Get the Picture?

Travel outside your comfort zone and broaden your world view
Our family loves to travel. We have nurtured this love since our children were born. We had a plan to “see Canada” before they all left home. We travelled to all the Canadian provinces but one, and we missed the newest territory. To this day, the arrival of the new year brings about conversations of where we will travel this coming year, who is going with whom, and how long we will be gone. It’s all about seeing the world! It’s about seeing the big picture, who we are beyond our own little corner of the world.

 

My sense of adventure grew out of leaving a small north central town and moving to the big city for university. At eighteen, it was exciting, exhilarating and scary, but there were friends nearby, a local congregation to connect with, and my dad phoned often.

 

Travelling outside of my comfort zone taught me that the world was bigger than I could imagine- remember back then there was no MSN, no FACEBOOK, no text messaging. I was this human being in my own sphere, while other spheres circled around me. From my experience of seeing “the world” beyond, I learned that we are all connected to each other and we are all part of the big picture, that we don’t exist without one another, and what we say and do impacts each other.

 

That’s how it is in the church too. What we say and do affects others, affects the world, sometimes forever, and sometimes for just the moment we are in. Our synod is part of the big picture, of who the church is in the world, even if all we can see is our own congregation. We are connected to one another.

 

When an individual, through faith, gives financial resources to the local congregation, they are giving beyond their immediate world. The congregational leaders make decisions about how that money is dispersed beyond the congregation. The synod office appropriately disperses those monies. The synod council makes decisions about how the money is dispersed as well. The same happens at the national level (ELCIC) and the international level (LWF).

 

Where the system breaks down is when individuals or levels of the church do not trust the visions of the other partners in the big picture or cannot see the bigger picture. The big picture is often scary, perceived as flawed and needs work and may not be what we expect personally.

 

When I have travelled, the big picture was not always a safe place, may have been scary and sometimes not what I expected personally. In amazing ways, though, the big picture opens up new insights, new challenges, new risks that I didn’t see before. Often when we step into the bigger picture, we see ourselves and others in new and different ways. We can see a world of possibilities that weren’t there previously.

 

It is only when we refuse we go beyond ourselves that we miss these possibilities. As we look to 2009, may we see the possibilities that are beyond ourselves. May we see what the world has to offer. May we be open to new challenges, new risks.

 

God took a risk to come into our world. Are we willing to see beyond ourselves and trust that God will lead us to new adventures? Here are some ways to see beyond ourselves.

 

Read and listen to God’s word daily.

Pray for the possibilities God puts before us.
Pray for our partners in faith who share the work of God in this world.
Challenge ourselves to do one thing that takes us out of our comfort zone.
Travel to parts unknown, letting God lead.

Taken from the January/February 2009 issue of Canada Lutheran.

In the Holy Land – The Struggle for Justice and Peace

Yesterday was interesting and inspiring and depressing. The morning was spent touring some more ELCJHL schools and also their environmental education centre. There is a lot of cutting edge educational work being done, i.e. water from the bathrooms is recycled through to the botanical gardens which grows plants for various types of research. The church works with the school in providing environmental awareness but also helping the state research migration of birds which land in the gardens.

 

In the afternoon we met with the Israeli Committee against house demolition. These activists work to inform people about the effects of illegal settlements in the West Bank, the security wall and house demolitions. It is all a little discouraging to hear about.

 

Last evening we had a final worship and banquet to say thank you to the Palestinian Lutherans and also to pledge to continue to accompany them in their struggle for justice and peace.

 

Today was spent touring areas in Galilee region, including Nazareth.

 

A presentation on our study tour will be given on Monday, January 26 at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran. Please ask congregations to announce this.

 

Peace

Elaine and Rick

In the Holy Land – Olive Tree a Symbol of Hope

Today was another emotional day. We saw a Palestinian home that is completely surrounded by the Israeli security fence with a six foot area around three sides. On the other side are Israeli settlers. Settlements are illegal under article 4 of the Geneva Convention but there they are.

