Thanksgiving

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

^"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus. . . ."
(1 Corinthians 1:4 --Epistle for Advent 1)

We give thanks for the blessings of
family,
friends,
support congregations,
all the people back in the USA who celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional way and make it possible for us to be here in Jerusalem.

In this part of the world where the sharing of food is an essential part of relationships, we had several occasions for celebrating thanksgiving, both with traditional turkey and stuffing and with Middle Eastern salads and other dishes.

More than food, Thanksgiving is about community.

And when living in a foreign country, we look for times like this when we can gather as community.

On Friday evening together at the home of Mark and Susanne Brown on the LWF campus.




We give thanks for the blessing of community.

Joining at Thursday noon at the Tantur Ecumenical Center with colleagues, Kjell & Inger Jonasson from Sweden and with Chris Cowan, an American Ecumencial Accompaniers in the South Hebron hills.

As I remember Thanksgivings in the States, the biggest distraction from the feast was the football game on TV.  Here the moment we filled our plates and sat down at the table on Thanksgiving noon, my cell phone rang with a text message:
"Demolition of mosque and several residential buildings in Um-Fagareh!"

Holding loud speaker from
destroyed mosque. 

Photos from Maan News

Demolished house in Um-Fagareh.

Two Palestinian women arrested trying to defend home against fifty soldiers accompanying bulldozer.  One woman has leg broken in the scuffle.

Less than an hour earlier, a text message had announced the demolition of a Palestinian residence and animal shelter in Susiya.

The demolition order lies amidst the rubble.

Picking up the pieces.

This is one of the poorest areas in the West Bank. Some villagers live in caves.

Attempts to bring electricity to village are periodically destroyed.

Our Thanksgiving dinner companion Chris was visibly shaken by the news.  Her assignment with the Ecumencial Accompaniers these three months has been in the South Hebron hills, where she has gotten to know well the villagers at Susiya and Um-Fagareh.  Click here to read her own refections...As the sole American EAPPI, her four teammates had given Chris Thanksgiving Day off to relax and to recharge.  This has been a taxing assignment.  Settlers had regularly been harrassing the villagers all through the fall.

Yet this was not the action of lawless settlers.  Home Demolitions are carried out by the Israeli government, the same Israeli government that builds and expands West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements in defiance of every nation of the world, including the USA & clear evidence that Israel remains in control of Palestinian life in the West Bank.  24,813 Palestinian houses have been systematically demolished since 1967 according to the Israeli Human Rights organization Israel Committee Against Home Demolitions.  Click on this ICAHD link to learn more about this flagrant abuse against human dignity.

Later that afternoon the bulldozer made its way to Idna, West of Hebron.

Another home demolished.

CNN, Fox news, and the major networks-- always determined to portray Palestinians as terrorists-- don't find home demolitions as sexy enough for news and prefer to report on such things as American Idol stars  Scotty McCreery as messing up his lip-sinc during Thanksgiving Parade and Laura Alaina as forgetting words to the National Anthem at the Packers-Lions game.  Who wants to hear about home demolitions?

Earlier in the day, yet two other houses were demolished in Beit Hanina, a Palestinian area in East Jerusalem.

The home owner can only watch against such a military display of force.

According to a UN agency, 481 houses have been destroyed in 2011 displacing 887 persons.

Tomorrow in church we light the first Advent Candle-- the candle of hope.

"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down..." (Isaiah 64:1)

"Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come."

Advent 1 -- Prayer of the Day.

The only Thanksgiving prayer that made sense to us for our Friday community gathering was one written by Brian McLaren:

We thank you, God, for this holiday,.

We have rested, and we think of all those whose lives

Are hard and who enjoy little rest.

We have eaten the fruit of our labors, and we think of those

Who have neither work nor money.

We have feasted, and we think of all whose stomachs

Are hungry and have too little.

We have felt safe and at home, and we think of those

Who live in danger and turmoil, in war and fear, and all

Who have been driven from their homes.

We have been together, and we think of all those

Who are lonely and alone.

We have laughed, and we think of all

Whose hearts are heavy.

We have shared stories, and we think of al

Who need a listening ear.

We have counted our blessings, and we ask

That our gratitude can now be translated

Into the desire to be a blessing to others.

Amen.

Taize service on Friday
at Redeemer led by
Frere Emile from Taize.

Wait for the Lord

by Fred & Gloria Strickert

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

Concerning Times & Seasons

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

Credit Propst Uwe Graebe

Wednesday midnight -- on 9 November

A ring around the moon

A halo above Redeemer Tower

A halo appropriately marks the call for our servant community

gathered weekly in the worship space below.

A halo also seems an appropriate sign for a city of three religions

Especially in the culmination of a season of holiness

Of rituals and songs and prayers

Of time set aside for reflection.

