed out, have been significant locations and symbols for millenia in the cultures of this land. Like beads on a prayer string, we stopped and prayed at each one.
Arriving also at the Western Wall (also called the "Wailing Wall") which is so significant in Jewish tradition, Jim, Virginia and I parted ways in order to go to that portion of the wall designated for men or women and between us we divided up the tiny slips of paper we had brought with us to fold up and prayerfully add to the millions of other tiny notes of prayers already stuffed into the cracks between the wall's stones. Handwritten on each individual slip was the name of one of our parish members, including the names of those designated in our parish directory as friends of our community. Families, married couples and partners were written on the same slip.
So, you are now all part of the morter of Jerusalem, both physically and spiritually. I am very grateful for you all, you living stones of the Temple in which God dwells and is known as our faith community.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Entering the church of the burial site of Mary one steps from bright sunlight into sudden blackness as one attempts to descend a long descending well of uneven steps carved from stone that are several yards across. The depths become darker and darker as one continues down into a subterranean night lit only by prayer candles and the soft glow of olive oil vigil lights marking the remembrance of the tomb of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The tomb is cloistered within a small chapel within the cave; to enter the low and narrow doorway, one must duck low.
After emerging once again into the bright morning light, we took a left hand turn to enter the "place of the olive presses," which is the English translation of the name Gethsemane. It is very supportable and likely that this is the place and cave where Jesus stayed with his disciples on the night he was arrested. When Jesus went apart from where they slept in the cave so that he could have privacy and quiet to pray, he would have walked up a gradual hill toward the south of the cave entrance to the nearby grove of olive trees. This place is marked by the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Agony. The sanctuary is built around the rocky outcrop associated with the place where Jesus prayed that the "cup" of his destiny might be removed from him.
Just below the crest of The Mount of Olives is a Chapel called the Dominus Flavit ("The Lord Wept") marking the site associated with Jesus looking westward over the Kidron Valley toward the City of Jerusalem on the opposite slope. Farther east of the Kidron is Bethany and the Jordan and it is from here that Jesus walked from Bethany to the Mount of Olives, crossed the valley westward and up to Jerusalem.
The old 1st century Roman street Jesus and the apostles would have taken having entered the city through the Golden Gate still exists, and we visited it where its remains run beside the Church of Peter which mark's the location associated with Caiaphas's house where Peter denied Christ three times. Interestingly, as our group stood looking westward toward the route Jesus would have taken to the spot, we could hear a rooster crowing in the distance.
If you recall, Jesus was kept under arrest until the Sanhedrin could determine the next morning what should be done with him. While awaiting this trial, Jesus is said to have been kept in an underground prison or pit which had been a former cistern associated with Jewish ritual baths. Prisoners were lowered into the pit by ropes tied about their waste, where they were left in utter darkness until hauled up from the pit once more. Our group went down into this small pit and left with a keener appreciation of what some of the psalms (such as psalm 33) refer to as the dark pit of the one who experiences spiritually challenging times or the "dark night of the soul" as would have been literally experienced by anyone kept in such a place.
So, it was a day of caves, rocks, mountains and trees -- all of which, as Iyad pointed out, have been significant locations and symbols for millenia in the cultures of this land. Like beads on a prayer string, we stopped and prayed at each one.
Arriving also at the Western Wall (also called the "Wailing Wall") which is so significant in Jewish tradition, Jim, Virginia and I parted ways in order to go to that portion of the wall designated for men or women and between us we divided up the tiny slips of paper we had brought with us to fold up and prayerfully add to the millions of other tiny notes of prayers already stuffed into the cracks between the wall's stones. Handwritten on each individual slip was the name of one of our parish members, including the names of those designated in our parish directory as friends of our community. Families, married couples and partners were written on the same slip.
So, you are now all part of the morter of Jerusalem, both physically and spiritually. I am very grateful for you all, you living stones of the Temple in which God dwells and is known as our faith community.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Sabbath
Hello from Jerusalem, today's highlight was a visit to the Wailing Wall. I added small slips of paper to the collection in the wall cracks, and with the women, I prayed for our parish, and my friends and family. It was very moving to be there, knowing so many people before me had touched those walls and prayed.