 

We went to the Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah. What an amazing group of students. We had conversation with Grade 10′s in our group. They are articulate, bright politically savvy youth, Muslim and Christians/ male and female studying together. It was a great story of hope being with them.

 

We experienced two checkpoints complete with soldiers carrying machine guns coming on board our bus to check passports. It was very unnerving.

 

This afternoon we planted olive trees right along a part of the Israeli security fence near Bedo. It was a symbol of our hope for the future and our solidarity with the Palestinian people who are unable to cross the wall to get to their farms.

 

Up to Jerusalem

 

In the Holy Land – A Quieter Day

Today was a quieter day. We walked to worship at Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala. The congregation is small but full of children. They sang during the offering, a very familiar song, Seek Ye First. What a wonderful sound in Arabic. We followed with the singing of the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic. It is amazing to be in a different time and place and feel so close to our own worship. 

Lutheran Church of the Reformation

 After worship we were invited to family’s homes for lunch. The Palestinians expect you to stay all day and often invite you for the night. A short visit of three hours was not enough for them but that was all we could manage with the schedule set up for us. We heard of how it takes 18 checkpoints to get to Jordan from here and we heard it takes 5 for a worker to get to Jerusalem for work each day (up to three hours each way).

 

We found that women here are highly educated but are low on the totem pole in terms of advancement and salaries. The family we visited has 8 daughters, seven have masters or PhD degrees but most are in low paying jobs. They are often disappointed at lack of employment and at least three of them are working overseas. They wish they could work here though.

 

We spent a brief time in Bethlehem Square, next to the Church of the Nativity, taking in the local scenery. Elaine bought, guess what, a nativity set.

Then we arrived at a Palestinian Tourism reception and each of us received one more as a gift. Now we have three to bring home. The reception was to build and encourage us to support tourism in Palestine as well as Israel. For every dollar we spend in the Holy Land, only 5% ends up in Palestine. Even though some countries’ travel websites discourage people from staying in the West Bank, Bethlehem and Jericho are safe sites and are certainly worth the visit. Many countries, not including Canada, now acknowledge this. 

Church of the Nativity

Part of our itinerary tomorrow is to visit Lutheran Schools, plant olive trees next to the security wall and meet with the Canadian Consulate officials. It should be an opportunity to express our concerns about the situation and Canada’s response to it.

Peace

Elaine and Rick

In the Holy Land – Where is God? Who is my Neighbour?

Yesterday we had a tour of Augusta Victoria Hospital, an LWF hospital and were inspired by the work they do. We also saw the geriatric ward that is being paid for by CLWR and CIDA. The director was most appreciative of our Canadian contributions. There is a plaque with a Canadian flag on the wall in this area.We had a very tense day today. We travelled to Hebron which is a highly conflicted area. There are about 400 Israeli settlers in a mainly Palestinian community. The army is everywhere, with plenty of checkpoints. There were some anxious moments when we had to go single file through some of those checkpoints, just as every day, most Palestinians have to do. A member of the world council of churches EAPPI team had to accompany us everywhere we went as well. We are housed in Beit Jala, right next to Bethlehem, at a place called Abraham’s House.

Augusta Victoria Hospital

Looking east from Augusta Victoria Hospital

Tonight we had a wonderful meal with ecumenical leaders in Bethlehem. Tomorrow we are off to the Church of the Reformation. We will attend worship then have a meal with a local family. It has been difficult to have much conversation with local people. We are kept tightly ordered in our groups and no one is encouraged to separate from the group. It will feel like freedom.

We also had a tour of a mosque in Hebron today. In 1992 29 people were killed by an Israeli during worship. This is a very honoured place for the local people and we were honoured to be in their place of worship. We saw the tomb of Abraham and Isaac within the mosque as well.

Please continue to pray for us as we travel and learn with our Israeli, Palestinian and American colleagues. Two questions are often asked here- Where is God? and Who is my neighbour? These are questions for all of us, so it is a wonderful experience to be in this context and talk about such things together.

 

Thanks for your prayers. We’d love to hear from all of your too.