• Eid al-adha -- the Muslims' Feast of the Sacrifice at the height of the Hajj
• Rosh HaShana & Yom Kippur followed by Succoth & Simchat Torah--High Holy Days for Jews
• All Saints Day -- and for Lutherans also Reformation Day.

In the Midwest (USA), folklore says a ring around moon means a change in the weather.

A winter storm's a comin'.

Or just a change?

So, does this mean it's snowing in Minnesota?

Or stormy days for Jerusalem?

Last week, Jerusalem experienced its first rainfall of the season.

Seven months of dry hot weather have come to an end, L'hamdilla.

the days are getting shorter,

the temperatures are dropping,

our sweaters and gloves have come out of storage,

and we pray many heavy rains will soon follow

filling empty stone cisterns,

refreshing the hillsides,

and turning desert brown landscapes to life-filled sprouts of green. 

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, I have no need to write. . . "

says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1 (Epistle lesson for Pentecost 22)

The changes are natural and expected.

They are observed and well-noted.

How can one expand on the obvious?

The view out the door of our house, walking to gate reminds us of the changing times.             After a month of the olive harvest, the trees have been pruned, branches destined as fuel for the fire, but trees cut back for next year's crop-- a better harvest of olives, inshallah--hope for the future.

The times and seasons

All the while, messages of hope are countered by threats of a new Middle East war with rhetoric and rationales voiced in government news conferences and newspaper editorials.  With this backdrop we drove to Galilee two weeks ago for Fred to film a National Geographic television program at Bethsaida, constantly interrupted by the sounds of Israeli fighter jets and bombers flying overhead with practice runs to northern destinations, and on the highway an occasional tank transported toward the Golan.

Our schedules here make it difficult to keep up with Fred's archaeological interests.   Here's a link to Fred's book on Bethsaida published last spring.  One thing archaeologists understand is change.  Sites like Bethsaida provide a sober reminder, not just of the antiquity of this land and its thousands of years of human stories, but also the arrivals and departures of various peoples, the cycles of building and destruction, the times of prosperity and the seasons of war. Walking the old stone streets of Bethsaida, history comes face to face with current political intrigue.             

The times and seasons. . . .

. . . yet not bringing a destiny of wrath and despair, so says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:9.

"The times are a changing," so the ring around the moon would suggest.

There's a scientific explanation.

It's water in the atmosphere

ice crystals high in the atmosphere reflecting the moon's light

which, in turn, is a reflection of the sun.

So, ring around the moon = light + water.

You are children of light, so Paul in verse 5.

And we gather weekly at the baptismal font.

And so it was that our Sunday morning's children sermon and Sunday School hour focused on baptism.  Our International English-speaking congregation with children from Sweden, Finland, Palestine, Scotland, and the USA-- all gathered around the baptismal font, and marked with the cross of Christ, water on the forehead, children of God, children of light.

The sign of the cross at the font --"Who is my family" art project
The times and seasons
One more piece of folk lore:

Count the stars in the space between the moon and its ring

to discover how long until that winter storm hits.

Stars or children of light?

Last Sunday to Tuesday, we participated in the Sahiroon Youth Leadership Development gathering at a retreat center in Nazareth.

Bible Reading: "Put on the breastplate of faith and love. . . the helmet of the hope of salvation."   1 Thess. 5:8

With singing

And study

Sharing with one another

Listening

"Therefore, encourage one another             & build each other up."  1 Thess. 5:11

Sahiroon Photo Credits: Elly McHan

Children of Light -- Stars within the ring around the moon.

by Fred &Gloria Strickert

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

Blessed also are the spat upon

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

"Blessed are the meek. . .
 Blessed are the merciful. . .
 Blessed are the peacemakers. . . ."

The Beatitudes from Matthew 5.
The Gospel for All Saints Sunday.

Blessed also are the spat upon.


Before we moved to Jerusalem fifteen months ago, we had to go on a shopping trip to purchase a black suit and a regular supply of black clergy shirts (The last time I owned a clerical collar was in the late 1970s after graduating from seminary).  In the old city of Jerusalem, religion is evident by the clothes we wear, especially for religious leaders.  Because Christians are such a small minority--less than 2 % of the population-- it is important, that the Christian presence is evident in the landscape of old stone churches and historical sites going back to the New Testament and the early Christian community.

There is no hiding the fact that we are Christians.

• The reaction by many is one of respect and admiration--Arab shop keepers address me as Abuna, our father.
• The reaction by others is indifference, as if we are a relic of the past.
• The reaction of others--only a few--is ridicule (not so much for us personally, but for colleagues in ministry).

Blessed also are the spat upon.

