Grace Blogspot

This week, my daughter and I have been walking the labyrinth together before school. We have a blast! She laughs and is fast. Racing around. I am slow. We pass one another often. Many times we are in different places, but I hear her steps as I look down to not lose my way. Sometimes near to the center and sometimes far. Interesting metaphors.

Our beautiful landscaping and labyrinth were blessed and set apart yesterday as a gift to the community. It was very joyful to walk from our courtyard worship to the labyrinth to the beat of drums and singing ‘We are Marching in the Light of God!’. Words were shared of remembered loved ones and thanks. Prayers and blessings said and then, like good Lutherans, we ate.
We were also fortunate to have the Rev. Lauren Artress of Veriditas/Grace Cathedral with us to preach and teach about the blessings of labyrinths. There were many take aways from that time, but I was particularly struck by her comment that labyrinths order chaos. It’s when our lives seem most chaotic that the discipline of a walk brings most peace. On a humorous note, she reflected on the impossibility of doing it incorrectly!
Later last evening I realized I had forgotten to do something at church and returned to find neighbors of mine from 8-10 blocks away on the labyrinth . . . VERY cool.
Certainly a blessing for years to come! Also to come . . . pictures!

Well, we all made it home in good fashion. There will be a lot of thinking about this trip, I believe. Much to learn, much to do.
As we returned it was to the reality of our landscaping project. I can envision the labyrinth now!

Lot’s of walking today. We started out on the Temple Mount and saw the Dome of the Rock. From there, we saw St Anne’s Church and made our way onto the Via Delarosa. We then moved to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Finally, we celebrated communion at Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church less than a block from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. What a privilege to worship in our own space and a magnificent one at that!

We left the beautiful retreat at the Church of the Beatitudes this morning during a beautiful sunrise. We then said goodbye to the Sea of Galilee as we headed West to the Mediterranean Sea and Caesarea Maritima with its beautiful view and Roman ruins. We then went to the ancient port of Jaffe for some excellent food and a visit to St. Peter’s church. From there we set our faces towards Jerusalem. After making the ascent, we saw the new site uncovering the pool of Siloam. From there it was the Mount of Olives and a short hike down that mount to the Garden of Gethsemene and some really old olive trees. We then saw the worship space and former mosque that marks the upper room.
We then made our way to St George’s Anglican Cathedral and Guest House where we attended evening Taize Prayer and are now looking towards bed as we will be largely on foot tomorrow in the old city. That’s all for now!

What a day! We are now in Jerusalem, ready to spend a couple of days here. More to come soon. I am attending a Taize service offered before dinner now.

Today was powerful. We began by stopping in Cana and seeing the church that remembers Christ’s first miracle. Bought wine there, of course, for our service this evening. We went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and had fish on the shore. Could nit have been more perfect weather.
We then did some wine tasting in the Golan Heights and had a chance to go down into the wine cellar which was an old Syrian bunker from the war in ’67!? We are now experiencing a peaceful evening on the Mount of Beatitudes. Simply beautiful!
Tomorrow we go to Jerusalem.

A BEAUTIFUL morning. The flowers here are in full bloom as well. The Church of the Annunciation is the main structure in the photo.

We have had another full day. We travelled from Ramallah to Nazareth by way of the coastal plain. We were concerned about getting turned around by another Israeli check point on the way to Jacob’s well in Nablus. If that had happened, we would have had to make a severe reroute which would have put us way behind schedule.
We stopped for filafel and shwarma for lunch and continued to the Church of the Annunciation . . . coincidentally on the day of the Annunciation of our Lord. The church was kind of amazing and our guide mentioned that it was the largest in the Arab world. After a couple of other stops, we went up to Mount Precipice. WHAT A VIEW! A great day and another to come.

What a day!? We left Bethlehem early this morning to get to the Dead Sea. 1,300 feet below sea level. We went to Masada and took the epic cable car up for some amazing sights and some stunning views. Dipping our feet in the Dead Sea was next before lunch and a stop at Qumran. It was rather daunting to see the caves where the writings were found. It was like seeing something out of legend. We drove through Jericho seeing the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. 10,000 years!? Finally, we made it to Ramallah after being turned around by a less that polite Israeli soldier and being forced to another entrance.
In Ramallah, we spent time at the Lutheran Church of Hope. This was an opportunity for joint worship and communion with our sisters and brothers. We also split up and went in small groups and were hosted for dinner in people’s homes. What a gift! Many of you will recall that this congregation was started by Pr Nijim, Suad’s husband and Fuad’s father. It was a joyous homecoming!