Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

On our way to church

The ELCA, serving in an accompaniment relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has an English speaking congregation that worships on Sunday mornings in Jerusalem.  Their mission, like the early apostles, is to continue to witness to God’s presence, grace, and love for all people in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They welcome all people, from all places and backgrounds, for any length of time, to gather as the one body of Christ.

Front door to Church and ELCJHL

The building houses four congregations: Arabic, English, German and Danish, as well as the headquarters of the ELCJHL.  Pastor Carrie B. Smith, a graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, currently serves the English speaking congregation.

The chapel in which they worship was built in the early 12th century as part of a large pilgrim hostel.  Currently they are doing archeological excavations beneath the church for more hints in to the history of this area.  It was a new kind of holy ground - where past and present pilgrims meet - ancient buildings with the ELW hymnal in the pews.

Front altar in sanctuary

 While many worlds converge in the city, many worlds also converge in this congregation.  The church’s mission and message seemed especially poignant this morning in light of all the violence happening within the walls of the city.  As we broke bread together, there was truly a new depth of meaning in what it means to be one body in Christ.  At the end of worship, we discovered a couple visiting from Budapest, Hungary, and talked to them about our daughter, Hope, in Smozbathely.  We also met an artist couple from Decorah.  He is teaching pottery in Bethlehem for 3 months.  In visiting with Pastor Carrie, we learned that she is from Dennison, Iowa.   We are citizens of a global community that sometimes can feel surprisingly connected.  If there was one overarching message in worship today, it was, “pray for peace in Jerusalem,”  something all of us can do no matter where we are and all of us can agree on no matter what we believe about the complex issues

Instead of coffee time it is tea with fresh mint leaves

Kirk enjoys fellowship time with the kids

Look where we found Martin Luther!

Quite a View

I finally got the blog instructions to translate from Hebrew back in to English so I could post a picture.  Here are a couple of photos from where we are staying.  We are at the Lutheran Guesthouse in the heart of the Old City in Jerusalem.  The guesthouse was built on crusader foundations in 1927 and retains ancient stones from the 12th century.  It became part of the the "Evangelisch in Jerusalem - the German Protestant Institutions in the Holy Land" in 1964.

View of the Dome of the Rock from our room

Another view, including the bell tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

Visitor, Tourist, Student, Pilgrim

I have discovered there are many ways and many reasons to come to Israel.  Yesterday, on the plane we sat in front of a Jewish couple.  They, apparently with many others, were traveling to visit family.  This couple was bringing their 18 month old daughter to see grandparents.  Older adults were excited to be greeted by family in the baggage claim area.  It was lovely to witness their family reunions, even though I had no idea of what it might mean for them.  Undoubtedly, visiting this Holy Land meant more to them than just seeing the sights. 

As we walked around the Old City of Jerusalem this morning, we saw several different tour groups.  The tourists were from different countries and spoke different languages but it was obvious that they were part of an organized tour, some even wearing matching hats with the company logo.  Other tourists fill the market place and are targets for all the shop owners to try and sell their wares.  A myriad of enticing artisan goods are for sale as wonderful souvenirs of a once in a lifetime trip.

In a couple of days, classes begin for my two weeks of study.  Along with adjusting to the time change, Kirk and I are finishing up our homework with a new appreciation for what those maps actually mean now that we are here.  We are looking forward to learning as much as we can and putting real geography to the dots on the maps.

As I write this, I hear the call to prayer from the Dome of the Rock. the Mosque marking the site where it is said that the prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.  Last night, we visited the Western (Wailing)  Wall as Sabbath began for the many Jews gathered for worship.  This morning I watched as men and women knelt to touch the rocks in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church said to be built on the site of Calvary.  This city, where all three Abrahamic faiths converge (Muslim, Jewish, and Christian) is most certainly the place where people have come for thousands of years as pilgrims on religious journeys. It is impossible to not be moved by what it must mean for pilgrims of all faiths to walk the rocky paths.

Visitor, tourist, student, pilgrim - all of those seem to me to be meaningful ways to come to Israel. And, I sense all of them to be true for me.  Each has its own significance and yet I most look forward to this pilgrimage. Shalom.

Changing Landscape

Geography has never been a favorite subject.  I couldn’t figure out in school why I should care about the flow of the Mississippi River, the heights of mountain ranges, or the location of distant lands. I’ve also never liked maps.  I don’t want to be the one in the passenger seat of the car when the driver says, “Take out the map, find out where we are, and tell me which road to take.”  Sometimes it can be fun but more often I end up frustrated by the choices.  I want to be confident that I’ve chosen the best route for the current conditions.  Fortunately, GPS and smart phones have helped us with the process.  Yet, even today with my smart phone, we had trouble getting the directions to Kirk’s favorite pizza place.  Navigation can be challenging. 

The same could be said for this stage of life.  As a recent “empty nester” and with two sons getting married next summer, I feel as though I am traversing some uncharted territory.  It would be nice if there were tools that simply directed, “Take the next turn for spiritual renewal.  Follow this route for family happiness.”  I wonder what this new landscape will mean for the meaning and purpose in my life.  I also think about how I can help others in this stage of life to more deeply engage in their faith journeys.  For there are many ways to look at the landscape of middle life -  what it has to offer and opportunities that might have been previously passed by because of other priorities.