On the first Thursday of every month, I (Fred) meet with an ecumenical colleague group for coffee and discussion of issues facing the local Christian community.  I'm the only American.  There is a French Catholic priest, a Syrian Orthodox restaurant owner, a Greek Catholic priest, and a Greek Orthodox layman, several Armenians, both clergy and lay.  Yesterday we began our discussion with international issues like the status of the Christian communities in Syria and Egypt.  Then the topic turned to the need to get local Christians more involved in ecumenical gatherings.

Then the topic turned to spitting.  That's right, spitting.  Or to be more accurate, the phenomenon of being spat upon.
"It's getting a lot worse," mentioned one of the life-long residents of the old city.
"No, it's always been this way, " countered an 80-year old Greek Orthodox layman.
"We have grown accustomed to it," said the Armenian priest, "but some of our younger teachers have a hard time turning the other cheek.  They want to strike back."
"Maybe we need to retaliate," said another.
"No, let the police handle it."
"They never do anything.  We have complained in the past.  What good has it done?"

Finally, one of the elders in our group reminded us all that we are Christ's representatives in Jerusalem.  Ours must always be a message of peace--both in word and action.  "They will spit at our shoes, and sometimes in our face, but we must always be messengers of peace."

Blessed also are the spat upon.

Spitting on Clergy.  That's probably not a topic that comes up in many American clergy gatherings.  But it does here.  Again, I stress that I haven't often been directly affected.  Perhaps it's my obvious American identity. Perhaps it's my size.  Local clergy are more often targeted. 

Yet we are called to accompany, to listen, to console, to sympathize, to stand alongside when others are humiliated.  Accompaniment also means communicating, not just positive stories, but also such aspects of daily humiliation of the Christian community in Jerusalem. 

Blessed also are the spat upon.

Yesterday's discussion is not an isolated complaint.

We woke up this morning to read the following story in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper.  A quick google search yields other reports as the Jerusalem Post article two years ago.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily


Clergymen in the Armenian Church in Jerusalem say they are victims of harassment, from senior cardinals to priesthood students; when they do complain, the police don't usually find the perpetrators.

By Oz Rosenberg

Ha'aretz -- Friday - November 4, 2011
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish young men curse and spit at Christian clergymen in the streets of Jerusalem's Old City as a matter of routine. In most cases the clergymen ignore the attacks, but sometimes they strike back. Last week the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court quashed the indictment against an Armenian priesthood student who had punched the man who spat at him.
Johannes Martarsian was walking in the Old City in May 2008 when an young ultra-Orthodox Jew spat at him. Maratersian punched the spitter in the face, making him bleed, and was charged for assault. But Judge Dov Pollock, who unexpectedly annulled the indictment, wrote in his verdict that "putting the defendant on trial for a single blow at a man who spat at his face, after suffering the degradation of being spat on for years while walking around in his church robes is a fundamental contravention of the principles of justice and decency."
"Needless to say, spitting toward the defendant when he was wearing the robe is a criminal offense," the judge said.
When Narek Garabedian came to Israel to study in the Armenian Seminary in Jerusalem half a year ago, he did not expect the insults, curses and spitting he would be subjected to daily by ultra-Orthodox Jews in the streets of the Old City.
"When I see an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man coming toward me in the street, I always ask myself if he will spit at me," says Narek, a Canadian Armenian, this week. About a month ago, on his way to buy groceries in the Old City, two ultra-Orthodox men spat at him. The spittle did not fall at his feet but on his person. Narek, a former football player, decided this time not to turn the other cheek.
"I was very angry. I pushed them both to the wall and asked, 'why are you doing this?' They were frightened and said 'we're sorry, we're sorry,' so I let them go. But it isn't always like that. Sometimes the spitter attacks you back," he says.
Other clergymen in the Armenian Church in Jerusalem say they are all victims of harassment, from the senior cardinals to the priesthood students. Mostly they ignore these incidents. When they do complain, the police don't usually find the perpetrators.
Martarsian left Israel about a year ago. He was sent back home by the church, as were two other Armenian priesthood students who were charged after attacking an ultra-Orthodox man who spat at them.
The Greek Patriarchy's clergymen have been cursed and spat on by ultra-Orthodox men in the street for many years. "They walk past me and spit," says Father Gabriel Bador, 78, a senior priest in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. "Mostly I ignore it, but it's difficult.
Sometimes I stop and ask the spitter 'why are you doing this? What have I done to you?' Once I even shouted at a few of them who spat at my feet together. They ran away," he says.
"It happens a lot," says Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the patriarchate. "You walk down the street and suddenly they spit at you for no reason. I admit sometimes it makes me furious, but we have been taught to restrain ourselves, so I do so."
Father Goosan Aljanian, Chief Dragoman of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem, says it is often difficult for temperamental young priesthood students to swallow the offense.
About a month ago two students marching to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre beat up an ultra-Orthodox man who spat at them. They were sent away from the Old City for two weeks.
"I tell my students that if they are spat at, to go to the police rather than strike back" says Goosan. "But these are young kids who sometimes lose their cool."
A few weeks ago four ultra-Orthodox men spat at clergymen in the funeral procession of Father Alberto of the Armenian Church. "They came in a pack, out of nowhere," said Father Goosan. "I know there are fanatical Haredi groups that don't represent the general public but it's still enraging. It all begins with education. It's the responsibility of these men's yeshiva heads to teach them not to behave this way," he says.
Father Goosan and other Patriarchy members are trying to walk as little as possible in the Old City streets. "Once we walked from the [Armenian] church to the Jaffa Gate and on that short section four different people spat at us," he says.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ultra-orthodox-spitting-attacks-on-old-city-clergymen-becoming-daily-1.393669

And a similar story two years ago. . .
 
