Jordan

Not much time to post, but had a bit of time before leaving for the airport and wanted to share some Petra photos with you all, be sure to check out the link. We stopped and saw Mt. Nebo (where Moses saw the Promised Land and died), Madaba (Church of the Mosaics), and Petra. Petra was amazing; I can see why it's one of the seven wonders of the world. Getting in and out of Jordan was an adventure, but I made it. Will be leaving for the airport in just over an hour. Hope to see you all on Sunday. Blessings.

Final Post from Israel

Photo link- http://bit.ly/zhP9so

This will likely be my final post from this trip, as I'm not expecting internet access in Petra. Today was a great day, we got up onto the Temple Mount for a bit and then prayed at the Western Wall. We then had some free time before going to Abu Gosh (a possible Emmaus site- Luke 24). I had the honor of celebrating the Eucharist there, which was a wonderful experience. Wednesday morning 4 of our leave for Petra, Jordan. I am looking forward to the archaeological sites and explorations there, but am also ready to be heading back home on Friday. I should be back in Greensboro by Saturday morning and would appreciate your prayers for safe travel.

I hope to see you all on Palm Sunday for worship; but also for the Forum at 9:15 am for a presentation on my trip. There is no way for me to summarize 23 days and 2,000 photos into an hour, but I plan to share my major learnings with you all, along with some of the highlights for me of the trip. I'll plan to talk for about 40 minutes, so please come with questions.

Shalom!

Final Post from Israel

Photo link- http://bit.ly/zhP9so

This will likely be my final post from this trip, as I'm not expecting internet access in Petra. Today was a great day, we got up onto the Temple Mount for a bit and then prayed at the Western Wall. We then had some free time before going to Abu Gosh (a possible Emmaus site- Luke 24). I had the honor of celebrating the Eucharist there, which was a wonderful experience. Wednesday morning 4 of our leave for Petra, Jordan. I am looking forward to the archaeological sites and explorations there, but am also ready to be heading back home on Friday. I should be back in Greensboro by Saturday morning and would appreciate your prayers for safe travel.

I hope to see you all on Palm Sunday for worship; but also for the Forum at 9:15 am for a presentation on my trip. There is no way for me to summarize 23 days and 2,000 photos into an hour, but I plan to share my major learnings with you all, along with some of the highlights for me of the trip. I'll plan to talk for about 40 minutes, so please come with questions.

Shalom!

Monday

Today was a nice day- starting with a trip to the Samaritan community at Mt. Gerizim. The Samaritans are similar to Jews, but with some differences- they believe in one God, one prophet (Moses alone), one book (the Torah, and none of the rest of the Bible), one holy mountain (Mt. Gerizim, not the mountain where the Temple was in Jerusalem), and one final day/judgement. We then went to a beautiful church at Jacob's Well. The well is still there (though it's not original, but you can still draw water from it with a bucket, and we did). The church is adorned with many beautiful icons written (painted) by the local priest. We then finished today up with a visit to St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. This is a wonderful parish in Palestine and the priest told us about the many wonderful ministries the church is doing. It said it was also wonderful to have other Christians visit, knowing that they are not forgotten. They also made us lunch, a traditional Palestinian meal- bread with olive oil and chicken, it was very tasty. Tonight we'll have a Eucharist and our closing reception.

Tomorrow is then the final day of the course, then off to Petra for a few days, then back to Greensboro. Shalom.

Heavy Day

Today we made three stops- 1) the Holocaust Museum, 2) an Israeli settlement in Palestine, and 3) a Palestinian refugee camp. It will take time to process it all, but here are a few quick takeaways: issues of truth, right/wrong, fair/unfair are impossible to sort out. Peace is not on the horizon. Much prayer is needed. There is a prayer at the Cathedral entrance at St. George's that talks about praying not for Jews or Arabs, not for Palestians or Israelis, but for people in general. Simply put- pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Tomorrow we visit a local Christian community (who also very much need prayers) and Mt. Gerizim. We then finish up on Tuesday at St. George's with a trip to the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock area) and the Western (Wailing) Wall, and a trip to Abu Gosh (Emmaus). Wednesday morning a small group (5 of us) will depart for Petra, Jordan, then Friday I begin the trip back to North Carolina. I hope you all had a great Sunday. Blessings.

