We are back home in Upland and settling into a routine....of sorts. We are still processing all our experiences in Israel and living at Tantur. Holy Week truly was a meaningful week in our lives as we participated in a Matins service at Tantur led by our Rector Father Tim Lowe, an Eastern Orthodox priest. It was a beautiful service of hymns and liturgy sung by him, his wife, his daughter and his son-in-law. What lovely acapella harmony! I asked Tim, the son-in-law, what happens if the priest cannot sing? He said, "It can be difficult," but the choir or a small set of singers certainly can enhance the service. The words were beautiful and as the Tantur community sat in the chapel our hearts were touched as we listened and worshipped together.
On Good Friday evening we went to Jerusalem University College for their annual Triclenium Dinner put on by the class in Cultural Backgrounds. This dinner is set on very low tables while the guests sit on the floor. The tables are arranged in a U-shape and is reminiscent of the Passover Supper the Lord shared with his disciples on that fateful Friday. The students came dressed in "Roman" attire and feet were washed before the guests entered the serving room. Some of the students were our servers and we banqueted on dried fruit, nuts, a type of stew that we dipped into with our flat bread, some vegetables and a dessert of sweet cake. JUC's Director, Dr. Paul Wright, spoke during the dinner and read scripture describing that special night, suggesting where Jesus, Peter, John and Judas may have sat in light of the questioning that occurred and overall set the tone for the evening and took on the role of the host. It was a very moving and powerful experience for all of us. Dr. Wright is certainly gifted in his ability to relive what that evening was like. It was a memorable time. We shared this experience with Jacob, our grandson, last year at this time so it was particularly special for us to be back in Jerusalem and relive that week Jacob shared with us.
Passover overlapped with Holy Week again this year so Jerusalem was packed. Some of the traffic was redirected, schools were out and we could see children with their families dressed in their new outfits for Passover. It's really a joyous time for the Jewish people and restaurants and stores were crowded.
Easter Sunday morning we worshipped at the Garden Tomb with three friends we met at Tantur--one from Ireland and two from Sweden. It was a beautiful service and our Irish friend described the music as "Very lively." The pastor for the service there had a roll call of the various continents that were represented. What a joy to see these believers from all over the world. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and the service is held outside facing the empty tomb. I believe they hold about five services on Easter Sunday. We met up with our friend, Valerie Long, a student at Jerusalem University College and Taylor University graduate (a former student of Larry's) after the service and shared lunch with her at the Notre Dame Study Center in East Jerusalem. It was fun for us to hear her discuss the various thesis topics she is considering for her MA thesis. She is an amazing young woman who lived in Kenya for several years working among street children and then studied at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and for three months traveled to various churches with a team of young people sharing the video "Nefarious" about the menace of sexual trafficking among young women. What a difficult video to view but one God is using to open our eyes to the terrible plight these young women face. We returned to Tantur for a special Easter dinner among the community living there. The dining room was beautifully decorated and the meal was very special. Sister Joseph from Australia was radiant as she shared Easter greetings with everyone who was there. Our hearts have been blessed and enriched as we have met Christians from all over the world who come to Tantur on Study Groups.
Three days later we caught a very early (5:00 am) flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul then to New York City to spend four days with our daughter Alicia and family before heading back to Indiana. It was a pleasant transition and time to deal with our jet lag before we arrived home. We were particularly thankful for good neighbors when we arrived home and found that our hot water heater had been leaking while we were gone and they had turned it off for us so we did not have water problems. One of the first items on the agenda was to replace the water heater.
I am very grateful that my dear mother, Doris Smith, is once again stable after being hospitalized once while we were gone and then again on our return. We will be flying to California to spend Mother's Day with her.
This will be my last posting on this particular blog as I plan to launch a new blog on my own site in the near future. I still have work to do on it and will notify you when it is up and running. As I reflect on our recent Taylor University tour in Israel and then time at Tantur, I can honestly say I felt God's leading and direction in all the different people we met on the Tour, on field study trips with our Tantur friends, eating lunch in a Palestinian home, visiting the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, worshipping with Christians from around the world at Christ's Church and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, and being reminded again how diverse and beautiful God's children are around the world. Even though there are some doctrinal differences amongst our friends, the bond of faith in Jesus Christ binds us all together and gives me a hint of what it will be like when Jesus returns in all His glory and we are truly One in Him.
Joyce Helyer's Blog
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
Holy Week in Israel--Part I
I've said it before but I must say it again, Israel and life at Tantur has been fascinating. I'm so grateful for these past four weeks and the variety of our experiences.
Holy Week for us began on Palm Sunday as we joined others from Tantur for the bus ride over to Bethphage and the walk down the Mt. of Olives. It was sunny and warm but not hot. We joined thousands of other pilgrims seeking to walk the path Jesus took with his disciples before he began the momentous events of what we call today "Holy Week." I waved and carried my Palm branch like many others. It was quite a festive time with pilgrims from all over the world singing, some playing musical instruments, some carrying banners and others praying. Luke 19:28-44 vividly describes the "first" Palm Sunday, and as I walked down the Mt. of Olives and saw the city of Jerusalem and where the Temple would have been, I reflected on these verses. I was moved as I thought of Jesus weeping as he saw the city of Jerusalem and knew the destruction that would be coming in 70 AD to this beloved place. They had rejected him and he was preparing himself for this last week of his earthly life. I, too, prayed for this city that the eyes of their hearts would be opened to Jesus, their Messiah.