 Mouths filled with hatred

Nov. 26, 2009

Larry Derfner , THE JERUSALEM POST

Father Samuel Aghoyan, a senior Armenian Orthodox cleric in Jerusalem's Old City, says he's been spat at by young haredi and national Orthodox Jews "about 15 to 20 times" in the past decade. The last time it happened, he said, was earlier this month. "I was walking back from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I saw this boy in a yarmulke and ritual fringes coming back from the Western Wall, and he spat at me two or three times."
Wearing a dark-blue robe, sitting in St. James's Church, the main Armenian church in the Old City, Aghoyan said, "Every single priest in this church has been spat on. It happens day and night."
Father Athanasius, a Texas-born Franciscan monk who heads the Christian Information Center inside the Jaffa Gate, said he's been spat at by haredi and national Orthodox Jews "about 15 times in the last six months" - not only in the Old City, but also on Rehov Agron near the Franciscan friary. "One time a bunch of kids spat at me, another time a little girl spat at me," said the brown-robed monk near the Jaffa Gate.
"All 15 monks at our friary have been spat at," he said. "Every [Christian cleric in the Old City] who's been here for awhile, who dresses in robes in public, has a story to tell about being spat at. The more you get around, the more it happens."
A nun in her 60s who's lived in an east Jerusalem convent for decades says she was spat at for the first time by a haredi man on Rehov Agron about 25 years ago. "As I was walking past, he spat on the ground right next to my shoes and he gave me a look of contempt," said the black-robed nun, sitting inside the convent. "It took me a moment, but then I understood."
Since then, the nun, who didn't want to be identified, recalls being spat at three different times by young national Orthodox Jews on Jaffa Road, three different times by haredi youth near Mea She'arim and once by a young Jewish woman from her second-story window in the Old City's Jewish Quarter.
But the spitting incidents weren't the worst, she said - the worst was the time she was walking down Jaffa Road and a group of middle-aged haredi men coming her way pointed wordlessly to the curb, motioning her to move off the sidewalk to let them pass, which she did.
"That made me terribly sad," said the nun, speaking in ulpan-trained Hebrew. Taking personal responsibility for the history of Christian anti-Semitism, she said that in her native European country, such behavior "was the kind of thing that they - no, that we used to do to Jews."
News stories about young Jewish bigots in the Old City spitting on Christian clergy - who make conspicuous targets in their long dark robes and crucifix symbols around their necks - surface in the media every few years or so. It's natural, then, to conclude that such incidents are rare, but in fact they are habitual. Anti-Christian Orthodox Jews, overwhelmingly boys and young men, have been spitting with regularity on priests and nuns in the Old City for about 20 years, and the problem is only getting worse.


"My impression is that Christian clergymen are being spat at in the Old City virtually every day. This has been constantly increasing over the last decade," said Daniel Rossing. An observant, kippa-wearing Jew, Rossing heads the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations and was liaison to Israel's Christian communities for the Ministry of Religious Affairs in the '70s and '80s.
For Christian clergy in the Old City, being spat at by Jewish fanatics "is a part of life," said the American Jewish Committee's Rabbi David Rosen, Israel's most prominent Jewish interfaith activist.


"I hate to say it, but we've grown accustomed to this. Jewish religious fanatics spitting at Christian priests and nuns has become a tradition," said Roman Catholic Father Massimo Pazzini, sitting inside the Church of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa.


These are the very opposite of isolated incidents. Father Athanasius of the Christian Information Center called them a "phenomenon." George Hintlian, the unofficial spokesman for the local Armenian community and former secretary of the Armenian Patriarchate, said it was "like a campaign."

 (The Jerusalem Post)
 
Blessed also are the spat upon.
 
by Fred & Gloria Strickert
http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

Salamtak

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

Salamtak!

Several weeks ago we were walking down Christian Quarter Road when nearly every greeting to us was simple, straightforward and genuine:
Salamtak!


Christian Quarter Road is one of the main streets in the Old City of Jerusalem, not far from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

The usual welcome along this street is an invitation to come and buy.

Perhaps a nice souvenir.

Or a scarf.

A special price for you, my friend.