Our group continues to be fun, and I am getting to know people so much better. Last night the Bishop spoke to us, and at dinner, the wife of the new Chaplain to the Bishop (She is the administrative assistant to the Bishop) came and had dinner with us. Deb was full of info about the diocese here and the political situation. We asked what a small parish like we are can do to help, and she gave us some great ideas. She also informed us about the GAFCON event which happened five days after they arrived. She and her husband were on the banned visitors list!! We sat around the table and told our story, and I was struck with how like the Left Bank we are. We are an island in the middle of a political situation.
Our food continues to be good, and we are off tomorrow to Nazareth. We continue to find good purchases in all the good gift shops and from street vendors! Blessings, Virginia
Our group continues to be fun, and I am getting to know people so much better. Last night the Bishop spoke to us, and at dinner, the wife of the new Chaplain to the Bishop (She is the administrative assistant to the Bishop) came and had dinner with us. Deb was full of info about the diocese here and the political situation. We asked what a small parish like we are can do to help, and she gave us some great ideas. She also informed us about the GAFCON event which happened five days after they arrived. She and her husband were on the banned visitors list!! We sat around the table and told our story, and I was struck with how like the Left Bank we are. We are an island in the middle of a political situation.
Our food continues to be good, and we are off tomorrow to Nazareth. We continue to find good purchases in all the good gift shops and from street vendors! Blessings, Virginia
Friday, September 12, 2008
Day Two Bethlehem and Shepherds' Field
September 12, 2008
Even though Bethlehem is only 3 miles from Jerusalem as the kingfisher flies (Iyad identifies every bird as a "kingfisher" no matter what species it is) the Separation Wall makes travel between the two cities very challenging, especially for Palestinians attempting to travel out of Bethlehem. We had no troubles at the Israeli check point and soon found ourselves standing on a plot of ground in the midst of what is called the Shepherds' Field on the slopes of a shallow, terraced valley.
The area is not really a field in the manner we might think of a field as grass or grain. Rather, after several thousands of years of continual human agricultural interaction with the dessert land old stonework terraces help prevent soil erosion for groves of olive trees and grazing ground for sheep and goats among them. The soil itself is composed of loose weathered and porous volcanic rock equally mixed with fine, ruddy dust. The valley floor and its slopes are swiss-cheesed with small openings to naturally occuring caves in which first century farm/ranch familes lived. The terraces towards the south rise gently toward the hill top town of Bethlehem. Odd to consider, perhaps, but the place we know as The City of David in the time of Jesus was a rural terraced warren of agricultural cave dwellers. Into such a humble dwelling came the Son of God.
Today the little town of Bethlehem spouts from the hill top as a small and dense collection of beige apartment buildings, beige shop fronts and beige city structures. Did I mention that things are beige? The stone tends to be from a common quary, and the buildings of New Jerusalem are the same. Turning from the south to the west while standing in Shepherds' Field, the slope of the valley obscures a direct view to Jerusalem which would be easily seen from the hillcrest town on that side. To the east is Herodian, the direction from which the stories tell us the Wise Men came at the request of Herod from within his mountain platue palace there.
The valley slope where we stood is called Shepherds' Field because of the belief that this is where the shepherds were with their flocks by night when heralded by the angel to go to Bethlehem, which they would have easily been able to see from where they stood and would have been a short walk to achieve.
Once in Bethlehem, as Virginia notes, we visted the Church of the Nativity and the Bethlehem Peace Center. We also visited the church built over the cave where John the Baptist is believed to have been born and yet another church chapel located within an ancient cave itself. The tour of area caves completed, one begins to understand just how important caves and cave sites would have been to the early church. Nearly every significant event associated with the life and ministry of Jesus is associated with a cave location. This goes for Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth as well.
In general, each cave site has about an 8' ceiling with a roughly circular shape anywhere from twenty to forty feet wide, depending on the cave. With herd animals penned in one side or another, the cooking area toward the back and the people doing most of their daily living and nightly sleeping toward the entrace of the cave, the overall arrangement is pretty cozy, especially considering the first century reality of extended families and rules of hospitality toward visiting strangers.
After returning to St. George's College in the evening, we had a chance for free time for about an hour and a half. I had the thought to guide some folks into the Old City to check out a really fine Armenian ceramic shop that I know. Even though tired, four game women hoofed it after me toward the Damascus Gate.