Peace to all.

 

Elaine and Rick

In the Holy Land – Viewing the Same Events Differently

Today we spent the day in meetings with Israeli officials and guides where they shared their perspective. It is interesting to see how people view the same events differently, depending on their context. Our second purpose for this study tour was to become more fully aware of what the people in the Holy Land encounter on a daily basis. Many spoke of their dream for peace- political leaders, religious leaders, even our waiter serving us in a restaurant.

 

We were also reminded of who tends to the traumatized as a solution for peace is sought. An inter-religious council works diligently together to ensure that pastoral and spiritual care occurs for all. There are approximately 10,000 Christians in this area of the world; 30% of Israeli’s are religious Jews. But in the midst of the trauma and violence and war, these small numbers together with their Muslim neighbours are caring for one another and participating in the process for peace. Praying for peace, just as we care called to do.

In the Holy Land – The Importance of Accompaniment

It has been inspiring to meet leaders from all across North America, committed to this study tour. Being here re-emphasized the importance of accompaniment. I have been living a white middle class faith, occasionally tested but never to the point where I had to make a choice between preserving my life or taking a risk and encountering violence and perhaps death. When this study tour was arranged, there was limited peace in the Holy Land. A 2006 ceasefire assured that we would be free of violence and war, that we would be protected as we travelled. In the week before we departed Canada, that reality changed. We were no longer sure of our safety and we knew that a heightened anxiety was evident in our family. Daily we reflected on the purpose of the trip and looked to scripture to guide us. We were committed to the original purpose of the trip, my spouse and I did not waver, and we rested in that choice.

 

We knew that in making a commitment to “accompaniment” with our sisters and brothers of the Holy Land meant that we knew risks would be taken. We knew as one of our sons stated, that 150 bishops and spouses would be one big target for potential violence. We knew that suicide bombers walked in the marketplace and touched everyone in a variety of ways every day. What consistently came to mind was that a middle class North Americans we have choices to make about our own safety. That is not the case for people in the Holy Land. If I were, as a North American chose to stay home, what kind of commitment was I making to “accompaniment”? That I would accompany them as long as I was safe and secure? A commitment means we accompany under all conditions.

 

The prayers of our friends, family, colleagues in ministry, synod family were gifts that cemented our choice to come on this study tour. People praying for us and the people of the Holy Land. This was a pillar of our faith that strengthened us for the journey, lessened our anxieties and helped prepare us to “accompany” our friends here.

Thanks be to God.

Thanks

Elaine

In the Holy Land – A Prayer at the Wailing Wall

Intertwining between religious, political and personal life is reflected in our schedule- we worshipped with Holy Communion at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer; we walked to the Temple Mount but were refused entry because of political and security concerns. Police and armed guards are clearly in evidence; a walking tour of the holy sites was intended to inspire us personally but does so minimally. Only putting a prayer in the Wailing Wall evokes feelings. The stations of the Via Delarosa, the Church of the Sepulchre are interesting to see but promote little inspiration or sense of spiritual presence. The incense at the Church of the Sepulchre caused a personal allergic reaction so I had to leave the place quickly.

 

 

Palestinian merchants in the market place did cause a personal, political and faith reaction though. Some called on us to pray for peace in Gaza.

In the Holy Land – Caught Between the Ancient and the Contemporary

From the plains of Tel Aviv we climbed towards Jerusalem. The roads became steeper and steeper. Biblical imagery of the fortress of Jerusalem came to mind often. As we looked out of our vehicle we saw terraced housing, a remnant of a time past but as we came closer to the city we found modern towers, bridges, glass reflecting light. There was a sense that we had entered a place caught between the ancient and the contemporary. With anticipation, we looked for a sense of the spiritual, a sense of this ancient place of God.

 

But Jerusalem is just another city, a bustling place like others encounter around the world. Skateboarders bounced off barriers at the city hall, daily workers ate their lunches along walls of the office buildings, marketers yelled out their goods. Our expectation for something spiritual would need to wait another day.