But this time it was different.

Salamtak!
This is the common Arabic expression meaning
May you return to health!
May you find wholeness!
May you be at peace!
Salamtak! or
Get well soon!

It was something of a freak accident, more like a clutsy, clumsy fall back toward the end of August--and now Fred's back on the road to recovery-- thanks to greetings & prayers
from Christian Quarter Road friends & many others.
Salamtak!
Okay, the splint does make things look a bit frightful, and yes, there were five broken bones in the hand, a few nights and surgery at Hadassa Hospital, Ein Kerem, but now life is getting back to normal.

Yet what we'll always remember is that greeting the first day back to work while walking along the shops on Christian Quarter Road from friends and strangers alike.
Salamtak!
and from total strangers as well:
May God Bless You!

Arabs are straightfoward with God-talk in conversations.
words like l'hamdilla (praise God) or inshallah (God-willing).
and it comes from Christians and Muslims alike.

And especially for Muslims.  Each morning now Abu Muhammed from our Redeemer staff  greets me with a cup of Arabic coffee in a special display of kindness. "Saada?" He asks "No sugar?" "Yes that's the way I like it."

But it's more than coffee. It's an excuse to check on how I'm doing.

"Your hand? It's okay?" "Yes, it's doing well." I show him just as I did yesterday, and everyday before. "L'hamdilla," he responds. "Praise God!" "And at night, you put olive oil on and rub it?" "Yes, like you showed me." "Then it will be healed again, soon, Inshallah, God willing."
 
On portions of Christian Quarter Road today you can see the large paving stones from the late Roman era--constructed about the time of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when Christians began flocking to Jerusalem in large numbers in the fourth century.

Today most of the shopkeepers are Muslim

• like the baker where Gloria buys fresh communion bread each Sunday morning.
• like Bilal who sewed the cushion covers for our pews--"with special care" he said, worthy for our chapel where we worship sitting down and not kneeling on the floor.
• like the florist who as a gift brought a bouquet of flowers for the chapel last Easter morning.
• like Shabaan and his money changing business who takes the loose offering- plate currency from various countries and even personal checks from our visitors, no ID necessary--"You are the church!" he says.
• like Khader of the clothing store who has greeted us from day one, and also checks my hand as we pass, Yes, the swelling has gone down.  You are massaging it, like I showed you."

Salamtak!


They all join in whenever we pass, and many others whom we barely knew.
Now when we walk down Christian Quarter Road, we need to budget an extra ten minutes, to stop and say thanks and to show the progress.

L'Hamdillah!

We Christians also do a lot of praying

• intercessions in church
• our weekly email prayer chain
• Redeemer Arabic congregation members stopping to say "We're praying for you!"
• a whispered word from a hospital bed.

And we're thankful to add the prayers of shopkeepers on Christian Quarter Road.
Salamtak!

I'm now doing formal therapy at Hadassa Hospital, Mount Scopus, closer to our home.  With the multiple religious holidays, scheduling such appointments can  sometimes get complicated.  "You know that Yom Kippur is coming up?  Then a week of Succoth?  Then Simchat Torah?"  asked the head of therapy when I phoned for an appointment.
"So I'll have to wait?"
"Well, I'll be taking vacation," she answered reflecting the common practice for Israelis to vacation during these holidays and things just shut down.
"I see." I must have sounded dejected.  "It's just that I was hoping to get started."
She paused.  "I do have an assistant.  She'll be here."  Then she mentioned her name, a common Muslim woman's name."
"Great." I answered.
I sensed a longer than normal pause. "That's okay?"
"Of course, Why not?"

My therapist falls on the more liberal side of the religious spectrum, as I would surmise from our sessions.
She doesn't wear a head scarf like many other Muslim women hospital staff.  All of the hospital notes she writes out in Hebrew script.  I learn from her, while she is massaging my wounded hand, that she is sending her two daughters to a special school where Muslims, Christians, and Jews learn side by side. 
"I want them to learn about Christianity," she says, "and Judaism too.  It's our only hope."

Her conversation helps me not to focus on the pain when she moves my fingers beyond what I have been accustomed.

"You must do these same exercises every day if you want to strengthen your hand," she stressed in her toughest sounding voice.  "It's the only way your hand will heal."  And then she added, "Inshallah.  God willing."

And when she wrote out my next appointment card and handed it to me, there was no typical "Good-bye."  Instead she smiled and said

Salamtak!

A short addendum
Today was our annual congregation olive picking day on the Mount of Olives.
To view our blog from last year's outing click here.

So Fred's left hand was ready for picking olives off a tree.
Really not bad therapy.

But wouldn't you know it?

Congregational member 12-year old Matteus from Sweden showed up with his right hand in a cast--an accident from school just yesterday.

What can we say but
Salamtak!




by Fred &Gloria Strickert
http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

Visas

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

by Fred & Gloria Strickert

Our visas have been approved for another year! L'Hamdilla!

