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!