We had a 6-hour wait at JFK/New York Airport, but we were back in Detroit by mid-afternoon.   Time to unpack, to get some rest and recover from jet lag.  And, for Fran, time to finish preparations for leading Sunday worship.

NOTE ABOUT READING EARLIER BLOG ENTRIES:

Blogs are set up to view the most recent entries first.  The entries from earlier on the pilgrimage are not lost.  You can find specific entries (about Bethlehem or Jerusalem, for instance) by clicking on those categories.

Or scroll way down to the bottom of the last entry that you see (May 15) until you see “Older Posts” and click there.

Once we were on our way home, we were eager to move forward, and we didn’t want to miss our flight, which was scheduled to depart Tel Aviv at 12:30 a.m. Because of the time difference (7 hours), we could leave Israel early Saturday morning and arrive in Detroit by mid-afternoon Saturday– if all went acording to plan.    Fran had a backup plan for Sunday just in case–a supply preacher with a sermon ready.

We stood in line at passport control for a very long time and then answered a lot of questions about our itinerary.   Later, when they x-rayed her bags, Israeli security pulled Sandy out of the line and took her off to a different room for questioning.  What they had seen was her metal water bottle filled with water from the Jordan River.  Eventually they let her go, and we rushed out to where George was waiting for us.

George dropped us back at the Gloria Hotel in Jerusalem, where we had stored some of our luggage.  We were able to relax there and eat a light lunch of some food we’d been carrying around, while we recharged our electronic devices.  

Then we set out to find the Arab Orthodox Women’s Cooperative (Freres St., near the New Gate), where they sell beautiful hand-embroidered items made by over 500 women in their homes to help support their families.  

Several of us bought cell-phone bags, and Fran bought a vest made by a woman in Hebron.  The special pattern has a theme of hope.  It will be her “uniform” when she takes her Power Point presentations on the road.  

Once again we were reminded that it’s a small world:  the woman at the Cooperative wanted to know how we knew of their work, and I told her that it was listed in a book (Living Stones Pilgrimage: With the Christians of the Holy Land, by Hilliard and Bailey), and that our friend Carol Hylkema had recommended them as well.  Of course the woman knows Carol, who markets some of their goods through the PalCraft organization.

The Cooperative also operates a Coffee Room and Pie House (Bint El Balad, “the Country Daughter” next door where we enjoyed  mango slushies.  

Back at the Gloria Hotel, we re-organized the contents of our luggage in preparation for the flight home, then went across the street for dinner.  

At 8:00, George arrived to drive us to the airport.  He was very concerned about the checkpoints, especially the one outside the airport, which seemed to be staffed by a civilian security company.   (Fran’s observation:  I continue to find young young people in civilian attire with big guns to be disconcerting.)

One of the learning opportunities of our pilgrimage was that of developing relationships with our Palestinian Christian guides and driver.  George was our driver for all of our time in Israel and the Palestinian territories.  

On the first few days of our time in the Holy Land, George was very prompt, pleasant, and courteous, but quiet, and we weren’t sure how much English he understood and spoke.  He seems to speak enough Hebrew to function in his work.  But our guide was doing most of the talking with us at that point and talking with George in Arabic.  

During the two weeks, we got to know one another better.  There were times when it became obvious how concerned George was for our safety and comfort.   He was normally very calm, but the increase in his stress level was apparent as we neared the airport and he coached us on what we should and should not say to the guards at the checkpoint.  Arab drivers, he said, are always pulled over at the checkpoints, and they and their passengers receive close scrutiny.  

Sure enough, we were pulled over, while cars driven by Israelis sped on by.   We sat and waited and waited, while George quietly fumed.  Eventually a young guard with a big gun came and examined our passports and asked us some questions, and we were given permission to proceed.  It could have been worse, so we were grateful.

This is part of the “matrix of control” that Jeff Halper and others describe (Jeff Halper, An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel, 2008),  a system that prevents Palestinians from having any sense of certainty about being able to go through their daily lives as planned, to be able to travel to work, to visit family, tJeff o get to worship or school, or to access medical care.  We can only imagine the toll it takes on Palestinians.

At the airport, the security was thorough, but we cleared the process faster than our group had three years ago.

Tired from the day’s travel and the stress of going through multiple security points, we waited to board our plane and hoped to be able to sleep on the flight across the Atlantic.

The King’s Highway was the main north-south trade route through Transjordan since prehistoric times. Moses was refused permission to travel on the King’s HIghway by the king of Edom. Later, the Nabateans, from their power base in Petra, used the highway to trade luxury goods between Arabia and Syria.

Nidal, our driver in Jordan, picked us up at our hotel in Wadi Musa, near Petra, and we headed north. The plan was to visit the Baptism Site and Mount Nebo and to arrive in Medeba in time to see the mosaic Holy Land map.

Crusader Castle at Shobak

Jordan River near baptism site, with Orthodox Church in background.

Several of our pilgrims renewed their baptismal vows and went wading in the water of the Jordan.  Barb and Ken are walking toward the Baptism site.  Will we ever get used to seeing soldiers guarding holy sites?  

Barb in the River Jordan.