We often take for granted that it is a privilege to serve in any foreign country, especially when working with the church.

In the case of Israel, thousands of American tourists pass quickly through Ben Gurion airport with automatic visitor's visas stamped quickly on blank passport pages. We are not here as tourists and thus we are subject to a longer process with the expectation of following certain rules and regulations (e.g. no proselytizing) and of discretion in what we say and do.

So the renewal of our visa for another year is never something we take for granted. And now we say L'Hamdilla! Praise God.

This last week you could hear a shout of L'Hamdilla, from every church in Jerusalem when Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Anglican Church received his residency permit for Jerusalem after a lapse of two years. The Church, of course, extends beyond borders and bishops must be free to travel on a regular basis to their parishes whether they be in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, or Jordan.

The bishop's residency in Jerusalem is not only a matter of practicality, it's part of the historic character of the church--for Anglicans Jerusalem has been the bishop's residence since 1841, when the joint Lutheran-Anglican bishopric was established.

Bishop Dawani faced this situation because he is a Palestinian and was born in the West Bank city of Nablus, twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem. Although he was elected already in 2005, and was previously given residency permits for Jerusalem, for the last two years his permits were rejected. This put him in the difficult situation of having to live illegally in East Jerusalem at St. George's Cathedral and it put the Anglican Church in the position of having to sue the government after working quietly behind the scenes for eighteen months. So on Monday it was announced that he had succeeded and a new permit has been granted.  L'Hamdilla.

For the Sept. 27 Haaretz newspaper article click here.

Such cases are not totally isolated.  Last Tuesday, we visited with a young German volunteer who had come to serve at the Dormitian Catholic Church just outside Zion Gate. He had just received a visa rejection letter stating uncertainty about the religious character of his declared place of service.  So he is  now planning to appeal. Inshallah. 

A decade ago a newly elected Greek Orthodox Patriarch was denied official government recognition for several years. The Roman Catholic Church has often had difficulties for its seminarians coming here to study. Our own YAGMs had to postpone their arrival for several weeks, with all the hassle of changing travel plans, because of visa delays.

In the photo on the right Lutheran and Anglican clergy pause for prayers at Station # 4 on our 2011 Good Friday walk of the Via Dolorosa. Bishops Dawani and Younan stand together at the top of the stairs.

Looking at this photo from just six months ago, we are reminded how tenuous our positions can be.

Three of our Anglican colleagues in the photo are no longer with us in Jerusalem.  One who is American had just returned from an unplanned three-month leave to the states because of visa issues.  Ultimately the visa was renewed, but only for six months, so now he is gone. 
We don't take things like this for granted. This is simply the way it is in the world. So whenever a visa or a residency permit is granted, we say L'Hamdilla.

Perhaps this is the way it's always been.

Paul wrote to the Church in Rome: "Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good." (Romans 13:3).

The ancient city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean Coast is where Pontius Pilate had his residence. This is the city where Paul sat in prison two years waiting to face Nero in Rome.

Caesarea is where Fred got his start in archaeology in the summer of 1974, excavating this Byzantine colonaded street, just south of the Crusader fortress. A public building had just been uncovered next to these columns. Though it was a government building, several rooms had religious inscriptions in Greek, and, though several centuries had passed since Paul's sojourn here, his words were there for all to see.



"Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval."
Inshallah.

by Fred & Gloria Strickert
http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

A Day of Peace

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

September 21 is marked on our kitchen calendar as the International Day of Peace.

Outside the United Nations is the peace bell, constructed in 1954 from coins donated by children from throughout the world. For the last 30 years this bell has been rung on this day in hope that today's children may see a world less damaged by the hatred and war of past and present.

It may well be that the sound of the bell will be drowned out this week by all clamor surrounding the proposal to the United Nations for Palestinian statehood debating whether this action is an appeal for peace or a declaration of war, whether it demonstrates the value of the world community coming together or whether this action is indeed "unilateral," whether the preferred way is that of non-violence or once again of reliance on the strength of weapons, and most of all whether the future of Middle East children should still be held hostage to political purposes and promises. 

"Pray without ceasing," says Paul.

We therefore submit to you a Prayer for Peace written earlier this summer by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem:

 Isaiah 2:1-5; 11:9
“In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of themountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it….”
“They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of theknowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea….”

Almighty and Merciful God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, you gathered the first Christians inJerusalem. Grant that, like the first church of Jerusalem, we may come together, and withcourage, we may preach and live the Word, and the good news of truth, reconciliation, andpeace.

God Creator, Giver of Life, Bearer of Pain, Initiator of Love, you made the world andeverything in it. You created the human race in your image and likeness, and gave us the earthfor all to share. Break down the walls that separate us.

