Jarod and Kamal were our tour guides in and around Jerusalem for four different days. Like most travelers, I relied upon input from others, such as tour guides, to try to make sense of ancient and contemporary Israel. These two tour guides navigated that terrain of talking about ancient Biblical times and about current, or …
Continue reading 55. Seeing with the Help of Two Tour Guides
While pilgrims may be solitary individuals like me, I suspect that most pilgrims come in groups. On the one hand, individuals in such groups may travel with a constant complainer, may hear unpleasant gossip, or may seem to be sacrificing their interests to those of others. On the other hand, individuals in a group may …
Because I wanted to read about pilgrimages to the Holy Land, I read Harry Emerson Fosdick’s 1927 work A Pilgrimage to Palestine. This work described his 1923 four-month pilgrimage in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. By 1923, Fosdick was a well-known leader of liberal Protestantism from his Riverside Drive pulpit in New York. Fosdick travels in …
Continue reading 53. Harry Emerson Fosdick’s A Pilgrimage to Palestine
During my sabbatical, I’ve asked various individuals the question. “If you could stand in front of my students, and if you had only three minutes, what would you say to them?” I’ll certainly pass on the words from four individuals who have lived and experienced Jerusalem life. As a member of the Congregation of the Holy …
Their names give these two Palestinian women away. Their names are not Palestinian Muslim names like Khadija or Laila, their names show that they are Palestinian Christians. They know anger and hate, but despite their situations, they have not given into those natural emotions. Claire is in her mid-40’s and has her husband John and …
Debbie Weissman is a “hopeful pessimist.” After hearing her speak at Tantur about Pesach, the Seder, I decided to read her recently published Memoirs of a Hopeful Pessimist: A Life of Activism in Dialogue. Dr. Weissman is an example of commitment and creativity in this region who does not fall into a rigid, self-righteousness, or …
On a Sunday night in Jerusalem, I attended the Detroit Methodist Choral group’s performance. The talented choir’s first sung lines, were “I am bound for the land of Promise….” With similar meaning, the choral group might have sung “I am bound for Jerusalem” or I am bound for the Holy Land.” While the notion of …
Continue reading 49. Early Christians’ Imaginings of Jerusalem and the Holy Land
I moved into Ecce Homo to be in the Old City during the latter part of Holy Week. Although I am close to the Tantur group, I wanted to be free to come and go whenever I wanted during these days. I could worship twice on Easter Sunday and once on Easter Monday. Before leaving …
Continue reading 48. “Close Enough:” Easter Sunday and Easter Monday in Jerusalem
When I’m with the Tantur group, I experience Holy Week through the perspective of Roman Catholics priests and laity. Among the many things I have appreciated, I have appreciated that the ecumenical mission of Tantur prompted the Roman Catholic Administrator of the Holy Lands to allow non-Catholics to receive communion in group worship. Thus, I …
Continue reading 47. “Watch Out:” Holy Thursday and Good Friday in Jerusalem
The Israeli Wall, the "security barrier," or the "apartheid wall," has been constructed since the Second Intifada in 2000. Although the Israeli government projected a Wall some 440 miles eventually, the government and its contractors have built approximately 275 miles. It varies from a concrete barrier 25 feet in height (primarily around urban areas) to …
