Stations of the Resurrection Pilgrimage
Travelogue
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April 28, 2007
Saturday
Day Four
Our tour guide Naim took us on a brief tour of the city, showing us a bit of the Jewish Quarter and Muslim Quarter.
We walked past the Western Wall and observed many Jews keeping Sabbath, praying prayers and singing chants. The scene at the wall was bustling, though along the streets shops were shuttered.
In the Muslim Quarter it was also quiet, though shopkeepers were plying their wares. We learned a bit of the significance of the Temple Mount as the third holiest site for Muslims, marking the place of the prophet Mohammed's ascension.
We ended our walk at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, built in 1898 as a gift from a Sultan to Kaiser Wilhelm and located very near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The other sites given to the Kaiser include the Church of the Ascension together with Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, and Dormition Abbey, a German Benedictine Monastery commemorating the burial of the Virgin Mary located just outside the Old City by Zion's Gate.
The Church of the Redeemer is an impressive stone structure with wonderful acoustics. Its 160 (?) -step bell tower offers a 360 degree view of Jerusalem and its surroundings. In that building, four communities gather each week to worship: Arabic, German, English-speaking, and Danish. While providing offices for the ELCJHL and Bishop Younan, it also offers Adult Day Programs and a physical therapy program.
Before leaving for the West Bank in the afternoon, the pilgrims were given time to explore and eat lunch on their own.
After lunch, we left the Lutheran Guesthouse for Beit Jala, a satellite city adjoining Bethlehem and home of the Lutheran Church of the Reformation and its program Abraham's house. In 2003, the congregation built a magnificent guesthouse which we toured with sparkling wood and tile.
We saw and heard of the impressive work on the congregation, including: a new songbook with Arabic transliterated (we sang a version of the Lord's Prayer, in Arabic!); an orphanage for about 45 boys whose home life is difficult, getting them through the school year; some experience in welcoming Muslims, Christians, and Jews together; a lovely guesthouse and youth hostel finished in 2003 (two from our group are staying there: Pastor Elaine and Michael Hewes). Their guesthouse and orphanage is called Abraham Herberge, based on the image of Abraham welcoming three strangers at the Oak Tree at Mamre and discovering God's promises through that encounter. The pastor of the congregation, Shihadeh Jadallah and an ELCA pastor from Michigan named John related much about their ministry together. Pastor Jadallah just finished a book he wrote in German about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor in Germany during World War II who was killed by the Nazis as part of the resistance. Pastor Jadallah said that like Bonhoeffer, once we are aware of God's grace, we'd better do something about it. This resonated with all of us as we are aware of the strong witness of Palestinians Lutherans who themselves are doing some things for people's lives because of God's grace.
The group gave their thanks, embarked on the bus, and headed to the guesthouse at the International Center (Lutheran) in Bethlehem, ate dinner, prayed Holden Evening Prayer, and bedded down for the night.
Tim Keyl
Christ the King Lutheran Church
Nashua, New Hampshire
Click here
to see Pastor Tim's photos of the Pilgrimage on Flickr.
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