Okay. Do you remember that I mentioned that it is Ramadan? Well, Fridays (such as today was) are the Muslim sabbath day in the same way Sundays are for us. It happens that today is the second Friday of Ramadan. On this 12th day of the celebration, there are 18 more days to go. Muslims from all over the country side were literally bused in by the thousands today so that they could worship at the Old City mosque (on the Temple Mount). If you remember what Scripture says about Jerusalem being a particularly crowded place during the time of Passover as faithful Jews went to the Temple Mount to offer prayers, this day really gave me a sense of what that must have been like.
Israeli forces are so concerned about this particular day every year that multiple extra police patrols gate off all access to and from the Old City except by one route -- the Damascus Gate. In addition, only people over the age of 40 are permitted to enter the Old City. Every Muslim is subject to ID checks in order to enter.
So, there we were, our little group of five, attempting to enter the Old City through the Damascus Gate just at the very moment when 180,00 (the actual estimate from today's celebration) Arabs are trying to leave the city by the same pedestrian route. Talk about a sea of humanity! It was actually very awesome, even though we only got about 100 yards into the quarter before realizing the impossibility of getting any farther. If you can imagine trying to swim against a human rip tide, that might give you the feel of it. On the final Friday of Ramadan, the expected number of people who will come to the Old City to celebrate that day is estimated to be around 400,000.
Well go back next week. But it was fun and educational trying for it this time. One of our number even bought a scarf at one of the vending stalls we actually could get to.
Off to bed for another full day tomorrow!
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Even though Bethlehem is only 3 miles from Jerusalem as the kingfisher flies (Iyad identifies every bird as a "kingfisher" no matter what species it is) the Separation Wall makes travel between the two cities very challenging, especially for Palestinians attempting to travel out of Bethlehem. We had no troubles at the Israeli check point and soon found ourselves standing on a plot of ground in the midst of what is called the Shepherds' Field on the slopes of a shallow, terraced valley.
The area is not really a field in the manner we might think of a field as grass or grain. Rather, after several thousands of years of continual human agricultural interaction with the dessert land old stonework terraces help prevent soil erosion for groves of olive trees and grazing ground for sheep and goats among them. The soil itself is composed of loose weathered and porous volcanic rock equally mixed with fine, ruddy dust. The valley floor and its slopes are swiss-cheesed with small openings to naturally occuring caves in which first century farm/ranch familes lived. The terraces towards the south rise gently toward the hill top town of Bethlehem. Odd to consider, perhaps, but the place we know as The City of David in the time of Jesus was a rural terraced warren of agricultural cave dwellers. Into such a humble dwelling came the Son of God.
Today the little town of Bethlehem spouts from the hill top as a small and dense collection of beige apartment buildings, beige shop fronts and beige city structures. Did I mention that things are beige? The stone tends to be from a common quary, and the buildings of New Jerusalem are the same. Turning from the south to the west while standing in Shepherds' Field, the slope of the valley obscures a direct view to Jerusalem which would be easily seen from the hillcrest town on that side. To the east is Herodian, the direction from which the stories tell us the Wise Men came at the request of Herod from within his mountain platue palace there.
The valley slope where we stood is called Shepherds' Field because of the belief that this is where the shepherds were with their flocks by night when heralded by the angel to go to Bethlehem, which they would have easily been able to see from where they stood and would have been a short walk to achieve.
Once in Bethlehem, as Virginia notes, we visted the Church of the Nativity and the Bethlehem Peace Center. We also visited the church built over the cave where John the Baptist is believed to have been born and yet another church chapel located within an ancient cave itself. The tour of area caves completed, one begins to understand just how important caves and cave sites would have been to the early church. Nearly every significant event associated with the life and ministry of Jesus is associated with a cave location. This goes for Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth as well.
In general, each cave site has about an 8' ceiling with a roughly circular shape anywhere from twenty to forty feet wide, depending on the cave. With herd animals penned in one side or another, the cooking area toward the back and the people doing most of their daily living and nightly sleeping toward the entrace of the cave, the overall arrangement is pretty cozy, especially considering the first century reality of extended families and rules of hospitality toward visiting strangers.
After returning to St. George's College in the evening, we had a chance for free time for about an hour and a half. I had the thought to guide some folks into the Old City to check out a really fine Armenian ceramic shop that I know. Even though tired, four game women hoofed it after me toward the Damascus Gate.
