Sunday, April 29 ~ Steve Hammond

What a thrill and what a blessing to be in the Holy Land! After 24 hours of travel our group of pilgrims checked into The Holy Land Hotel in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied “West Bank” of the ancient lands called Palestine, or Israel, depending on who you ask. Let’s just call it Israel-Palestine, or, perhaps, a land called Holy.

The hotel hosts mainly Christian pilgrims and conferees in Bethlehem. We dine alongside a group of Eastern Orthodox Christians in the common dining hall, which is decked with banners distinctly Orthodox in character. Bethlehem presents a rich and fascinating mix to the visitor, one of Palestinian Christians and Muslims, Christian pilgrims from around the world, and Jewish settlers on a nearby hill and behind a wall of separation, on the other side of the checkpoints controlling entry and egress.

What a joy this morning to be welcomed to worship at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem! A small but elegant church, built in the latter 19th century, with distinctive Holy Land stone and beautiful stained glass, it offered coolness and shade from the already strong sun. The service was conducted primarily in Arabic, with occasional supplementary English, and all were invited to sing and respond collectively in their own language. The Pilgrims were invited to visit and have a small cup of Arabic coffee afterward.

Soon, though, we were off to start the planned excursion to Qumran and the Dead Sea. The drive along the east side of Jerusalem offered dramatic contrast between the occupied territory and Israeli settlements (the latter neat and orderly, the former obviously poorer), and between the green-tinged scrub of the hills on the west and the seemingly barren desert starting abruptly just a few miles east of Jerusalem.

Bedouins, threatened with imminent demolition of their homes

We traveled downward, from 2500 feet at Jerusalem to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea, 1412 feet below sea level (it’s hot down there!). We passed numerous Bedouin camps and saw a few Bedouin herding goats, sheep, and cattle. The hillsides are laced with goat paths and one wonders how the sparse vegetation can feed even the widely spread  flocks.

Cave 4 at Qumran, where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

Qumran, Dead Sea, and Jordan in the distance

Qumran is notable mainly for the austere landscape featuring washes and rugged, reddish cliffs showing numerous caves, some obviously carved by human hands. The land seems to offer little distance between human and God.

The Dead Sea is extremely salty and offers a novel bathing experience among a good-natured, international crowd of tourists.

St. George’s Monastery at Wadi Qelt

On the way back to Bethlehem we took a side trip to see St. George’s monastery, set in cliffs above the gorge of the Wadi Qelt, along which runs the ancient road to Jericho.

Though eager to see more sights and places, we particularly look forward to meeting the “living stones,” the people who live in and cherish  this Holy Land.

Sunday, April 29 ~ Sally Hart

O little town of Bethlehem, how still??

Saturday:  Actually, our skillful driver maneuvered to our delightful hotel down a hilly, narrow, donkey-planned street through heavy traffic including a car spinning to celebrate a wedding.

Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem

Sunday – Music as bridge and music as resistance:

Attending Christmas Lutheran Church was really special, in spite of its being in Arabic. Music and bits of English from the pastor and in the bulletin served as a bridge between congregants and visitors.  We sang two familiar hymns and two wonderful contemporary songs in Arabic with phonetic transcriptions in our alphabet. We could sing along, and being allowed to play the organ (and pressed into service for the prelude and processional!) became a bridge between their very new self-taught organist and me. But the pastor’s message said music can be resistance, Like Paul and Silas singing in prison. Living our Christian life joyfully can be a counter to oppression.

Sally and Rita played postlude with the new church organist gratefully watching

Christmas Lutheran windows

Sally at the organ

Four organists!

Let the adventures begin!

Arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv.

The Living Stones Pilgrimage of the Presbytery of the Northwest Coast starts this weekend: On Friday, April 27th, twenty-five “Pilgrims” will fly from Seattle to Tel Aviv, via London, and on Saturday will walk this hallway in Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. They will enter a land that’s holy, historic, welcoming, and challenging, all at once.

Come look over our shoulders: bookmark this page and return to it often between now and May 10th to see what we’re doing and read our reflections!

We will visit key biblical sites in and near Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the Galilee region, and learn why the Holy Land is known as the Fifth Gospel. Follow us as we also meet Pilgrims of Ibillin’s partners in Ibillin, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramle, Ramallah, and Zababdeh — learning about the people and  organizations in Israel and the West Bank who seek a nonviolent path to peace and justice.

Experience Palestinian hospitality through our eyes and writings, including a home-stay in Zababdeh, in the upper West Bank.

St. George’s Melkite Church, Zababdeh, with neighboring mosque in background

Get to know students and leaders at the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin as we meet them. Join us from afar as we visit with MEEI founder and peace activist Archbishop Elias Chacour.

Visit the destroyed village of Biram where Fr. Chacour was born and lived until 1948.

We will return home equipped to give presentations, so do invite us to share with you when we return! But for now, we invite you to follow us as this pilgrimage unfolds. We will be sharing a story of new friends – Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Jews – who live with hope and work for peace despite great challenges.