Thursday 24 October 2013

Israel Houseparty part 7

The Temple Mount complex
On our final full day in Israel there was an early start (apart from for a few who had been ill in the night).  The group gathered together and walked down to the Western Wall (also known as the wailing wall) and queued to go up the walkway to the top of Temple mount.  Thankfully the wait was not long, and during this time Roger had a very lengthy conversation with some Israeli soldiers about football - one of them was a Manchester United fan.  This was the friendliest chat he'd ever managed to have with soldiers!
Al-Aqsa Mosque

The group spent some time on top of Temple mount looking at the amazingly ornate Dome of the Rock and the less ornate but 3rd most holy Muslim site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Afterwards the group went down beneath Temple Mount into the underground excavations of the Western Wall.  They were escorted by an orthodox Israeli lady who was very theatrical.  She asked to hear the group sing, and naturally Roger took the opportunity not to be gentle, and they sang 'On Jesus the Rock I will build my life' and 'Rock of Ages'!  Sahar, our guide, asked her if she knew that Yeshua was the Messiah.  She didn't answer!

The Western Wall
Later Sahar led everyone to the Western Wall.  Everyone is allowed to go right up to the wall, although it is segregated into men and women.  The men have to cover their heads with a Kippa.  It was a very busy day at the wall with lots of Bar Mitzvah celebrations in full swing.

From the Western Wall the group were shown around the excavations to the south of Temple Mount.  These are incredibly fascinating, and contain a huge amount of Second Temple era artifacts.
The Seder Meal

In the evening we celebrated a Seder meal together.  A Messianic Jew and his wife led us in the special ritual, and we were fed some lovely food.  It was the first time they had led the meal for Shoresh, and they did a great job.  It was a fantastic way to round off our Israel Houseparty together.

Later that night in the early hours of the morning half of the party travelled home.  It was an interesting journey as we missed our connection at Paris, but everyone finally made it home safe and sound.



The whole group (almost all!)
A Bar Mitzvah
Roger chatting to the Israeli Soldiers
Dome of the Rock
Geoff sporting his Kippa
The Seder meal

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Israel Houseparty part 6

The worship group at Christ Church
Our non-stop visit to Israel continued into the Sunday with a morning service at Christ Church Jerusalem.  It was lovely to share in the morning service - Helen and Annie joined in with their worship group, and then we sang 'Just as I am as' as the offertory hymn.  The congregation were very surprised to discover a choir singing in their midst!  The service had a lovely Celtic style to it, as it was St Patrick's day.

Outside Yad Veshem
After the morning service we had a quick lunch and then travelled to Yad Veshem, the holocaust museum.  It was a very important yet harrowing experience.  The museum is incredibly well designed and built: it follows the persecution as it grows and develops, and as it is escalating the floor slopes ever downwards.  As those in the concentration are freed and the war comes to an end, the slope returns the other way.

In rehearsal
When we returned from Yad Veshem we spent a little time in prayer and worship, and then held a rehearsal for our Christ Church performance of Rock.  It was a very different acoustic (incredibly huge echo) and the choir and soloists had to work very hard to get the words across.  Huge thanks to Ben for all his help with the sound.

Janine at the bookstall
After dinner we got changed ready for the performance and assembled in the church ready.  The church was absolutely packed for the performance, and Janine did a great job running the bookstall.  We had a shaky start to the performance when the backing track didn't work, but Annie jumped onto the piano and we managed to get through the opening song without it.  By the time we needed the second backing track it was all sorted and ready to go.  The performance was a great success, and there was an excited buzz in the church afterwards with lots of deep conversations.

Thank you so much to Christ Church and Shoresh for all of the work they did advertising the musical.  It was wonderful to share with them.

The compound at Christ Church
Helen, Charles and Annie adding live instrumental work
The amazing tenors and basses
Sopranos and altos
The sopranos in rehearsal
Ann (Miriam) and Julie (Zillah) ready to perform

Thursday 17 October 2013

Israel Houseparty part 5

The wall
The following day we had to leave behind Sahar because as an Israeli he is not permitted inside Palestine. We travelled on the coach to Bethlehem, and had to journey through the checkpoint to be able to enter the town.  The wall is quite shocking to see and we continue to pray for peace in the land.