Okay. Do you remember that I mentioned that it is Ramadan? Well, Fridays (such as today was) are the Muslim sabbath day in the same way Sundays are for us. It happens that today is the second Friday of Ramadan. On this 12th day of the celebration, there are 18 more days to go. Muslims from all over the country side were literally bused in by the thousands today so that they could worship at the Old City mosque (on the Temple Mount). If you remember what Scripture says about Jerusalem being a particularly crowded place during the time of Passover as faithful Jews went to the Temple Mount to offer prayers, this day really gave me a sense of what that must have been like.
Israeli forces are so concerned about this particular day every year that multiple extra police patrols gate off all access to and from the Old City except by one route -- the Damascus Gate. In addition, only people over the age of 40 are permitted to enter the Old City. Every Muslim is subject to ID checks in order to enter.
So, there we were, our little group of five, attempting to enter the Old City through the Damascus Gate just at the very moment when 180,00 (the actual estimate from today's celebration) Arabs are trying to leave the city by the same pedestrian route. Talk about a sea of humanity! It was actually very awesome, even though we only got about 100 yards into the quarter before realizing the impossibility of getting any farther. If you can imagine trying to swim against a human rip tide, that might give you the feel of it. On the final Friday of Ramadan, the expected number of people who will come to the Old City to celebrate that day is estimated to be around 400,000.
Well go back next week. But it was fun and educational trying for it this time. One of our number even bought a scarf at one of the vending stalls we actually could get to.
Off to bed for another full day tomorrow!
Peace,
Pastor Rachel+
Hello From Jerusalem
Hello Everybody! Rachel gave you a great update on our trip from the beginning. We are getting to know a great group of people from all over the diocese. What wonderful traveling companions-no whining or late arrivals, even though it is 95 and hot, hot. We drink gallons of water and still feel thirsty.
Today we went to the birth place of John the Baptist and then to Bethlehem to the caves where the baby Jesus was born. We were so pleased and moved by each site. In the Chapel of the Shephers of the fields today, we were sitting in a beautiful room and began to sing a Chritmas hymn to mark in our memories the beautiful experience. As we sat singing, a group from the Diocese of Puerto Rico, all men, started singing along with us, creating the most wonderful harmonies. It brought tears to my eyes, and I know the Holy Spirit was there with us. We've had several experiences like that in churches with perfect acoustics. The hair sticks right up on my head, I can tell you.
We love the college and everyone here is so welcoming. We have a shower and a large room with twin beds. We also have working air conditioning that will freeze us if we leave it on too high. We are lucky; some people are having trouble with their air and showers. Again, there is no real complaining, so you know we are with a terrific group of people. I shared my hopes with the group that I would learn more about living with grace right next to conflict, and that hope has already been acheived. I'll share more about that when we get home. The people here are filled with spirit and hope and faith. Today I lit a candle in a church with the special intention that we find grace within us all in our congregation as we begin our fall and contemplate our future.
Tonight we meet the Bishop of Jerusalem, and then we will sit outside in the garden and enjoy the cool breezes. We have our meals outside if we want to, and many feed the small cats hanging around the compound. We wish you were all with us. Today we began the shopping so expect surprises when we get home! Blessings on you all. Tomorrow I will say special prayers for our Barbara that she complete her surgery with ease. Blessings, Virginia
Today we went to the birth place of John the Baptist and then to Bethlehem to the caves where the baby Jesus was born. We were so pleased and moved by each site. In the Chapel of the Shephers of the fields today, we were sitting in a beautiful room and began to sing a Chritmas hymn to mark in our memories the beautiful experience. As we sat singing, a group from the Diocese of Puerto Rico, all men, started singing along with us, creating the most wonderful harmonies. It brought tears to my eyes, and I know the Holy Spirit was there with us. We've had several experiences like that in churches with perfect acoustics. The hair sticks right up on my head, I can tell you.
We love the college and everyone here is so welcoming. We have a shower and a large room with twin beds. We also have working air conditioning that will freeze us if we leave it on too high. We are lucky; some people are having trouble with their air and showers. Again, there is no real complaining, so you know we are with a terrific group of people. I shared my hopes with the group that I would learn more about living with grace right next to conflict, and that hope has already been acheived. I'll share more about that when we get home. The people here are filled with spirit and hope and faith. Today I lit a candle in a church with the special intention that we find grace within us all in our congregation as we begin our fall and contemplate our future.
