Some Pictures from our trip

Journeying to Nazareth

Sunday September 14

Today was spent journeying north from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel and Nazareth.

It was a hot day!

Caesarea Maritima is the ancient artificial seaport carved out of an intentionally chosen poor site by Herod the Great – a way to prove his enormous power – that he could even control nature. The remnants of the original artificial mole can be seen below the water – a truly remarkable achievement.

It is here that Pontius Pilate and a full Roman legion – 10,000 men – made their home, and from here that Pilate journeyed up to Jerusalem – into the back country, the hot, dry, dusty desert – three times a year for the three Jewish festivals, of which Passover was the most important.

And we even took time for a little paddling in the Mediterranean!

From here we drove to Nazareth, in the Galilee region. In the time of Jesus Nazareth was a ‘no-name’ hamlet – one of many that dotted the region close to the regional capital of Sepphoris.

Our home for the next three days is the Convent of the Sisters of Nazareth, a French order that established itself in Nazareth in 1882. Their wonderful convent is located a stone’s throw from the Roman Catholic Church of the Ascension – the largest basilica in the Holy Land.

Today was another amazing day - beginning cooler than the previous three, ending hotter! In between we were blessed to visit the Mount of Olives, the Chapel on that hill called Dominus Flevit (literally "The Lord Wept"), the Cave and Garden of Gethsemane, and, in the afternoon, the Western (Wailing) Wall, and St. Peter Gallicantu (St. Peter and the Rooster).

The view from the Mount of Olives is always impressive - its where all the traditional pictures of the Old City are taken from - and it marked the beginning of our journey along the first part of the Palm Sunday route. Jesus had left his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, in Bethany, on the eastern slopes of the Mount, and journeyed down the hill, across the Kidron Valley, and through the Golden Gate - to be used only by the coming King - into Jerusalem.

We did a part of that journey. And on the way we stopped Dominus Flevit - where Jesus wept over Jerusalem,

and then at the Cave of Gethsemane - the place Jesus actually spent his last night of freedom - and then went the fifty yards ("a stone's throw" the gospels say) to the Garden where he was most likely arrested.














It was a profound experience. We read passages from the gospels and prayed as we journeyed, getting closer and closer to a sense of Jesus' presence with us as we did so.









In the afternoon we visited the Western (wailing) Wall. Since today is Shabbat (Sabbath) there was almost no one there. It was an opportunity to pray, and to leave prayers in the cracks between the enormous blocks that made up the wall.














Finally we went to St. Peter Gallicantu, so called because it commemorates Peter's triple denial of Jesus "Before the Cock crows".
This site is claimed to be the site of the High Priest Caiaphas' house, and there is much archaeological evidence to this claim, including holding cells, and a punishment station beneath what was a large residence.

We have been learning that "religious sites move" to accommodate a large number of pilgrims, so its always a wonderful moment when we realize we are really standing on a genuine place identified in the gospels!

Tomorrow we head for Nazareth. At last report there is no Internet access, so this will be the last post for a couple of days.

Today's itinerary ended up being changed at the last minute! Today - Friday - is the last day of the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan, and over 400,000 Muslims headed for the Temple Mount to celebrate the last Holy Day of this profound time. As a consequence, most streets around the Old City were closed to vehicle traffic because the Israeli authorities wanted to make sure there was no trouble. There were armed Israeli police everywhere, and we simply would not have had access to the sites we intended.

So we learned something important for our faith - what Jerusalem was like at Passover in Jesus' time. In the first century Jerusalem's population was about 30,000. At Passover (and the other two festivals, Pentecost and Booths) upwards of 150,000 pilgrims showed up. So did a couple of Roman cohorts - about 500 men in full battle armor - to keep the peace. And the Roman Governor, of course - and the message? "Don't mess with us". Seeing the same message sent 2,000 years later was enough to give some of us goose-bumps! And tomorrow, when we walk from the Mount of Olives down to Gethsemane - reminiscent of Palm Sunday with it's peace-based counter-procession by Jesus to the "Don't mess with us" war procession of Pilate - we will remember.

So this was a gift to us - irritating, but informative.

So what did we do? We went to visit places outside of Jerusalem. We visited the cave in which John the Baptist was said to have been born.

















We visited Bethlehem itself, and another cave, the cave where Jesus was said to have been born.

In that process we had some wonderful encounters - each involving singing. The Franciscan chapel at the Shepherds' Field wasl designed to resemble the shepherds' tent and has wonderful acoustics. And so we sang! We sang "Silent Night". Another group - from Puerto Rico - came in as we were singing, and when we were done they began singing "Silent Night" in Spanish. Gradually our group began humming along - a profound and moving experience of Christian fellowship.

