Judy and I have been asked to stay at Saint George's College in Jerusalem for another year, and after a great deal of prayer, and consultation with our daughters (who are managing our affairs in the USA), we have agreed. So, Inshallah (Arabic for God Willing), we will be spending 2015 here in the Holy Land.
I will continue to serve as the College Chaplain, and Judy will continue to serve as Course Assistant. The Course Assistant role has developed as the year has moved on, and now means that Judy has picked up several responsibilities. Drawing on here years of Nursing, she has had many occasions to use her first aide skills, and to do nursing assessments for ailing pilgrims. On at least one occasion she helped the local clinic to understand the seriousness of a pilgrim's condition. Restocking the first aide kit (which I carry around with us) had become a regular part of preparing for our next group's arrival.
The Chaplain's role has evolved also, and I'm pleased to say the meditations and presentations have matured over the year. So has the partnership with our Course Director, The Rev. Dr. Rodney Aist. One of the joy's of this year has been to get to know him and to work with him. I think our 2015 courses will be stronger for the maturity on both fronts.
The Inshallah part of the whole thing seems to be the political situation here in Israel/Palestine." The 5 week war in Gaza really hit travel to this part of the world hard. The College lost a complete course in the days after some US airlines chose not to fly into Tel Aviv. Judy and I returned from a brief vacation to staff that course--the plane on which we were flying was less that half full. The streets in the Old City of Jerusalem were empty and the traffic at the venues we visit was nil. Now the tensions seem to have settled in Jerusalem. The conflict over who is to control the Haram es Sharif/Temple Mount and have the right to worship there seems to be reaching a fever pitch. The conflict over who has the right to live in East Jerusalem seems to be growing also. When we pray for Peace in Israel/Palestine and in Jerusalem, we do so knowing that peace or violence not only effect the College. Peace or violence have much greater impact on those who are trying to live here, and those who wish to worship here.
The Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land is numerically small, but the indigenous Christians and we expats try to maintain a call for reconciliation, and for peace grounded in justice. Judy has hooked me up with a recent book by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho. It is entitled The Book of Forgiving, and it is informed by the Truth and Reconciliation work done in South Africa after the fall of apartheid. I find myself wondering if the situation here is really that much more intractable than the one in South Africa.
Our main mission will remain that of seeing that pilgrims and students of Saint George's College have the best experience of the Holy Land possible. Our prayer is that they will see the land where Jesus lived, walk where he walked, and hear the scriptures in the places where the stories happened, and take it all home with them in their hearts. Our secondary mission is to pray peace into this dramatic, beautiful and troubled region.
God willing we will be here another year, serving our Lord at this wonderful institution. Please keep us in your prayers. Come see the Holy Land with us if you can.
Mike+
