Friday, May 17
~ by Mark Laux

Our last morning at the Mar Elias Guest House in Ibillin dawned like every other. Shortly after sunrise the beautiful voice of the Lebanese singer Fairuz was broadcast over loudspeakers for all in the surrounding neighborhood to hear. Singing in Arabic “Ya Oum Allah,” we are hearing a heartfelt prayer to Mary, Mother of God. “Oh Mother of God, Oh compassionate one, Oh treasure of mercy and hope. You are our refuge and in you we place our hope.” Fairuz is paying homage to a Jewish woman revered by the Palestinian Christians indigenous to this land along with the Muslim population now observing Ramadan. In fact, Mary is explicitly identified in the Quran as the greatest of all women. As we prepare to travel to Nazareth this morning, I have Mary on my mind.

On arrival in Nazareth we proceeded to the Basilica of the Annunciation, a 20th century structure built on one of the earliest Christian holy sites associated with Mary. Pilgrims were visiting from around the world, and a mass was being celebrated in Vietnamese. I was moved by the many beautiful representations of Mary painted, sculpted and crafted by artists from around the world. Nearby we toured the excavation of an ancient church, home and tomb beneath the convent of the Sisters of Nazareth. Mary, Joseph and Jesus may well have walked the floors of these structures.

For lunch we were hosted by Sally Azzam, co-founder of the Liwan Culture Cafe (https://www.facebook.com/liwannazareth/) which is committed to preserving and sharing Palestinian cultual identity with visitors to Nazareth.

After crossing into the West Bank from Israel we ended our day in Zababdeh at the home of Father Firas Khoury Diab, pastor of St. George Melkite Catholic Church. Joe and I were warmly accommodated overnight by Fr. Diab’s neibor, Khaleda, and her family. Khaleda’s daughter Maria is a student at the Arab-American University in Zababdeh. How fitting it was that this dynamic young woman, representing a new generation of Palestinians, should be named after Mary, beacon of hope.

Thursday, May 16
~ by Cora Shircel

Today our group traveled to Biram to see the destroyed village.

Unfortunately, we had issues with the bus causing a three hour delay before getting to the village. However, during our down time waiting for the bus to be repaired, the group was able to communicate and get to know one another sharing stories and also meeting our guest for the day, Bader, a graduate of Mar Elias High School in Ibillin. It was amazing to be able to hear his perspective on Biram and how these current events have affected his life. After learning the story of the villages, visiting Biram first hand made the destruction and violence a surreal reality.

We then took the bus to the holy sites which ended up short stops due to bus issues, but featured beautiful views of the Sea of Galilee, and a look into the church. I think a great end to the day was relaxing on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to reminisce on the first century fishing boats. Such beautiful weather and a spectacular view to close the evening.

Wednesday, May 15

Our visits today confirmed a Palestinian proverb I had heard that says “No Right is lost as long as there is one person to claim it.”

Our visit to Saffouria village destroyed in 1948 was worth a college semester of history if not more as the history of what happened in 1948 was told to us by Jonathan Cook. The take-away for me after listening to Jonathan is that the Israeli attempts at eliminating evidence of the existence of a Palestinian people by destroying villages and towns are systematic since then. They continue to pursue the same goal by creating laws that make it legal for Israel to take the land and deny Palestinians from owning their own land or property.

Earlier in the day we listened to Abuna Chacour telling us the story of how he built the Church of the Sermon on the Mount in Ibillin with support from different individuals and groups who believe in his mission of Peace and Unification of Palestinians and Jews in Palestine. Dianne Roe told us the story of the real people she painted on the “Building Bridges” Mural she created in the auditorium of the church.

Both story telling experiences today brought to focus for me that the strong and clear vision of building bridges though painful is powerful. The church is built here to stay and tell the story of Abuna Chacour himself and his legacy.

True by building bridges he set a model and legacy to confirm that Palestinian rights will not be lost because through building bridges he and his legacy will be claiming those rights.