What Time Zone are we in?
I had NO trouble sleeping last night - but I did have some trouble getting up this morning! I set the alarm on my iPad to walk up to go to breakfast and get on the bus at 7:30. Unfortunately I forgot to set it for Jerusalem time, so the phone rang in our room (I am rooming with Cecilia Alvarez, Canon of Transitional Ministry) at 7:35 am. Oops! I have never gotten dressed so fast in my life. The bus did go without us, but one of the leaders of the trip stayed beyond to allow us to eat a bite of breakfast before getting a taxi over to the Western Wall.
The Western Wall is the most holy place for the Jewish people in Israel. It is NOT the last remaining wall of the Second Temple (destroyed in 70 AD), but it is as close to it as they can find. I didn't have much time there but I did read Psalms 121 & 91, I left prayers for many, including the people of St. Barnabas. I was grateful for the incredible feeling of both sorrow and hopefulness while at the Wall.
We then went up onto the large flat area (which is right next to the Western Wall), called the "Haram" where the Dome of the Rock and a mosque (name?) is located. We were met by Ali Qluock (sp?), a Muslim whose family has been entrusted with the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulechre for centuries, since the Christians argue about who has the right to the building. Ali was a wonderful guide - an anthropologist by training, as well as an artist. He guided us around the Dome , explaining to us that for Muslims, symmetry is not an important element to beautiful, but how all of the parts, including the "negative" space adds to the over all look. That was very helpful to understand how the area was constructed.
We also learned that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is referred to more often in the Quran than in our own Bible! That really surprised me! Mary is very respected by the Muslims. Wherever there is water, Mary is thought of.
When then walked to the Church of St. Anne, the mother of Mary, that is built over the grotto where Mary is believed to have been born. The acoustics in the church were so amazing that our guide, Iyad, had us sing "Seek ye first." It was awesome. I videoed it, but I stopped recording just before we did a final refrain, and I am sorry to say it was a true moment of beauty. It is like I say, you can't capture the Holy Spirit at work!
After another delicious lunch (hummus, kabobs, oh my!) we toured Mt. Scopus (right near Hebrew University) that looks over the city from one side. We traveled around a big horseshoe to look into the desert to the west of Jerusalem (not very inviting at all!) over to the Mount of Olives that has the best view of the city from any location. In fact, we were looking down on to the Haram - the flat area where the Dome of the Rock is located. We also saw MANY graves. The most sought out piece of real estate in Jerusalem is a burial plot for a Jew (since they believe the Messiah will come first to Jerusalem). So right below us were hundreds of Jewish graves. On the other side of the Kidron Valley were the Muslim graves, and IN the Kidron Valley are the Christian graves, once again showing that the Christians are the intermediaries between the Muslims and the Jews!
After a long day, we returned to the hotel for a quick rest (shower!) before a presentation by a Palestinian Christian, who is also a professor of sociology and a member of the Palestinian Parliament, on his views of the State of Israel. I will admit much ignorance about the political aspects of Israel. From what I have observed over the last 48 hours, I have seen 2 cultures (Arab and Israeli) and 3 faiths (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) coexist in a rather small space with little to no conflict. Some of that is simply ignoring the other(s), but that is better than open hostility, I think.
Prof. Bernard offered his option that a 2 state solution will be the only way for peace, but what that would look like, he didn't know. He did mention that the Israeli settlements were being funded in a large part American evangelical Christians who don't realize they are hurting Palestinian Christians by their actions. I suspect they do this in a misguided idea that they are working against the Muslims, but they really aren't.
On the topic of church, he stated his fears that the (Christian) Church was becoming more obsolete to the younger generation, which sounds too familiar to be comfortable. The number of Palestinian Christians is very small (maybe 175,000), so they need all the support and prayers we can give them.
It has been a very busy day. In my rush this morning, I forgot to put sunscreen on my face, so my cheeks and nose have quite a glow about them. I will set my alarm correctly tonight and look forward to another incredible day tomorrow.
The Western Wall is the most holy place for the Jewish people in Israel. It is NOT the last remaining wall of the Second Temple (destroyed in 70 AD), but it is as close to it as they can find. I didn't have much time there but I did read Psalms 121 & 91, I left prayers for many, including the people of St. Barnabas. I was grateful for the incredible feeling of both sorrow and hopefulness while at the Wall.
We then went up onto the large flat area (which is right next to the Western Wall), called the "Haram" where the Dome of the Rock and a mosque (name?) is located. We were met by Ali Qluock (sp?), a Muslim whose family has been entrusted with the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulechre for centuries, since the Christians argue about who has the right to the building. Ali was a wonderful guide - an anthropologist by training, as well as an artist. He guided us around the Dome , explaining to us that for Muslims, symmetry is not an important element to beautiful, but how all of the parts, including the "negative" space adds to the over all look. That was very helpful to understand how the area was constructed.
We also learned that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is referred to more often in the Quran than in our own Bible! That really surprised me! Mary is very respected by the Muslims. Wherever there is water, Mary is thought of.
When then walked to the Church of St. Anne, the mother of Mary, that is built over the grotto where Mary is believed to have been born. The acoustics in the church were so amazing that our guide, Iyad, had us sing "Seek ye first." It was awesome. I videoed it, but I stopped recording just before we did a final refrain, and I am sorry to say it was a true moment of beauty. It is like I say, you can't capture the Holy Spirit at work!
After another delicious lunch (hummus, kabobs, oh my!) we toured Mt. Scopus (right near Hebrew University) that looks over the city from one side. We traveled around a big horseshoe to look into the desert to the west of Jerusalem (not very inviting at all!) over to the Mount of Olives that has the best view of the city from any location. In fact, we were looking down on to the Haram - the flat area where the Dome of the Rock is located. We also saw MANY graves. The most sought out piece of real estate in Jerusalem is a burial plot for a Jew (since they believe the Messiah will come first to Jerusalem). So right below us were hundreds of Jewish graves. On the other side of the Kidron Valley were the Muslim graves, and IN the Kidron Valley are the Christian graves, once again showing that the Christians are the intermediaries between the Muslims and the Jews!
After a long day, we returned to the hotel for a quick rest (shower!) before a presentation by a Palestinian Christian, who is also a professor of sociology and a member of the Palestinian Parliament, on his views of the State of Israel. I will admit much ignorance about the political aspects of Israel. From what I have observed over the last 48 hours, I have seen 2 cultures (Arab and Israeli) and 3 faiths (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) coexist in a rather small space with little to no conflict. Some of that is simply ignoring the other(s), but that is better than open hostility, I think.
Prof. Bernard offered his option that a 2 state solution will be the only way for peace, but what that would look like, he didn't know. He did mention that the Israeli settlements were being funded in a large part American evangelical Christians who don't realize they are hurting Palestinian Christians by their actions. I suspect they do this in a misguided idea that they are working against the Muslims, but they really aren't.
On the topic of church, he stated his fears that the (Christian) Church was becoming more obsolete to the younger generation, which sounds too familiar to be comfortable. The number of Palestinian Christians is very small (maybe 175,000), so they need all the support and prayers we can give them.
It has been a very busy day. In my rush this morning, I forgot to put sunscreen on my face, so my cheeks and nose have quite a glow about them. I will set my alarm correctly tonight and look forward to another incredible day tomorrow.
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