Tonight we meet the Bishop of Jerusalem, and then we will sit outside in the garden and enjoy the cool breezes. We have our meals outside if we want to, and many feed the small cats hanging around the compound. We wish you were all with us. Today we began the shopping so expect surprises when we get home! Blessings on you all. Tomorrow I will say special prayers for our Barbara that she complete her surgery with ease. Blessings, Virginia
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Travel & First Day in Jerusalem
September 11, 2008
9:00pm Jerusalem
"Surf's up!" I shouted as the 777 Delta jet bucked and swooshed its way along on the turbulent froth 120mph tail wind for the first hours of our international flight out of Atlanta. We had left the parking lot of St. Augustine's in-the-Woods on Whidbey Island at 8:50am on the morning of the 9th. After 24 hours of travel we touched down in Tel Aviv on the evening of the 10th, having gained 10 hours to our internal clocks.
Our local Christian Palestinian guide, Iyad (pronounced Ee-odd), met us at the airport. His good friend and spiritual brother, a Muslim Palestinian named Mohammed, drove us in a large air-conditioned bus to St. George's College in East Jerusalem. We were encouraged to stay up as long as possible before going to bed, lest we wake up ready to rock and roll at 3:00am. So, after a wonderful dinner including fresh local produce and the best, creamiest humus ever Iyad took us on a brief night walk to the Damascas Gate.
Given that this is the month of Ramadan the pedestrian traffic to the Old City is busy, with a quiet but festive atmosphere. Strings of lights hang above the public gathering spaces and city gates softly illuminating the faithful Muslims going to evening prayers. As a time of spiritual reflection, Ramadan is a time of fasting from sunrise to sunset. A single boom of fireworks announces both the start and end of the daily fast. Breaking the fast at 7:00pm, the evening is a time of celebration and prayers.
While we stood in the warm evening breeze before the Damascas Gate, Iyad impressed upon us the local feel of safety and well being even as he shared the reality of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over territorial boundaries both within the Old City and between Israel and the West Bank.
By the time we returned to our rooms, we were ready for bed. Most slept very well in spite of early morning fireworks and calls to prayer chanted over the public announcement system. If you're awake enough to appreciate it, its quite wonderful and part of what creates the multi-cultural and pan-spiritual environment that makes Jerusalem the most unique place on earth. I think a Rabbi I met here two years ago summed up the situation best when he shared in a moment of quiet reflection, "Working together to create and maintain peace is the most important work we can do; if there is not peace in Jerusalem, there can be no peace in the world." Given the international reach and scope of the political and cultural issues characterized here, his words continue to hold real wisdom.
Waking up on the morning of September 11 (today) the significance of the date did not go unnoticed for us. We quietly offered prayers on this anniversary at every opportunity. Today was an important orientation to the history of the Old City and the local area, within which we will continue to explore for several days. For today, the first thing we did was tour the Dome of the Rock (the Temple Mount) which is a Mosque housing a site which is important in all three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Consquently, we first had to wait sometime for the opporunity to go through a security check point (the first of many yet to come in these travels).
We were led in our tour of the mosque by Ali Qleibo , a Muslim anthropoligist specializing in ancient Palestinian agricultural practices and an artist who was adept at pointing out the beauty of the Temple Mount area and the Dome. Afterwards, we continued to St. Anne's Church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City where we sang a few hymns (it has amazing accoustics!) and saw the pools of Siloam. After lunch back at the College, the chaplain of the Bishop of Jerusalem who is in charge of the College Cathedral spoke to us about the eccumenical work of the diocese. This time was followed by getting back on the bus to go view the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Jewish Museum where the entire scroll of Isaiah is on display for the first time ever. Next, entering the Old City through the New Gate and into the Christian Quarter we toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the first time, since we plan to return at least once more. But this occasion was unique in that we had special permission from the Armenians to tour the Armenian excavations which are out of public view. More on this later.