God of Justice, your generosity is without bounds. Guard us from selfishness; inspire us to beinstruments of love, and witnesses of your mercy and justice. Help us to face challenges and tostruggle against all that is born of injustice. Lead us to act together in places and situations ofwant and need: where families are driven from their homes, where the vulnerable suffer in thehands of the powerful, where poverty and unemployment destroy lives.

God of Hope, you continue to call us to work for Peace in our world, broken and wounded byinjustice, violence, and indifference. Alone, we are overwhelmed by challenges but together,and inspired by your Spirit, we can prevail beyond dreams and imagination. In fear we losehope, and feel the futility of our efforts. Instill in our hearts and minds the image of yoursuffering and compassionate love as a source of courage and strength.

God, Protector of the widow, the orphan and the stranger, in a world where many know despair,you raised your Son Jesus Christ to give hope for humanity and renewal to the earth. Strengthenand unify your Church against the forces of evil in this part of the world, where aggression of allforms, killings and the blood of martyrs shed even in places of worship, obscure the hope of anew life.

God of Peace and Mercy, inspire nations to transform oppression and violence into freedomand peace for the sake of the poor, the vulnerable and the broken-hearted. Help us to respect andpromote the equality and dignity of all, particularly in your Holy Land. Grant discernment toleaders and legislators, that righteousness and truth may flourish among all peoples throughoutthe world.

God our Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to yearn through prayerfor the coming of your Kingdom. You are able to accept in us what we cannot acknowledge; toname in us what we cannot bear to speak of; to hold in your memory what we tried to forget.

Teach us to pray together to resist the evil and oppression by our non-violent actions and love forone another. May your Son’s earthly life be the model for our own, as we recognize yourpresence and guidance through all our joys and tribulations.

We pray these in the name of the Risen Lord, and in the power of His Spirit. Amen.


 Heads of Churches in Jerusalem
Statement Concerning
Upcoming Palestinian UN Statehood Bid

Looking toward the upcoming Palestinian UN Statehood Bid, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem released a statement last week (Sept. 12). We invite you to read the statement below:

Looking ahead to the upcoming General Assembly of the United Nations in this September 2011 and the bid for Palestinian statehood, the Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem feel the need to intensify the prayers and diplomatic efforts for peace between Palestinians and Israelis, see this as the most appropriate time for such an opportunity, and thus wish to reiterate the following principles upon which we agree: 

• A two-state solution serves the cause of peace and justice
• Israelis and Palestinians must live each in their own independent states with peace, security and justice, respecting human rights, according to international law.
• Negotiations are the best way to resolve all outstanding problems between the two sides.
• Palestinians and Israelis should exercise restraint, whatever the outcome of the vote at the United Nations.
• Jerusalem is a Holy City to the followers of all three Abrahamic faiths, in which all people should be able to live in peace and tranquility, a city to be shared by the two peoples and the three faiths.  

Thus, we call upon decision makers and people of good will, to do their utmost to achieve the long awaited justice, peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians so that the prophecy of Prophet David is lived again:

"Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.”
(Ps. 85: 10)

From Fred & Gloria Strickert
http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/

September 20

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/
by Fred & Gloria Strickert

September 20 is a day circled on most calendars around here.

On September 20, the Palestinian Authority will officially request the United Nations for recognition of Statehood.  As of this first week in September, no one really knows what will come of this bid for statehood.

• Celebration that non-violence wins out in the end?
• Suppression by the military powers of the world?
• Frustration that gives way once again to extremism?

Currently, two-thirds of the world's nations are on record in support of Palestinian statehood. Yet after 63 years of the Israeli state, the word from Tel Aviv is No, and as for the USA, the world's public advocate for democratic values and non-violence. . . .  well, we'll just have to wait until September 20.

September 20.

It seems like we've been down this road before. Only it was September 16. And the year was 1975.

September 16.

Then it was the nation of Papua New Guinea declaring Independence and seeking recognition from the UN and the world community of nations.  Only it was 1975.  September 16, 1975.

It's hard to believe that it was 36 years ago when Gloria & I were just ready to begin our ministries with a six-year position in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea.

It was just about this time of September in 1975, with tickets in hand, when the phone call came from our global mission sending agency informing us that our departure date had been postponed.

"We have some concerns," they said. "It's too unpredictable."

This independence thing. This statehood thing.

Mind you we had moved out of our apartment, having sold or given away most of our belongings, and were living out of a suitcase with Gloria's family in Nebraska, where the tall corn grows.

"Just another month," they said.  "After independence--September 16."

We made it just fine, Gloria, I, and our two year old daughter Angela.



We arrived in Papua New Guinea the first week of October, 1975--after independence--after September 16.
The stories we heard were fascinating.

