Sunday, 27 Oct ~ Dick Morgan

On Sunday, our able leader, Rev. Joan, gently guided us through our final day. We gathered in the church of the Mar Elias Education Institution (MEEI) for a time of sharing as part of a moving communion service. (More on the sharing below.) The floor below the chapel is a large auditorium used for school ceremonies. At the rear of the auditorium is a spectacular mural which illustrates the story of MEEI in pictures, icons ad symbols which is also a story of building a society based on peace and unity among all peoples.

We travelled from Ibillin in the north of Israel to Jaffa and Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean. Usama informed us that Jaffa had been a large (the largest) Palestinian industrial city, destroyed by the Zionists in 1948 and now numbering only 20,000 Palestinians. The enormous, modern city of Tel Aviv grew up alongside Jaffa. After lunch we experienced a beautiful sunset on the Mediterrean to end the day before going to the airport.

Without attempting to do justice to the many different points shared at the morning service, several mentioned the situations of injustice which we witnessed: issues of water, land, movement, economic and education opportunity. The patience and perseverance of the Palestinians impressed many as well as the faith and hope on their part, that, in the end, peace and unity will prevail, in spite of difficult current circumstances. Many looked to the next generation, the children, as a source of hope. In spite of expressions of the difficulty of processing this complex experience, there was the sense that we need to communicate with others when we get home. “What, then, is the message we heard from the living stones of Palestine/Israel that we need to pass on to others?” Rev. Joan asked in conclusion.