And so, in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary, Kirk is sharing in my continuing education program  to Israel.  We will study for 2 weeks in the Institute for Holy Land Studies at Jerusalem University College.  It is an exciting time.  However, the pre-study homework included a lot of maps!   I didn’t realize that wanting to learn more about the Holy Land would mean geography class.   Yet, while I plot the locations of places named in Old and New Testament and then see them for myself, I trust that my eyes will be opened - to see the wonders of a ancient landscape, to come alive to the locations within the pages of my Bible or on those maps, and to reflect on their impact for the spiritual landscape of life. 

You are welcome to join the adventure.

A New Beginning

Tonight, at sundown, our Jewish brothers and sisters began the two-day festival that marks the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.    It is described by Neil Gillman of the Jewish Theological Seminary this way,  "This festival has evolved through our tradition to represent a season of personal and universal renewal. Every human being needs an opportunity to begin again, to wipe out the past and dream dreams about what his or her life can become. . . . We say goodbye to the old time and hello to the new. In the process we say goodbye to our old selves and hello to our new ones."

What a wonderful holy day to celebrate - a chance for a new beginning.  How many times in life would it be nice to have a “do over” - a chance to do it all again with new found knowledge, experience?  I like the idea of “saying hello to a new self” as the initial phase of 10 days of repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur.  It is amazing to me how many times I lie in bed at the beginning of a month or at the  beginning of a week and think to myself, “This time, I’m going to....”  For some reason, I need a mark in the sand, where I can point and say this is where I started the new process. And there is a growing need to forgive and love the old self and the new self in order to continue to grow.  Perhaps this is what we do each Sunday in worship, but our Jewish tradition also tells us that there needs to be an intentional process -  a seasonal, annual rhythm. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about new beginnings in the last few months - new beginnings for this blog, new beginnings for myself, new beginnings in our family, new beginnings in ministry...  There are a lot of new things happening.  Perhaps tonight at sundown is the beginning - a chance to begin again -  a way to say hello again to the new and to you. 
May you be blessed in all the new beginnings of your life whenever they occur.

Sharing Autumn Thoughts

I am grateful to Ellamae who encourages me to continue to write on my blog and also shares her own contributions.  Here are some of her timely thoughts about Trinity and the fall.  Thank you Ellamae.  kg

FALL BEGINS, SUMMER IS WANING

Fall is in the air and summer is waning which causes me to be nostalgic about the summer outdoor service.  I personally very much enjoy sitting outside to worship God with nature around me. 

Thanks to the visionaries that planned the courtyard and followed through with accomplishing their goal it is the perfect place to gather on a Sunday morning. 

I look at the trees, the clouds and like when the wind blows either gently or with a little more gusto.  Speaking of the trees, Pastor Kathy’s “Tree of Hope” is looking like a real tree instead of a trunk waiting to be cut down.  To have hope and faith is a great gift from God given freely to each of us.  We cling to hope throughout life with its ups-and-downs and have faith to endure what comes our way. 

Another tree that I look at a lot is the Catalpa.  Thanks to Pastor Dettmer who helped identify this tree for me.  As with all trees the branches fork but then with this tree they bend in one direction for a few feet and then go another direction as on and on they go like this.  This is like life.  We arrive at many forks in the road and must choose the path to take.  However, along that path we zig and zag toward our destination.  The Catalpa also produces bean-like seed pods that grow quite long.  Through life we continue to grow also and even though the pods fall to the ground so do we have setbacks and as the pods grow again the next season we too are rejuvenated and continue on our path.

Clouds have always fascinated me.  Some Sundays there are hardly any in the sky, some Sundays just a few, but the ones that are large and billowy are the most beautiful of all.  God truly made a majestic earth for us to enjoy.  As we are told many times, “Slow down and smell the roses”. 

When the wind blows I feel as if the Holy Spirit is touching us with gentleness and calling us to be good stewards of all that God has given to us. 

The Children’s Sermon is so interesting.  Some hurry to find their place on the quilts and some walk slowly not sure if they want to be in front of everyone.  They look so nice in their Sunday clothes.  Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

Spirit, spirit of gentleness,

Blow through the wilderness, calling and free.

Spirit, spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness.

Wind, wind on the sea.

Thoughts by Ellamae Butler  - September, 2014    

A Season for Cleaning

In my mind there is a difference between spring cleaning and cleaning the house for guests.  In the spring, I concentrate on getting rid of all the dirt that has accumulated over a period of time.  It includes places where guests hopefully don’t look but I know there are issues.  Furniture is pulled out so I can get underneath and in the corners.   Closets and drawers are reorganized.  Things are removed off shelves so everything is wiped clean, not just around the edges.   Professional maid services call it “deep cleaning.”  

In contrast, in preparation for guests I might just hit the high points, the surfaces, straighten, or even stuff some papers in drawers to deal with another day.  The focus of cleaning is more about a pleasant environment of hospitality.  Especially when our children come home or bring friends, I want the house to be cozy, homey, and friendly.  I add some greens here and a candle there so that it feels as though I am ready to welcome them in for a long comfortable stay.

The church year has two seasons of preparation, Advent and Lent.  They come before the big celebrations of Christmas and Easter.  I have often thought of Lent as a good spring cleaning for the soul.  It is a time to look in the crevices, underneath aspects of my life and shake off the dirt that has accumulated.  This Advent my thoughts have taken me to this idea of cleaning in order to welcome a guest.  It is less intense than Lent but nonetheless significant.  How can I be a good hostess for the coming of the Christ child this Christmas?  What areas do I need to straighten? Is the environment of my soul ready and open for a long cozy stay?   Where might I add something that helps our relationship feel more comfortable?   

Perhaps these are thoughts for you in this Advent season of preparation.  With each card, decoration and baked good, I reflect on my efforts to welcome Jesus with equal hospitality and generosity.