• Some Australian government workers, NGOs, and missionaries had deserted the country, convinced that the door was now open for Chinese expansion, leap-frogging South-east Asian islands to invade and conquer the Australian continent.
• Others, missionaries included, slept with suitcases packed under their beds and ready to go at a moments notice.
• But most spoke wisely, "It's not about us!  Shouldn't we be supporting the local people in this historic day?"

All that was soon forgotten as we watched the lives of Papua New Guineans unfold in amazing ways now in control of their own destinies.

And we were priviledged to accompany them.
Six years later as we stood at the airfield to return to the states, among our biggest regrets was not being in PNG on that historic September 16.


September 20, 2011

Now we await September 20, 2011 -- an equally historic day.

 Palestinians seeking statehood by peaceul means, seeking fulfillment of

• a dream planted by T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia) nearly a century ago when Britain sent him with promises of self-determination in return for throwing off the yoke of Ottoman rule;
• a whole series of reports in the 1930s, like the Peel commission, that sought a solution to Europe's problems by finding a homeland for Jews in a predominantly Arab land;
• the Nov. 29, 1947 United Nations Partition vote that sought to create two nations side by side;
• the Camp David accords of Jimmy Carter fame which established peace for Israel with Egypt conditioned on promises of a West Bank State;
• the Oslo Accords of 1993 that demanded Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel as the starting point of a process expecting reciprocity in return;
• and hundreds of other diplomatic initiatives that always hit a dead end.

Why so many delays?  Why the wait?  Why is it that the powerful of the world are so reluctant to share power?

Spin doctors and politicians have always placed blame in one direction
although it would seem logical that a two-state solution
would assume failures on two sides and blame on two sides,
as well as accomplishments and achievments on two sides,
concessions and sacrifices on two sides,
responsibilities and assurances on two sides,
for the benefit, well-being, prosperity, and security of two sides
to be celebrated simultaneously by two sides
because the fiuture of the two sides is ultimately one.

Ultimately it is not ours to decide whether or not the Palestinian Authority should apply for statehood on September 20.  Our role is to be here in accompaniment and to offer a little interpretation.  Click here to read a selection of articles on the CMEP website.  Click here to see links to a few stories in the local media this week.
Why is it that so many Americans view the Palestinian situation so differently than do much of the rest of the world?  Who knows?  But perhaps it has something to do with cornfields (that's where the presidential candidates are hanging out these days.)  Cornfields?

Cornfields and terraced hillsides


Cornfields? Really? When driving on Interstate 80 across Iowa or Nebraska, all those rows of corn merge together so that it's easy to forget they are individual stalks spaced 30 inches apart.


How often is it that people approach the situation here with a bit of historical amnesia, forgetting the many life-shaping events that have taken place over the last century or more, such as all those unfulfilled promises of statehood, or all those events where bit by bit the land has been stripped away so that the possibility of a viable Palestinian state is slipping away.  The individual stalks of corn are lost, blurred together, and only remotely resembling the reality that exists when one stops the car and strolls through the rows.                                                                                                                                                            Palestinian farming is quite different. 

A Sunday afternoon drive north through the West Bank to Nablus or Jenin winds through a picturesque landscape of terraced hillsides following the natural contour of the land.  There each individual olive tree stands out with its own story to be told.  Just as each tree has witnessed a succession of generations with their joys and sorrows, accomplishments and tragedies, so the people of the land are not so prone to forget.

Mornings in Jenin

It has been suggested that what Palestinians have lacked is their own narrative.  Yes there are history books and political and apologetic tracts.  But a popular narrative has been missing, at least in the West.

The Kite Runner has opened eyes to the history and culture of Afghanistan.

Leon Uris' novel Exodus and the 1960 award-winning Paul-Newman-starring film did that for our generation about Israel. 

Yes, they are both fiction, but fiction has a way of taking a complicated issue and making it manageable.  It also has the capacity of drawing the reader into empathy with the other, helping one to listen to the other side of the story.  If there's one thing that's been missing in the western media, it's been empathy.

We've both recently read the novel Mornings in Jenin and recommend it highly. It  tells the story of four generations of a refugee family from Jenin-- the largest Refugee Camp in Palestine -- beginning in 1941 in the village of Ein Hod, (now home to an Israeli artists colony) near Haifa. The story is told  through the eyes of the family patriarch's granddaughter Amal-- spelled in Arabic  with a double "A" meaning "the strongest hope."  Besides helping to understand the conflict, Mornings in Jenin opens a window to Palestinian culture and to Islam as it is commonly practiced.                                                                         

Susan Abulhawa, the author, was born into a refugee family in Jenin and now makes her home in Pennsylvania.  Click here to read more about the book.                                                             Check out Amazon and Barnes Noble online for info.

In Mornings in Jenin  each olive tree tells the story it has witnessed through the generations and refuses to forget.

Each olive tree will be there to witness what develops on September 20.

by Fred & Gloria Strickert

http://walkinjerusalem.blogspot.com/