Holy Week Sites

Photo link- http://bit.ly/zhP9so

Yesterday we did Palm Sunday and Holy Week sites- starting on the Mount of Olives on the east side of the Old City. We then walked down past the old Roman road that Jesus would have used to get down to the city. We talked about going through the Beautiful Gate (now closed) and how Jesus surprised everyone by going left after entering the city (to cleanse the Temple) instead of going right (to the Roman headquarter to overthrow the government as the Messiah was expected to do). We then went to Dominus Flevit (Latin for Jesus wept), then further down to the Church of All Nations in Gethsemane Garden, and to the Tomb of Mary. We then went to Mount Zion after lunch; this is the site of the Last Supper and Pentecost. I was very surprised that neither of these events had churches built for them, but this was actually a nice break. Instead, we were in an open field next to the Church of the Dormition (site where Mary would have gone into eternal rest and assumed into heaven). Then we went to the other church on Mt. Zion- the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu (referring to Peter and the cock crowing. This was one of the most fascinating sites we've seen so far. It is built on the site of the High Priest's house and had three levels to it- a modern church, then below it, the place where Jesus would have been tried by the High Priest, then below that, the jail/torture chamber. There is good and recent archaeological evidence for these sites, and it was fascinating to see the layout, on top of each other.

Today we began with a trip to the Church of the Resurrection (also called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre- but Christians proclaimed the life of the Risen Lord, not the tomb, so in Jerusalem, Christians focus on Resurrection over Sepulchre). It is a very interesting church, this was my third trip there, and I'm starting to be able to see past the feuding denominations, past the tourists, past the layout (it's really a series of chapels, not really a single nave as most churches in the US have). In the Church, we have the sites of the crucifixion, annointing of Jesus' body (where I annointed/blessed as stole which I purchased here), and the tomb. There are also side chapels to Mary Magdelene in the Garden, Longinus (the Roman soldier who said "truly this man was the Son of God"), the chapel of Adam (over which the site of the crucifixion is, symbolizing that Christ's dead took away Adam's original sin), the chapel of Mary's suffering, and many others as well. We then had some free time, so I just wandered the Old City with no purpose, which was nice to just walk the streets. I did find my way to the top of the tower at the Lutheran Church and got some great photos of the city from a bird's eye view. I plan to wake up early and go back to the Church of the Resurrection around 5:30 am on Sunday to see some of these sites without lines and tourists (there are a few places I haven't been able to get to yet). Tonight we also had a brief lecture on Episcopal ministry in the Holy Land- a short summary is "pray for the peace of Israel."

Tomorrow should be a moving and powerful day- starting with the aforementioned trip to the Holy Sepulchre, then a visit to the Yad Vashem Museum (Hebrew for "name;" this is the Holocaust Museum), then visiting a settlement, and a Palestinian refugee camp. I'm sure it will be a heavy day, but one that will be important to understanding the modern struggles in this holy land.

I hope that you all are doing well- I look forward to seeing you all in just about a week on Palm Sunday. Blessings and shalom.

Back in Jerusalem

Photo link- http://bit.ly/zhP9so

So the trip to Galilee was wonderful- learned and experienced a lot that you all will hear in sermons and classes for a while I'm sure. Some new photos are up from yesterday and today. Today we went to the Church of the Transfiguration, which was quite beautiful, as being on top of Mt. Tabor, it had a wonderful view of the surrounding area. We then had a surprise stop at the point of the Jordan River where it is possible/likely that Jesus was baptized. This was a great treat, as this area had been debated between Israel and Jordan for a while, and it has only be opened to the public within the last few months. They have found remains of Byzantine churches nearby, suggesting that it was a holy site in the 4th century. It's also a straight shot across the wilderness to where Jesus is believed to have been tempted on a high mountain. Whether or not it was THE place or not doesn't matter, but it was a place similar to where Jesus might have been baptized. The Bishop of Arizona is with us on the pilgrimage and led us in a reaffirmation of our Baptismal vows, which was moving. We then went to Jericho for a stop before coming back to Jerusalem. Friday is an early day- we start at 5:30 am for the Way of the Cross (via Dolorosa) in the Old City, we'll then go to the Mount of Olives, and Mt Zion. The course is coming to a close, and it's been amazing- good prayers, good sites, good fellowship, good food, good reflections, good weather, good relaxation. Shalom.