Palm Sunday Procession--March 24, 2013.
Monday began with a bus ride to the King David Hotel to meet my artist friend, Annie, for coffee. Annie moved to Israel in 1965 from Belgium and I met her in 2010 during our semester at Jerusalem University College. When I arrived at the hotel they would not let me in at first because it was Passover week and they had a sign posted that only hotel guests could enter. I explained to the guard at the door that I was meeting a friend here and she said she was sorry but could not let me enter. I decided to wait in the walkway for Annie but after about 10 minutes I wondered if Annie was already inside the hotel terrace because she is so well known among the staff. I went back to the guard and asked if I could just go in to see if Annie was sitting on the terrace and she agreed to let me enter and "just look." Well, I was correct, and there was Annie with her coffee on the terrace. We were the only ones there at first with this wonderful view of the Hinnom Valley and looking east one can see the Mt. of Olives and in the distance the haze shrouded hills of Moab in Jordan. I noticed some smoke in the air and a strong odor and some of the staff were engaged in burning the "Chametz." At the start of Passover, every Jewish household (or most of them) clear their homes of any yeast because during Passover (Pesach) you only eat unleavened bread. In some homes it becomes a game as the "Papa" of the house goes on a search with a feather in his hand (to sweep up the small crumbs) and a wooden spoon (to hold the Chametz) and a paper bag to hold everything as you burn it all. The children love this part because the "Mama" of the household usually leaves some Chametz around for the "Papa" to find. There is a prayer that is said and it varies in households and businesses but then it is burned outside. The King David Hotel symbolically had searched and then burned the Chametz outside near the Terrace and that was what I was smelling. On the way to the hotel I walked by a group of men who had gathered together with their prayer books and their Chametz and were burning it in what I call a burn barrel on the sidewalk! Sooooo interesting to me.
Annie and me on the Terrace at the King David Hotel.
I mentioned to the waiter that he must have had a very busy time with President Obama's visit last week. He said, "Oh it will really get busy this week because of Pesach." Some roads are closed at different times this week and traffic is limited in certain areas. I have seen crowds of ultra-orthodox Jewish families walking the streets and going to the Western Wall to pray in the Old City. The children are dressed in their new clothes and the baby carriages are out with everyone enjoying the good weather we are experiencing. Larry and I met our former tour guide, Pamela, for tea on Wednesday in Mamilla Mall and it was very crowded as we stood in a line to order at a very popular restaurant in the mall. As we sat there, we could see all the families walking by and others enjoying ice cream and being out of school and some businesses close during this week. Larry and I had a sandwich that was made without any leaven and it tasted great to us.
Last week we also had the privilege of going on a field study with the new Study Group here and we climbed the Herodion just out of Bethlehem. The Herodion is the location for one of King Herod's palaces and where his mausoleum was built. There is a wonderful exhibit at the Israel Museum of all of Herod's palaces with some of the items found there on display. The view from the top is amazing and it was wonderfully clear as we gazed towards the west at the Water Ridge and then south into the beginning of the desert before you get into the Negev and then east over into the Judean Wilderness area and looking across the Jordan River Valley into Jordan. His palace had been equipped with Roman baths, the "latest' in toilet facilities, and a lower pool where he even sailed small boats. This entire complex was built by slaves who, according to our guide, were usually killed after a short time because they knew where Herod's underground tunnels and secret places were located. When Sister Joseph heard this, (one of our Study Group members) she said, "But, they were still precious in God's sight." She has a heart for the poor and the downtrodden. Sister Joseph is Polish but has been teaching the Bible in Australia for 18 years and is thrilled to be here in the Holy Land for all the special services during Holy Week.
After touring the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and Shepherd's Field we finished our day with a visit to the Aida Refugee Camp on the north edge of Bethlehem and about a quarter of a mile from Tantur. We met in the Lajee Cultural Center first to hear about the living conditions in the camp and the history of the Palestinian conflict. Over Arab coffee and tea we were given the history of the camp and what life is like today. That would take me an entire blog post to explain, which I hope to do in the future. I have already written so much and we haven't even gotten to Easter as yet. That, too, will be a future posting. Larry and I will be saying good-bye to Israel and Tantur later this week. It has been an informative and inspirational time for us and personally enriching as we have made new friends. I will be posting again but may be delayed for awhile as we get back to life in Upland. I must tell you about our Triclinium dinner at Jerusalem University College and Easter at the Garden Tomb.
Photo of the dining room at Jerusalem University College set up for the Triclinium Dinner on Good Friday.
