Sunday, September 29, 2013

Hello all!
I apologize in advance for not posting any blogs for a couple of days. We have been very busy walking around the old city of Jerusalem, going to Bethlehem and seeing other churches and sites around this amazing area. It is such an interesting land, and today I went through the Tower of David Museum, a place which tells the history of this place from the time of the Canaanites to the present. It was an enlightening time, which helped to realize how very complicated the history and background of this city is!
        Since my last post we have visited Bethlehem and the church of the Nativity, Manger Square, the Shepherd's Field; We watched the Jews walk through the streets of the Muslim Quarter to Temple for Shabbath and witnessed some rock throwing and a little bit of tension, but overall it was just a weird interaction of cultures. We went to West Jerusalem last night to a sports bar called, "The Lion's Den" that was trying to be very "US-like". They had burgers - since they keep kosher, there was no cheese for the burgers, but mine had a fried egg on top! We watched the Reds get beat by the Pirates, but the OSU/Wisconsin game was not on until about 2:00 a.m. last night, so I had to find out the score when I got up.
        This morning we worshiped with the English speaking congregation at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, a church built by Kaiser Wilhelm in the late 1800's. The clergy couple who serve there now is from Ohio - Marty and Angela Zimman - I used to be a colleague in the Springfield area with Marty's father, Pastor Bill Zimman, and Marty also is friend with Pastor Bill Diehm, my colleague at St. John Lutheran in Oak Harbor. It was a great worship time, and we enjoyed some fellowship over tea afterward. Wednesday evening we may go to a member of the church's house for a fellowship gathering  - volleyball and potluck - on the Mt. Of Olives.
        Tomorrow morning we are arising very early for a busy two days: we drive to Qumran, the place of the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls, to Masada, and to the Dead Sea. Of course, we all plan on floating on the sea there. We will go over into Jordan and travel to Petra, staying tomorrow night at the Petra Guest House. On Tuesday, we will "do Petra" - we have heard that there is a lot to see and a lot of walking involved. I was there 26 years ago, but I do not remember everything involved.
        Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. We are all feeling safe and secure wherever we go, although when we walked through a busy market yesterday, Jim (who was in back) emerged with all of the  zippers on his backpack undone and $100 missing. Hoping that is the worst thing that happens!!
Peace- Ralph
The spot under the altar of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where they believe Jesus was born.

Sitting outside with some new, young Jewish and German friends.

Some of the boys that followed us around the Batala Refugee Camp in Nablus.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

A great day with a lot of walking

Yesterday the weather was beautiful and my companions and I walked many miles together. The journey took us up and down and around the old city, out the Zion Gate to Mount Zion, and down the Kidron Valley. We stopped in the Dormition Abbey along the way, one of the spots where the Virgin Mary is said to be buried (or was she assumed into heaven??). Highlights of the day: I got a chance to revisit my High school French language skills when we visited the church of St. Peter, a French church built where Caiaphas' house was, focusing on his denial and the "singing" of the rooster. St. Stephen's on the site where the first martyr was stoned; arriving at the Garden of Gethsemane just in time for it to close for lunch; meeting a man and his wife and four young children (we sang happy birthday to the youngest as he turned one year old yesterday) who came to Israel, rented a car and have been touring themselves for two weeks (that takes a lot of courage, I think!); John being persistent in getting us into the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives as well as into the church at the Lutheran World Federation, "Augusta Victoria" compound, there LWF runs a hospital which is one of the only places for Palestinians to receive things like dialysis and chemotherapy. Lutherans have a good reputation there! "Oh you are Lutherans? Then you are our brothers!"
        We closed the day with a wonderful meal at the Ecce Homo convent (where we had hoped to have stayed, but there is a large group already there) and some social time. There was so much more that we did and churches that we saw and pictures that I took, but that can wait for another time. Below you will see just a few shots from the beginning of our trip. Dinner our first night here, the view from our hotel's rooftop garden, and a looking up the Via Dolorosa.



Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The beginning of our Pilgrimage

Salaam and Shalom,
After a long but smooth travel experience from Columbus to Israel through JFK airport in New York City, my travelling companions and I arrived yesterday in Jerusalem and are comfortable at the Al Hashimi hotel inside the walls of the old city. We had a "political tour" scheduled for most of today beginning at 10:00 a.m. with Abu - he spoke passionately about the situation here from the perspective of the Palestinian people who are constantly harassed, inconvenienced, and are slowly being driven out of their own neighborhoods. It was very sad.
        We began our day with a self-guided tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditionally held site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The crowds were very low - we were able to see a lot and take many pictures. I will post some on the blog soon.
        We are very thankful for the people that we are meeting along the way - hotel staff who are so kind, wait staff at restaurants, drivers who excel in squeezing vans through tiny spaces on crowded streets, and local men, women and children of all faiths whose lives are not so much unlike our own. The Jewish festival of Succoth, or "Festival of the Booths" is coming up, which explains why there are a lot of Jewish pilgrims here. I just hope and pray for the day when the peace of God overcomes hatred and death.
Until next time - Pastor Wolfe