Saturday, October 20 ~ Janice Kraniak

Picking olives in Zababdeh

Harvesting olives. Climbing in the hills of Sebastia.  Experiencing the beauty of the Church of the Ten Lepers.  Move from Bethlehem to Ibillin.  Many goodbyes to new-found acquaintances and many reunions with old friends.  Lots of tears.

Angel choir

Thursday, 18 October ~ Mary Ann Offer

Imagine this: 18 congenial pilgrims, voices joining together to sing “Angels We Have Heard On High” in the Chapel of the Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahour. Strangers walk in, some dressed in traditional clothing from another culture, others with features suggesting yet another part of the world, and everyone joins in the chorus without hesitation. No other words were exchanged, but our spirits were surely united for those few minutes at the start of our morning.

It was a very intense and inspiring day. While some headed off to a master class in voice at Dar Al Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, most of us dawdled in the coffee shop, some making friends with students bravely practicing their English while chatting with us about their school. On a tour by staff member Angie Saba, we learned about the reasoning behind the need for the emphasis on the arts provided through the university’s wonderful curriculum, including music, visual arts, film, and culinary arts. Speaking of the richness of Palestinian culture, she explained, “There are two narratives on this land; one has been pushed aside and we want to bring it back.”

Mitri Raheb

Reverend Mitri Raheb, founder of the university, met with us to give us even more background on the Palestinian situation and how a need for the arts fits into that, noting that the university’s mission must be, “that we may have life, and have it abundantly.” Following these inspiring events, we shared a delicious lunch at the university’s International Center in Bethlehem and did our part to support the students’ efforts through enthusiastic shopping for the high-quality craftwork in the university store.

Walking through Manger Square took us to the fascinating but incredibly crowded Church of the Nativity, and then on to the more modern St. Catherine’s Roman Catholic church, noteworthy for being both the site of a 2002 Israeli attack against dissidents and innocents AND the home parish church of our tour guide, Usama.

Even more inspiring than the international caroling with which we started the day was the concluding presentation by two thoughtful and inspiring men, representatives of the Parents Circle of Bereaved Families. The evening call to prayer wafting in from outside seemed an appropriate note on which to begin to hear this deeply moving joint effort by these two fathers, one a Christian Palestinian and the other from a Jewish family with roots going back seven generations in Palestine and also to the Holocaust. Both man lost young teenaged daughters in senseless tragedies caused by the occupation – the Jewish daughter in a Palestinian suicide bombing, the Palestinian daughter in wild shooting by Israeli Defense Force soldiers who erroneously shot 300 bullets at their car while hunting some terrorists. These two brave men explained their unintended and non-biological brotherhood, overwhelming us with the pain of their losses and the wisdom that has led them to unite with other bereaved parents who want to move from today’s contentious Palestine to a nation of peace.

Wednesday, 17 October  ~ Debby Owen

Today was a very full day and a day full of juxtapositions. We had to go through an Israeli checkpoint to reach the path Jesus took on Palm Sunday.

Women praying at Al Aqsa

We had the incredible privilege of visiting the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in the Muslim world, which sits meters from the Western or Wailing Wall, where Jews come to offer their special prayers.

Women praying – Western Wall

And we walked the Via Dolorosa, the most mournful walk in the Christian world, while surrounded by the colorful wares and fragrant spices of assertive merchants trying to tempt us to stop and spend. Yet this kaleidoscope of the sacred and holy sites of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity enriches and nourishes us in our own faith and reaffirms our common humanity.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

I was struck by the group of women praying in the mosque together and minutes later seeing the crowd of women praying at the Western Wall, while later in the afternoon watching women light candles in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, knowing they were most likely offering up the same prayers for their loved ones and for peace. Jerusalem, more than any place on earth, diminishes our differences and illuminates our similarities and demonstrates that we are all God’s people.