After walking back through the Arab Quarter and out the Damascas Gate, we returned on foot to the College for dinner and evening prayer. So, after a full day it's time to relax and say, "You at home are in our thoughts and all our prayers! You are journeying with us in our hearts.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel
9:00pm Jerusalem
"Surf's up!" I shouted as the 777 Delta jet bucked and swooshed its way along on the turbulent froth 120mph tail wind for the first hours of our international flight out of Atlanta. We had left the parking lot of St. Augustine's in-the-Woods on Whidbey Island at 8:50am on the morning of the 9th. After 24 hours of travel we touched down in Tel Aviv on the evening of the 10th, having gained 10 hours to our internal clocks.
Our local Christian Palestinian guide, Iyad (pronounced Ee-odd), met us at the airport. His good friend and spiritual brother, a Muslim Palestinian named Mohammed, drove us in a large air-conditioned bus to St. George's College in East Jerusalem. We were encouraged to stay up as long as possible before going to bed, lest we wake up ready to rock and roll at 3:00am. So, after a wonderful dinner including fresh local produce and the best, creamiest humus ever Iyad took us on a brief night walk to the Damascas Gate.
Given that this is the month of Ramadan the pedestrian traffic to the Old City is busy, with a quiet but festive atmosphere. Strings of lights hang above the public gathering spaces and city gates softly illuminating the faithful Muslims going to evening prayers. As a time of spiritual reflection, Ramadan is a time of fasting from sunrise to sunset. A single boom of fireworks announces both the start and end of the daily fast. Breaking the fast at 7:00pm, the evening is a time of celebration and prayers.
While we stood in the warm evening breeze before the Damascas Gate, Iyad impressed upon us the local feel of safety and well being even as he shared the reality of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over territorial boundaries both within the Old City and between Israel and the West Bank.
By the time we returned to our rooms, we were ready for bed. Most slept very well in spite of early morning fireworks and calls to prayer chanted over the public announcement system. If you're awake enough to appreciate it, its quite wonderful and part of what creates the multi-cultural and pan-spiritual environment that makes Jerusalem the most unique place on earth. I think a Rabbi I met here two years ago summed up the situation best when he shared in a moment of quiet reflection, "Working together to create and maintain peace is the most important work we can do; if there is not peace in Jerusalem, there can be no peace in the world." Given the international reach and scope of the political and cultural issues characterized here, his words continue to hold real wisdom.
Waking up on the morning of September 11 (today) the significance of the date did not go unnoticed for us. We quietly offered prayers on this anniversary at every opportunity. Today was an important orientation to the history of the Old City and the local area, within which we will continue to explore for several days. For today, the first thing we did was tour the Dome of the Rock (the Temple Mount) which is a Mosque housing a site which is important in all three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Consquently, we first had to wait sometime for the opporunity to go through a security check point (the first of many yet to come in these travels).
We were led in our tour of the mosque by Ali Qleibo , a Muslim anthropoligist specializing in ancient Palestinian agricultural practices and an artist who was adept at pointing out the beauty of the Temple Mount area and the Dome. Afterwards, we continued to St. Anne's Church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City where we sang a few hymns (it has amazing accoustics!) and saw the pools of Siloam. After lunch back at the College, the chaplain of the Bishop of Jerusalem who is in charge of the College Cathedral spoke to us about the eccumenical work of the diocese. This time was followed by getting back on the bus to go view the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Jewish Museum where the entire scroll of Isaiah is on display for the first time ever. Next, entering the Old City through the New Gate and into the Christian Quarter we toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the first time, since we plan to return at least once more. But this occasion was unique in that we had special permission from the Armenians to tour the Armenian excavations which are out of public view. More on this later.
After walking back through the Arab Quarter and out the Damascas Gate, we returned on foot to the College for dinner and evening prayer. So, after a full day it's time to relax and say, "You at home are in our thoughts and all our prayers! You are journeying with us in our hearts.
Peace,
Pastor Rachel
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Getting Ready to Go to the Holy Land
Hello Friends! We are getting ready to leave for our Diocese of Olympia Holy Land Pilgrimage. Our leader, The Rev Nigel Taber-Hamilton, has us organized and ready to depart next Tuesday, Sept 9. We have a group of 29 going with us from St Augustine-in-the Woods, Freeland; St Stephen Episcopal, Oak Harbor; St Aidan's, Camano Island; St Mark's Montesano; and St Margaret's, Bellevue. We have our tickets and our room assignments; we are packing our bags! Check daily for updates from Rachel or Virginia and anyone else who wants to contribute to this blog. (The photo of Damascus Gate is from Nigel's trip two years ago.)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
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