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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
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Challenge and reward: a short visit to Israel/Palestine |
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Israel/Palestine might not be on everyone’s list of ‘must-see’ tourist destinations right now, but in fact it is an ideal time to travel in the region. In 2000 when a group from St Andrew’s (Brighton, Vic) made a pilgrimage to the region it was wall-to-wall tourists with premium prices, long queues and heavy traffic. Today, there are few tourists and whilst this is sad for the people of region, it does mean that travelling around and access to holy sites or tourist attractions is very easy, and costs are generally lower. It also means that there are some real bargains available in the suks and markets. Earlier this month I joined a group of thirty people for the Palestine of Jesus course at St George’s College, Jerusalem, one of the foremost centres for continuing education in the Anglican Communion. The group was the largest St George’s has accommodated for quite a long time and included twelve Australians with others from the USA, UK and Germany. Key elementsSt George’s College is within the campus of the Anglican Cathedral of St George in East Jerusalem, within easy walking distance of the Old City and an excellent range of shops and eating-places. College accommodation offers both single and shared rooms all with bathrooms and we found the staff cheerful and willing to make our stay as enjoyable as they possibly could. The 12-day course, one of many offered by the College, was part pilgrimage, part theological education and focused on key elements of the Gospel narrative of Jesus within the sacred landscape in which the story unfolded. In addition to well-structured lectures and discussions, the course took us to the major sites connected with the Gospel accounts including Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, Mount Tabor, the Judean and Negev Deserts, with the latter including an overnight stay in tents with a Bedouin family. We traced the Passion narratives through visits to the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Resurrection (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). In the cool of one early morning we walked the Way of the Cross (the Via Dolorosa), finishing the course with a challenge to discipleship and a journey to Emmaus where we celebrated a festive Eucharist in the Crusader period Church of a Benedictine Monastery. Saddened and angryIt is impossible to travel in this region and not be aware of the impact of the current conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Despite seeing army personnel on most street corners, and the need to pass through military checkpoints at strategic locations I do not believe any of our group ever felt in any kind of danger. We were deeply saddened to see the impact of military might on the people of the region. We were saddened and angry when we confronted the Wall of Separation that prevented us from visiting Bethany, now totally isolated from its surrounding countryside. Some of us were moved to tears with the realisation that this obscene thirty-foot [nine metre] high concrete wall and its accompanying ‘Israelis only’ multi-lane roadways more often than not separate farmers from their land, families from each other, the sick and aged from hospitals, children from schools, students from universities, Palestinian shops and businesses from customers and encroaches severely onto land previously owned and occupied by Palestinians. ShadowFor those of us who stood within the shadow of the Separation Wall (it beggars belief that some insist on calling it a FENCE!), it obviously has a lot more to do with making life as difficult as possible for the Palestinian people than it does with any issue of security.
I know I’m not alone in having found the St George’s College experience rewarding and challenging. I recommend it to others. Anyone interested in more detailed information can contact me jjmiller@bigpond.com Information about the Palestine of Jesus course, and other courses offered by St George’s College is available at http://www.stgeorgescollegejerusalem.org |
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