This morning as the first morning of the Islamic Holiday of Eid, the loudspeaker broadcasts of the  morning call to worship has been especially vigorous, even joyful and continuous. It has been going on now for 45 minutes with no end in sight.

I have been struck by the numerous strong willed women that we have had the opportunity to listen to who seem to be a source of great hope for resolving this 60 year old conflict because they have a vision of another time, of another world where justice and equality for the Palestinian people will be restored. It struck me that these women are the 21^st century version of the Syro-Phoenician women who confronted Jesus in the Gospel in order to have healing for her daughter. When Jesus initially refuses she insists on her right to have her daughter healed by him because “even the dogs deserve to eat the crumbs that have fallen from the table”. Wow, these are real examples of the Gospel being lived in the land where Jesus walked.

Yesterday was a day filled with examples of potential ways to and examples of successful future paths for the Palestinian people when hope is alive and different life paradigms are chosen for those involved.

We started out the morning traveling to a village the other side of Bethlehem to a Lutheran school. We met with the principal and learned from him how a successful model of a school system works as well as the struggles to implement such a school system in a land of oppression. The buildings are clean and modern. The student population is mixed between Christian & Muslim. None of the students can afford to pay the full tuition so through sponsorship from Europe and other places many grants and scholarships are obtained for the students. More than 90% of the student body will go on to college following their graduation from this High School. The student body excels in academics but also in sports, music and the arts. They send student groups abroad for cultural exchanges and to participate in activities. They have been invited to send a student group next year to Polish Center for Justice & Peace to participate in an international mock trial of historic world crimes. Students will play the roles of prosecutors, jurors etc. Other teams will be there from Germany, Poland & Israel. While they can send students to Europe, Israel security will sometimes block them from traveling to Jerusalem such as last year when the choir was prevented from attending a choir competition. Yesterday was a school holiday because of the Islamic holiday so there were no classes. Yet there were still some students attending special meetings such as those participating in a group learning peer to peer conflict resolution and another group that was there for a practice exam for one of the high school tests that they must successfully complete to graduate and get into university. But the principal besides telling of the success of his students also shared the hardships of what is it like to have you home & land confiscated. In his case, the security wall was erected across one portion of the land that he owned. So now his olive trees are on the other side of the wall and so he cannot get the access to harvest them. He was very clear that everyone knew what the solution to this conflict was. It is the “2 State Solution at the 1968 boundaries established by the U.N.” He says the Palestinians know this, the Israelis know this, the World knows this, even the USA knows this but until the USA has the willpower to pressure Israel to implement this then there will be no resolution to this conflict only an endless cycle of oppression and violence. He hopes that we will carry this message back.

We then traveled to modern Bethlehem which bears very little resemblance to our images from all of the nativity stories. The streets were teeming with crowds out for the pre-holiday shopping. There came a point where our taxis could go no further and we got out and walked and snaked our way through the crowds and the sights and smells of the marketplace to the Lutheran church complex. We met there with the dean of a 2 year Fine Arts Community College which is currently hosted by the Lutheran church but will be moving to its own building next year. This Lutheran church & the Community College holds as its operating philosophy the message from John 10 “That you might have life and have it abundantly”. The College is part of a 5 college consortium in Palestine. This one has the particular emphasis on teaching the students and the general public the Fine Arts and using the Arts as a way to channel youthful energies into constructive activities based on the principal of a hope filled future instead of a hope-less future. The Dean did share her dream of expanding the college to be a 4 year University and with even  Masters level classes. She also shared their frustration that most University graduates immigrate because the unemployment rate is so extremely high in Palestine. It reminded me a little bit of our current situation in Michigan where 80% of last year’s U of M graduates left Michigan to find work in other states.  The youth situation in Palestine is significantly greater issue as 50% of the population is under 18.

We then hiked to the Church of the Nativity which is built over the historic understanding of the birthplace of Jesus. To do so we again had to pass through market crowds that were so tightly packed we would occasionally lose sight of one another and would need to stop and gather to together to make sure that no one got lost. We as a group did get lost for a little while but with the help of the locals found our way again. We visited the Church of the Nativity with its underground cave and chapels of the birth place of Jesus. In one chapel cave we prayed as group and sang “Silent Night” and were joined in the hymn by a group of Chinese Christians. It is a small world after all.

Today we leave for Jerusalem!  Pastor Terry