“Wade in the water, wade in the water…
Wade in the water.
God’s gonna trouble the water.”
–Spiritual song

Sandy in the Jordan. It only took a little bit of this water to cause her some trouble at the border crossing. (Tune in to Friday's posting.)

We were all grateful that Nidal was driving instead of one of us.
There were some signs in English, but we could see how confusing it could have been for us– not to mention the hairpin curves and the very high elevations.

View from high up in the mountains on way to Mount Nebo.

A series of mountain peaks 9 km northwest of Madaba are generally referred to collectively as Mount Nebo, where Moses finally saw the Promised Land after leading the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. 

One of the things we observed on our pilgrimage is how much Christians like to build churches and monuments at holy sites and how we claim the sites for a particular Christian tradition or for Christians. We saw Muslims visiting Mount Nebo, which has significance for them and for Jews as well.

Modern bronze sculpture of Moses' staff

Orientation sign on Mt. Nebo.

The visibility wasn’t very good when we were at Mt. Nebo.  We could vaguely see Jericho.

View from Mt. Nebo

Another view from Mt. Nebo

Chickens and turkeys on Mt. Nebo

We made it to Madaba just in time to see the famous Byzantine era mosaic map on the floor of St. George’s Church before it closed for the evening.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to see the other mosaics and sights there.  

This section of the Byzantine era mosaic map shows Jerusalem.

St. George's Church in Madaba

We enjoyed our dinner in the courtyard of Haret Jdoudna, which is reputed to be the best restaurant in town.  After dinner, we had Bible study on the story of Jesus’ baptism (Mark’s version).

The wireless connection at the Madaba Inn was the fastest we’d had during the whole pilgrimage, and it was available in the room!   Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right electrical adapters for Jordan, so I couldn’t work too long before running out of  battery power on the laptop.

Tomorrow we begin our journey home.

The pictures don’t do it justice:

Entrance to the Siq at Petra

The Siq

The "Treasury" at Petra

Petra Theater

Barb and Ken on the donkeys they rode up to the "Monastery"

As soon as we cleared the border, our new driver took us to Amman, where we had an appointment to meet with Doug Dicks, our Presbyterian mission coordinator for Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. He wanted to hear about what our group had been experiencing, and we had a very informative conversation. He has worked in the region for years and has a wealth of valuable insights.

After our meeting with Doug, we headed south on the Desert Highway, to Wadi Musa. Our hotel is a short walk from the Visitor Center at Petra. We will set out as early as possible in the morning to see as much as we can in the limited amount of time we have.

Time to rest up for Petra. Shall I walk up? Ride a donkey part way? Looking forward to a new adventure.

By that time we were hungry, so we found the falafel restaurant where John, our first guide, had taken us. There was a large group of mostly young adults eating there. We asked them where they were from, and they told us they were from Princeton Theological Seminary. “Class of 1990!” Fran said, beaming.

One of their leaders is Gordon Mikoski, who graduated a year before Fran from PTS.

Sandy asked if anyone in the group was from Michigan. Matt grew up in Grosse Pointe and is under care of Presbytery of Detroit. He will be going to First Presbyterian Church / Ann Arbor in a few months and will come before the presbytery in August. Once again, small world!

In contrast to how many crowds we saw in the Galilee and in Jerusalem, we didn’t really see any tourists in Bethlehem except the group from Princeton.

We went to a shop on Manger Square that had been recommended and discovered that it was one where Fran had shopped three years ago. The shopkeeper was very glad to see us! In the course of the conversation, he said that yesterday he had only 2 or 3 customers and had less than $10 worth of sales. We enjoyed visiting several shops and knowing that we were helping the economy of Bethlehem.

On the way back from Beit Sahour on the bus, we stopped at the checkpoint as we were leaving the West Bank. Everybody had to get off the bus and get in line to show the Israeli soldiers their ID. Four of the passengers were told to get back on the bus, but the soldiers held their blue IDs for awhile, while we all waited on the bus. After awhile, the soldiers gave the four IDs to the bus driver to return to the people, and we were able to proceed to Jerusalem. The process took about twenty minutes. This is a part of everyday life for people who live in the West Bank.

Naim, our guide, picked up Ken, Barb, Sandy, and Fran at the hotel, and we walked to the Wailing Wall. George, our driver, had picked up Jim and Addie earlier to drive them to the Galilee to visit some of the holy sites they missed when Jim was sick.

As we neared the area, we heard the stirring sounds of drums and tambourines and singing and blasts from shofars and saw a procession that included a group of men and boys under a moving canopy. They we apparently on their way to the Wailing Wall for a Bar Mitzvah. During the time we were in the area, we heard a series of such processions make their way to the Wall.

We went through the security (including metal detectors) to enter the Wailing Wall. Ken went into the men’s side, while the rest of our group went into the smaller women’s side. We saw some women seated and reading at reading desks along the right side. Along the wall that separated the men’s and women’s side, there were plastic chairs, and women were climbing up on the chairs to look over the wall at the ceremony that was taking place on the men’s side and to take photos.