Holy Week for us began on Palm Sunday as we joined others from Tantur for the bus ride over to Bethphage and the walk down the Mt. of Olives. It was sunny and warm but not hot. We joined thousands of other pilgrims seeking to walk the path Jesus took with his disciples before he began the momentous events of what we call today "Holy Week." I waved and carried my Palm branch like many others. It was quite a festive time with pilgrims from all over the world singing, some playing musical instruments, some carrying banners and others praying. Luke 19:28-44 vividly describes the "first" Palm Sunday, and as I walked down the Mt. of Olives and saw the city of Jerusalem and where the Temple would have been, I reflected on these verses. I was moved as I thought of Jesus weeping as he saw the city of Jerusalem and knew the destruction that would be coming in 70 AD to this beloved place. They had rejected him and he was preparing himself for this last week of his earthly life. I, too, prayed for this city that the eyes of their hearts would be opened to Jesus, their Messiah.
Monday began with a bus ride to the King David Hotel to meet my artist friend, Annie, for coffee. Annie moved to Israel in 1965 from Belgium and I met her in 2010 during our semester at Jerusalem University College. When I arrived at the hotel they would not let me in at first because it was Passover week and they had a sign posted that only hotel guests could enter. I explained to the guard at the door that I was meeting a friend here and she said she was sorry but could not let me enter. I decided to wait in the walkway for Annie but after about 10 minutes I wondered if Annie was already inside the hotel terrace because she is so well known among the staff. I went back to the guard and asked if I could just go in to see if Annie was sitting on the terrace and she agreed to let me enter and "just look." Well, I was correct, and there was Annie with her coffee on the terrace. We were the only ones there at first with this wonderful view of the Hinnom Valley and looking east one can see the Mt. of Olives and in the distance the haze shrouded hills of Moab in Jordan. I noticed some smoke in the air and a strong odor and some of the staff were engaged in burning the "Chametz." At the start of Passover, every Jewish household (or most of them) clear their homes of any yeast because during Passover (Pesach) you only eat unleavened bread. In some homes it becomes a game as the "Papa" of the house goes on a search with a feather in his hand (to sweep up the small crumbs) and a wooden spoon (to hold the Chametz) and a paper bag to hold everything as you burn it all. The children love this part because the "Mama" of the household usually leaves some Chametz around for the "Papa" to find. There is a prayer that is said and it varies in households and businesses but then it is burned outside. The King David Hotel symbolically had searched and then burned the Chametz outside near the Terrace and that was what I was smelling. On the way to the hotel I walked by a group of men who had gathered together with their prayer books and their Chametz and were burning it in what I call a burn barrel on the sidewalk! Sooooo interesting to me.
I mentioned to the waiter that he must have had a very busy time with President Obama's visit last week. He said, "Oh it will really get busy this week because of Pesach." Some roads are closed at different times this week and traffic is limited in certain areas. I have seen crowds of ultra-orthodox Jewish families walking the streets and going to the Western Wall to pray in the Old City. The children are dressed in their new clothes and the baby carriages are out with everyone enjoying the good weather we are experiencing. Larry and I met our former tour guide, Pamela, for tea on Wednesday in Mamilla Mall and it was very crowded as we stood in a line to order at a very popular restaurant in the mall. As we sat there, we could see all the families walking by and others enjoying ice cream and being out of school and some businesses close during this week. Larry and I had a sandwich that was made without any leaven and it tasted great to us.
Last week we also had the privilege of going on a field study with the new Study Group here and we climbed the Herodion just out of Bethlehem. The Herodion is the location for one of King Herod's palaces and where his mausoleum was built. There is a wonderful exhibit at the Israel Museum of all of Herod's palaces with some of the items found there on display. The view from the top is amazing and it was wonderfully clear as we gazed towards the west at the Water Ridge and then south into the beginning of the desert before you get into the Negev and then east over into the Judean Wilderness area and looking across the Jordan River Valley into Jordan. His palace had been equipped with Roman baths, the "latest' in toilet facilities, and a lower pool where he even sailed small boats. This entire complex was built by slaves who, according to our guide, were usually killed after a short time because they knew where Herod's underground tunnels and secret places were located. When Sister Joseph heard this, (one of our Study Group members) she said, "But, they were still precious in God's sight." She has a heart for the poor and the downtrodden. Sister Joseph is Polish but has been teaching the Bible in Australia for 18 years and is thrilled to be here in the Holy Land for all the special services during Holy Week.
After touring the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and Shepherd's Field we finished our day with a visit to the Aida Refugee Camp on the north edge of Bethlehem and about a quarter of a mile from Tantur. We met in the Lajee Cultural Center first to hear about the living conditions in the camp and the history of the Palestinian conflict. Over Arab coffee and tea we were given the history of the camp and what life is like today. That would take me an entire blog post to explain, which I hope to do in the future. I have already written so much and we haven't even gotten to Easter as yet. That, too, will be a future posting. Larry and I will be saying good-bye to Israel and Tantur later this week. It has been an informative and inspirational time for us and personally enriching as we have made new friends. I will be posting again but may be delayed for awhile as we get back to life in Upland. I must tell you about our Triclinium dinner at Jerusalem University College and Easter at the Garden Tomb.
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