And - of course - we went into the cave below the Church! Caves, as we are discovering, are really central to our faith.














From there we went to Bethlehem proper, and Manger Square, to visit the Church(es) of the Nativity. Like many sites in the Holy Land there are actually two Churches attached to each other - Eastern and Western rite Churches (or, to put it another way, Orthodox and Roman Catholic).














Both churches share the Cave below each which, it has been claimed from the 4th Century, is the birth site of Jesus.














Once again we sang carols in the cave, and once again another group - this time Russian Christians - responded with another.

So the overwhelming feeling of this day was ecumenical - of Christians coming together from all over the world and celebrating our common faith - what a joy.

Thursday proved to be a quite remarkable day! We began with worship - a pattern we have repeated throughout the day. In fact we have framed what we have done with worship - beginning with Morning Prayer, pausing for bible readings, noon day prayer, and, finally, Compline.

Following Morning Prayer we heard a breath-taking presentation from Dr. Ali Qleibo, a Muslim anthropologist about the different religious narratives that overshadow Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Then it was off the the Temple Mount where (after standing in one of the many lines we encountered) we met Dr. Ali again and he shared some of the history of this remarkable site where the First and Second Temples were built, and where the Dome of the Rock Mosque now stands. It is the only part of Jerusalem that Israel still recognizes as being a part of Jordan, a kind of Muslim Vatican City.




We then walked the short distance to St. Anne's Crusader Church, a building with some of the best acoustics anywhere, and sang from the Hymnal 1982 three hymns, the most moving being "Jesus Christ is Risen Today".

A group of pretty hungry pilgrims then headed back to St. George's for lunch! An hour later we were off again, this time to the Israel Museum to view the stunning scale model of 1st Century Jerusalem. Seeing the model helps understand in much greater detail the Jerusalem of Jesus' time, and especially what the Temple looked like (see picture below).
It seemed impossible, but our experiences continued to deepen - we walked through the "New Gate" into the Christian Quarter of the old City and down to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.





We began in the depths, in the ancient quarry which contained both the bad rock left by the quarry owners that formed Golgotha, the skull-shaped rock used as an execution site by the Romans. We then followed this seam of reject rock up to Golgotha itself. We ended our day entering an area at the rear of the Sepulcher containing a traditional 1st century tomb - exactly the sort of tomb that would have belong to Joseph of Arimathea....!

What a day!

Tommorow - because it is the last day of Ramadan (and thus Jerusalem is largely closed) we

We made it! After a trouble-free but VERY long trip, which from take-off in Seattle to touchdown in Tel Aviv took 18 hours, we finally arrived at St. George's College in East Jerusalem.



















Following a brief introduction we were fortunate to meet John Peterson, former dean of St. George's College, former Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, and currently Canon at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., who happens to be here at the same time as we are.

John sent his greetings to everyone in the Diocese of Jerusalem, and as an alumnae Dean of the College sent his thanks for the support the Diocese of Olympia has given to the ministry of St. George's.























And then - at 8:15 P.M. local time t was off a brief walk down to the Damascus Gate to get a 'feel' for where we are. It's still Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the decorations are up and - since it was after sunset - many Muslims were out breaking their fast - a real festive atmosphere.






























The pictures are of the group at SEATAC, waiting for the walk to the wall, at the Damascus Gate, and relaxing afterward.

Tomorrow we go to the Western (Wailing) Wall, up onto the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock Mosque), St. Anne's Crusader Church, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - a very full day!

Old CityJerusalem from the Mount of Olives

In Just a few days 29 Episcopalian Christians from Whidbey Island, Camano Island, Bellevue and the Olympic Peninsula - all in western Washington State - will depart for the journey of a lifetime to the Holy Land.

This Blog is a record of their adventures! You can click on any image and get a larger version of the picture you see here. Use your browser's 'back' key to return here.

The story begins at St. George's Anglican College and Cathedral, located just north of the Old City in Jerusalem. On the right you can see a picture of the garden at St. George's, with the Guest House immediately to the left.

The journey will include visits to the Old City itself, to Bethlehem, to Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and many points in-between.


But first, we have to get there! We leave from Seattle on Tuesday, September 9, flying on Delta via Atlanta to Tel Aviv, Israel, arriving in the late afternoon the following day - no doubt all ready for a good night's sleep.

Check back often for updates on what the pilgrims are doing!