Bethlehem Bible College
Once inside the wall we went to Bethlehem Bible College, the venue of our first performance of Rock.  We left Roger and Mary there to help with the organisation, and the rest of the part went to visit the shepherds field and the church of the Nativity.  It was a bit of a frustrating day away from Shoresh organisation, but it was lovely to experience the peace of the fields and to explore the caves.

In the chapel at the Shepherds' Field
We had a lovely time in the church at the Shepherds Field.  While inside the church we sang 'Bethlehem in the Land of Judah' from While Shepherds Watched (Annie led it and we all echoed).  There was a wonderful acoustic in there, and it sounded amazing!

Entering the Church of the Nativity
The church of the Nativity is an interesting place with a very small door - you have to bow down to go in.  Sadly, once inside we discovered a very long and incredibly slow-moving queue, and we simply did not have time to stay.

Rock sopranos and altos
After another falafel lunch we went back to Bethlehem Bible College for an afternoon worship seminar meant for the students of the college - but sadly it seemed to be mostly for our own benefit!  This seminar was followed by a thought-provoking lecture from Bishawa, the honorary principal of the college.  He shared about the plight of the Palestinian people.  It is interesting to contrast the thoughts he shared with what we have witnessed on both sides of the wall.

Some of the tenors and basses
After the seminar we had a wonderful dinner provided for us by the college - lasagne and salad, much to the delight of many of the houseparty guests!

The evening performance went really well.  Sadly there weren't a huge number in the audience.  Hopefully in future we will have a stronger connection with the people at this wonderful college.



The view from the shepherds' field

The outside of the chapel at the shepherds' field


Inside the Church of the Nativity



Wednesday 16 October 2013

Israel Houseparty part 4

View from the Mount of Olives
The following day was one of the busiest of our time in Israel.  We left quite early in the morning to travel around the edge of Jerusalem and up to the top of the Mount of Olives.  From here there is a dramatic view of the city wall across the valley with a clear view of the Dome of the Rock.  It is from this angle that Jesus will have approached the city and seen the imposing temple.

Walking down Palm Sunday Road
After using the opportunity to take lots of photos in the glorious weather, we began to walk together down Palm Sunday road, calling in at Dominus Flevit 'The Lord Wept', where the church is fairly unadorned with a view over the city through a big picture window.

The church at Gethsemane
At the bottom of hill we reached Gethsemane, and the group had some time to wander around the church and garden and take in the scene.  The olive trees in the garden were incredibly old, which created a wonderful sense of connection to Jesus' own presence in the garden all those centuries ago.


We then moved into the Old City through the Lions Gate, and made our way along the famous 'Via Dolorosa', a narrow street through the city thought to be the route along which Jesus carried his cross.  Marked along the street are the stations of the cross, but it is not easy to be still as it is very crowded with other tour groups and street vendors.  We took this opportunity to find a cafe selling falafel for lunch, before proceeding along the path to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church is a fascinating place, but completely full of people, many of them queuing to reach the very heart of the church.  We managed to find a quiet side chapel, and spent a couple of minutes in there.  It would have been wonderful to spend more time in many of these places, but there was so much to see!

Entering the garden tomb
From the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we caught up again with the bus and travelled to the Garden Tomb.  This is a beautiful garden from which a hillside can be seen which looks a bit like a skull.  There are so many sites across the country which are 'traditional' - it is not known definitely that they are the original sites, but it is possible!  Also within the garden is an example of a first century tomb.  It is highly unlikely this was the exact tomb, but it is impossible to know.  There is a wonderful atmosphere in the garden, and there were many groups there taking the opportunity for some quiet worship time together.  We sang 'This is the place' from Rock together, and Geoff led us in communion.

After dinner that evening Yoel and Laura from Shoresh took a group out onto the city rooftops for a time of testimony and sharing.  A very busy day!
Olives at Gethsemane
On the Via Dolorosa

Worship at the Garden Tomb
The place of the skull?
Eating in falafel in style