Up at the Wailing Wall on our side, there were women praying, some weeping. Some were placing little pieces of paper in the cracks of the wall. Sandy had a little baggie of prayers from the kids in her Community Bible Study class, and we had a bag of prayers that people had written at the April presbytery meeting. We placed each of the prayers into cracks in the wall.

Sandy and Barb place our prayers in cracks in the Wailing Wall.

Wailing Wall: the women's side

One of the Israeli soldiers guarding the Wailing Wall

Later we visited the archeological park that is south of the Western Wall.

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem– built as a city that is bound firmly together….
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers….”
Psalm 122

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
May all of God’s people live in justice and peace.
Shalom…salaam…peace.

(Photos will be posted later.)

Fran was excited that the congregation sings Yarabba ssalami, apparently as a regular part of the service.  This is a song she started learning recently in Arabic on pilgrimage to the Iona Community.  

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam,

yarabba ssalami im la’qulubana salam

(God of peace, rain peace upon us, fill our hearts with peace.)

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam,

yarrabba ssalami im’nah biladana ssalam.

(God of peace, rain peace upon us, give our land peace.)

Following the worship service, we went to the fellowship time and enjoyed some of the other worshippers.  

There was a special historical celebration scheduled for that afternoon, so there was a display of historic photographs on the veranda.    During the fellowship time, Naim, our guide, pointed to a photograph of a confirmation class.  It was his confirmation class from 1948.  He was also proud to show us his father and godmother in several of the historic photographs.

We met with the Rev. Mark Holman, intern Michael Powell, and Terry Finseth, who shared their perspectives on ministry and mission in the Holy Land.

Mike Powell, Rev. Mark Holman, Terry Finseth at Luther Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem.

One of the issues they discussed was the work permits Palestinians are required to have to travel to work.  If someone from a neighboring town like Bethlehem is able to get a permit to work in Jerusalem, it is common for them to have to get up at 3:30 to be at work by 7:00, even though it is only around six kilometers away.  This is because of  delays caused by the checkpoints.  

Some workers used to stay overnight in Jerusalem some of the time to save travel time, but regulations have changed recently.   Workers must leave Jerusalem by 7:00 p.m., which is now documented by hand prints.

The  pastor told us that the custodian at Church of the Redeemer, a “faithful Muslim man” who lives in Beit Jala, used to spend the night in the church to be ready for  a busy day, like today when multiple services and a special celebration were scheduled.  

In the afternoon we went to West Jerusalem to visit B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, and hear about their work.

We asked what B’Tselem means, and our speaker said it means “in the image.”  He went on to say “All persons are created in the image of God.”  Therefore, all persons should be treated accordingly.

B’Tselem monitors human rights abuses and reports them.  They press the Israeli government for accountability.

Two years ago they distributed digital cameras to “hot spots,” which has been an effective way to document beatings and other human rights violations.

Naim, our guide, met us at the hotel and we walked around the walls of the Old City to the Sheep Gate.  We made our way through the Old City to the Pool of Bethsaida, where one can see six layers of building up in the ruins.

 

Ruins of Pool of Bethsaida (Bethesda)

 

Nearby is the Church of St. Anne, which has amazing acoustics.  A group of pilgrims were singing chants while we were there.  Fran kept wishing they would sing something she knew so she could sing too, because it sounded so beautiful.

Then we walked the Via Dolorosa.  At each of the Stations of the Cross, after Naim gave us the background information, we read meditations written by Palestinian Christian leaders for that station.

Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa: This sculpture depicts one of the times Jesus fell under the weight of theue cross.

We took a lunch break at Papa Andreas’ Restaurant.  The view of the Old City from the rooftop, where we ate, is wonderful.  We could see the domes of the Holy Sepulchre Church, the tower of Holy Redeemer Lutheran, and the Omar Mosque nearby, and we could hear the chiming of church bells and the Muslim Call to Prayer.

After lunch we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  There were people there from many parts of the world– Christians, Muslims, Hindus that we could recognize, all very respectful and reverent of being in this holy place.

The crowd waited in line to go down to the holy sepulchre. The crowds were larger than usual because the church was closed when the Pope was here.

It was so crowded we couldn’t get good photos.  

We climbed the steep spiral steps to Golgotha and waited in line.  Under the altar table at Golgotha there is a hole one can reach into to touch the hole in which the cross had been placed.  There was so much noise from the crowds that Fran wanted to be more centered, so she got under the altar table, she quietly sang a verse of “Were you there when they crucified our Lord?”

After lunch at Notre Dame, we went back to the Mount of Olives to walk down the Palm Sunday Road.  We didn’t have enough time when we were there earlier, and we wanted to have time to meditate and pray at the various sites.

Sandy was heard to say, “Jesus, you didn’t tell me it was so steep!”

Palm Sunday Road: Naim, our guide, Addie, Sandy, Barb.

We visited Dominus Flevit, which marks the place where Jesus wept over the city on his way down the Palm Sunday Road:  

“As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’”  –Luke 19:41-42

Dominus Flevit Chapel

That evening the group did Kaleidoscope Bible study on Luke 19:42-44.

Window at Dominus Flevit which overlooks the city of Jerusalem.