Notes from Jerusalem July 5

I am trying to get the hang of blogging.  So, as usual, please bear with me.
As you have already noted, I have posted a couple of videos from my time in Israel.  I plan to post photos as well.
I left Eugene the morning of June 29th and got into Tel Aviv the afternoon of June 30th due to the time change.  I spent 17 plus hours in the air and a total of a bit more than a day between leaving the house and getting to Tantur.
First evening- get a sandwich, unpack, and go to bed.
Next day- July 1st- I met several people who are at Tantur but not participating in the four week course I am.  I went into town (Tantur is close to Bethlehem.) with two of them.  The professor dropped Andrea (a nurse who likes archeology) and me off.  We tried going to the Rockefeller Museum but it was closed.  So, Andrea acted as tour guide and we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Wailing Wall.  That was much of the day.  On the return, we saw an Islamic prayer protest which was quite peaceful.  We then took a Palestinian bus back to Tantur.  That evening, I chatted with a couple of the participants.  One was from New Guinea and the other Australia.  Out of the conversation, we discoverd that attracting 20 something adults is a concern in all of our countries.
July 2-The beginning of the program and the group assembles.  We have 15 participants.  3 women and 12 men.  4 from Australia, 2 from New Zealand, 2 from England, 1 from Papua New Guinea, 1 from Thailand (He plays tennis and there is a tennis court of sorts here.), and 5 from the US.  7 are Roman Catholic, 2 are Reformed, 1 is Anglican, 1 is Methodist, 1 is Presbyterian, and I am the sole Lutheran.
We had a good orientation in the evening.
July 3- Sunday- Our primary activity was going to worship at the Abbey of St. Mary of the Resurrection.  This is a French Benedictine Monsatery for both men and women.  There seem to be about 25-30 members total.  The worship was all in French or Latin but it was the Mass so I could follow where we were in the service.  I chanted along with some of the parts I could make out such as the creed and the Lamb of God.  I did not chant loudly though.  The building itself was built by the Crusaders.  It is quite an experience to be worshipping with an active faith community in such an old setting.
July 4- Our program starts off in earnest.  This is a full day which begins at 7:30 a.m. and does not end until 7:30 p.m.  We start by going to the Russian Orthodox Convent of the Ascension at the top of the Mt. of Olives.  We will then work our way down the mount.  It is quite something to be in this setting.  Also, it is noteable that the Mt. of Olives is significantly higher than Jerusalem itself.  On the mount, one looks down on the Temple mount and the rest of the city.
At the base of the Mt. of Olives, we spent some time in the Garden of Gethsemane which has ancient olive trees.  They may go back 2,000 years.  This for me has been the most moving moment of this time. 
Afterward, we went into Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate.  This was probably the gate Jesus used for the procession on Palm Sunday.
Going through the gate, we went to St. Anne's Church which is at the pool of Bethesda.  The church is another one built by the Crusaders and the accoustics are incredible.  You can hear our group on a video I posted on the blog singing in the church to get a sense of the acoustics.
We then went to the Ecce Homo convent and had lunch.  Afterward, we went below it.  There is a Roman cistern and paving stones dating to the 1st century.  This is also the area of the Praetorium.  So, it is possible that Jesus was held in this area.
Afterward, we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  If you look at the video, you will get a sense of the busyness in the place.  While the group spent time there, I wandered around and found the headquarters for the Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Lands.  I walked through the building and found the chapel. It has an English service at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays.
We then gathered and headed back to Tantur.  At 5:30, I led the Evening Prayer service.  As it was July 4th, I chose the theme of freedom with the text of Galatians 5:1, 13-14.  It seemed to be well received.  This was followed by dinner and then a review of the month's program which was very helpful.
July 5- Today was a lighter day.  We walked to the Orthodox monastery of Elijah.  Tom Lowe gave us some background on the Orthodox church.  (He is not only the director of Tantur bur also an Orthodox priest in the Orthodox Church in America.)  We then went into the church and looked at the many icons.  Tim followed this with a presentation on icons and did some Q and A.
We returned to Tantur, had lunch, and then Andrea (the nurse from LA) and I took the bus to Augusta Victoria Hospital.  It is a Lutheran institution and has been so for 100 years.  Since 1948 it has been run by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) for the purpose of providing medical care to Palestinians.  We got to it and walked around the facility  Andrea left contact information as she would like to pursue the possibility of working there for a period of time.
We then left there and walked across the street to the regional headquarters of LWF.  The regional director was very gracious and gave us much of his time.  We talked about the work of LWF in the region in general and Augusta Victoria in particular.  It is one of those occaisions which makes one proud to be who we are and what we are doing.
After that, it was back to the bus and Tantur.  (A side note- There are two bus systems in the area.  One is used by the Palestinians and one by the Jews.)  We had Evening Prayer and supper.
And now I am back in the room and finishing up this posting.
God bless.