Rev. Valerie's Reveille

I've been away for several days because the Internet access in Nazareth was not cooperating. To pick up where we left off, on Sunday, we went to St. Paul's Anglican Church in Shefar'Am, a town just outside of Nazareth. Fr. Fuad is the rector there. He not only was the priest, he was the organist, acolyte, altar guild, and he spoke in perfect English as well as Arabic. It was awesome and terrifying. (No, I will not be learning Arabic or the organ anytime soon!) He and his congregation were gracious hosts. We sang "Stand up, stand up for Jesus" "Alleluia, sign for Jesus" and 2 other hymns I can't remember now - our group in English and the congregation in Arabic. It was amazing. Bishop George preached an amazing sermon (that Fr. Fuad instantly translated) on how much God loves us that we are His "pre-occcupation" in a world that is so "occupied" with other things. In a country where the word "occupied"has such powe...

I didn't post last night as we had to get up for a 5 AM departure time this morning, and I ended up getting maybe 3 hours of sleep. So this post will not be an academic masterpiece. On Friday we journeyed in the West Bank (that is the west bank of the Dead Sea in order to visit Tekoa, the mount on which the prophet Amos made his home. It was a climb up a rather steep hill to get to a barren, rocky area. Looking out, there wasn't much to see, not even a cave - unless you looked with very good eyes. Indeed there was a cave, which we climbed down into - every member of the group - young and not so young, able and unable (we have 2 people in walking casts). The revelation is that it was such a cave in which Jesus was born. And the manger, a shepherd's watering trough, is STONE, not wood. From there we traveled to Bethlehem, where we shopped at a Christian Co-op (very important to support Palestinian Christians, as they are only 2% of the population). We had THE BEST ...

The most significant Christian site in Jerusalem is a Greek Orthodox Church that is shared by many different traditions, such as the Armenians, Coptic, Syrians, Romans and Ethiopians, to name a few. Mostly the different traditions can be thought of as the Eastern tradition (orthodox) and the Western (Roman). The western churches call it the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (or tomb), while the Eastern churches call it the Church of the Resurrection. Which sounds more hope-filled for a Christian? We learned many fascinating things about the history of Jerusalem and the church that deserve more time than I can give now, but needless to say I learned quite a bit that will surely be inflicted upon you at some point. Inside the church we first climbed up some rather steep stairs to Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. It was very crowded and the crush of humanity was almost oppressive, as some were less than Christian about wanted to get their turn to touch the stone. During that time, as ...

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 u...

9:37 pm local time Even though our flight was delayed by 3 1/2 hours, the trip was uneventful. It was interesting to wake up (after maybe 3 interrupted) to a group of Hasidic Jews in prayer shawls and phylacteries praying together at the back of the plane. On the bus ride from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, we began to understand the saying "Let us go up to Jerusalem," as we drove up the mountain. Though we were riding in a bus rather than walking, it was thrilling. After a wonderful lunch of salad, hummus, chicken and watermelon, we had a quick waking tour of the neighborhood (we are in East Jerusalem, that is more Muslim). We also had an introduction to our tour guide and a Palestinian Muslim, who gave his prospective on the Holy City. I learned that while Islam only sees Jesus as a great Prophet, they do expect him to return as the Messiah on day! I didn't know that. After dinner in the hotel, several of us (including out Bishop) decided to go for a walk rather than g...

There are some experiences, like riding a bike or flying, that are hard to explain without actually doing it.   This holds true for attending General Convention. I have wanted to go to GC for many years, but finances and other obligations prevented that from happening.   Since I was elected by our Diocesan Convention to be a Deputy, the way was made open to me, and I am thrilled to have now experienced this incredible gathering.   As The Rev. Dr. Gregory Straub, Executive Officer and Secretary of General Convention, states, “General Convention is a combination of legislative assembly, bazaar of goods and services and family reunion. It is one of the most exciting and, truth be told, one of the most awe-inspiring gatherings in the world.”   I would add that it is also part revival, as I attended many wonderful Eucharist services with excellent preaching and signing. I have always been fascinated at how our church’s structure and polity invites each and every member...