tapestry SUMMER 2013 VOL. 19 NO. 4 weaving women together in Christ
The following pages are taken from Tapestry, the magazine of Lutheran Women s Missionary League Canada (LWML Canada) and share thoughts from the magazine s editor following a trip to Israel as noted in the opening paragraph. Photo credits can be found in the centre of the following page. Sincere thanks for permission to use those not taken by the author. The previous page shows a picture of an ancient olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane. Scripture speaks of a branch (Jesus) coming from the root of Jesse. The newer branches of this olive tree come from the root, not from the stem. They will be strong and bear fruit as long as the root survives. 2 Tapestry www.lutheranwomen.ca
Snapshots Israel from by Marion Hollinger A trip to the Holy Land was not on my bucket list; faith does not require a Christian to make such a pilgrimage nice but not needed. But, when the opportunity arose, I could not turn it down. I am grateful for that opportunity. It fused what I believe to a specific place I can visualize and it brought Old and New Testament not only alive, but integrated them as happening in the same space, creating all sorts of connections in my understanding. Thirteen writers and editors from Canadian Church Press with six spouses spent March 3-10, 2013, in Israel as guests of the Israeli tourism department and El Al Airlines. CAESAREA - Herod the Great, with money to spend, built a large seaport, a palace with an Olympic-size swimming pool, a hippodrome for chariot races, an aquaduct, an amphitheatre (where our tour group posed for a picture) and more. It was in this same place that Paul was a prisoner awaiting transport to Rome. Kibbutz Lavi Herod s port on the Mediterranean Photos on these pages by Ian Adnams, Marion Hollinger, Doug Paddey, Robert Richardson and Don Wikston WINE - After being awake for 36 hours travelling and then touring to help re-set our internal clocks, a visit to a winery could easily have been skipped in my estimation. I m not fond of wine at the best of times. But vintner Roni Saslove was charming, an excellent ambassador for Israeli wines especially those she makes. She kept me awake and attentative. I learned much more than I anticipated. TREES - A delightful surprise was the opportunity to leave a mark behind, to each plant a tree a pine, a cedar or an oak. The hills in the area of Kibbutz Lavi were destroyed by an earlier conquering army. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is working to replace them with the assistance of tour groups and others willing to get their hands dirty. Above, Mathew and Leah Block dig in. www.lutheranwomen.ca NAZARETH - Standing on Mount Precipice we listened to a reading of Jesus visit to the synagogue in Nazareth where He read the scriptures and then said they were fulfilled in Him. The people threatened to throw Him off a cliff and kill Him. There is, indeed, a cliff that would have been very dangerous. We have assigned readings for each Sunday; so, too, did they. What Jesus read was the reading for that day, not something He chose because it fit the situation. Tapestry 3
OLIVES - They say you have to develop a taste for olives. I ll let someone else do that. But I certainly found learning about olives very interesting. For example, the green olive and black olive are the same olive, it s just a matter of ripeness. Olive oil is the most important product with the first pressing providing the best extra virgin olive oil. A second pressing creates virgin An ancient olive press on display olive oil and a third, just plain olive oil. We visited an olive processing factory although it was after hours. The owner had wondered if something could be done with the olives left after pressing the oil. He set up a lab and hired technicians, developing dozens of products. We had a shopping good time in his store. Another day, as we walked by an olive tree, our guide picked an olive and crushed it. The resulting juice was bright red like Christ s blood, he said. Olive trees live a long time. The one on our cover is supposed to be 2,000 years old (perhaps it was one Jesus knelt under in the Garden of Gethsemane). The trunk appears almost hollow but strong shoots have come from the root and produce healthy fruit. WATER - The Sea of Galilee is, in terms of elevation, the lowest body of fresh water in the world. The Dead Sea is the lowest body of salt water. This was in direct contrast to Lake Titikaka of Bolivia in the Andes which was the highest body of fresh water in the world and on which I travelled by boat in 1991 as part of a Canadian Lutheran World Relief tour. Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea scolls were discovered, is very much in a desert. But, when it rains in Jerusalem to the northwest, the water runs downhill and forms instant waterfalls in the cliffs surrounding Qumran; a potentially fatal hazard to rock climbers who disregard weather forecasts. BIRDS - Millions of birds stop in Israel. It is on the flight path of migrating birds moving between Africa, Asia and Europe. We spent VALLEY OF JEZREEL - This fertile valley lies between Caesarea and Nazareth. All around us were locations from familiar events in scripture: Mount Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, Mount Tabor where the transfiguration took place, Mount Deborah where the judges Deborah and Barak fought Sisera and his army were only a few. In Revelation this area is called the Valley of Amageddon. It blended together, for me, the Old and New Testaments in a way I had not previously experienced. some time one afternoon at the Ornithology Centre, Agamon Ha Hula, in northern Israel. Only 20 years ago this area was a swamp, infested by malaria carrying mosquitoes. Today it is a beautiful, peaceful nature preserve. On the day we were there one of the fields was filled with thousands of cranes. Visitors could walk, bike or use a golf cart to tour the area. An unexpected sight was a bright red bike with seven seats in a circle. Why it was made or how it works remains a mystery. 4 Tapestry www.lutheranwomen.ca
Sea of Galilee from hotel in Tiberias Capernaum - synagogue SEA OF GALILEE - Imagine waking up to a view of the Sea of Galilee from your hotel balcony. Imagine tramping through the hills that surround it as you visit the site of the Sermon on the Mount. Imagine a visit to Capernaum where Jesus often stayed in Peter s house. Imagine a boat ride with Gospel music playing and the Canadian flag raised in your honour. And remember that Jesus walked, taught and did miracles under the same sky, in the same countryside, on the same lake. Capernaum - village Masada - 1 Nimrod - 1 OF FORTS AND SUCH - In the foothills of Mount Hermon, near the northern tip of Israel, is Nimrod Fortress, or Nimrod Castle, built by the Crusaders and later used by others. In the upper left corner of the picture Nimrod - 1 you can see a bit of white, a village, which gives some idea of how far the fortress is above the valley. Also, in the picture you can see the ruins of a second castle, built within the first so that if the larger castle is breached there is still a place of safety. The road up is very steep not made for those, like me, who don t enjoy heights. The farthest south we travelled in Israel was to Masada, a fortress built near the Dead Sea by Herod the Great with all the luxuries of the day. He never lived there. In the end it was used by a few hundred Jews many of them women and children who held off Rome s finest garrison of several thousand soldiers for months. When faced with defeat, they ended their lives rather than face slavery. www.lutheranwomen.ca Nimrod - 2 Masada - 2 Tapestry 5
WEST BANK, BETHLEHEM AND LUTHERAN CHRISTIANS - In the midst of the ongoing debate between Palestinians and Israelis, there is a strong Lutheran presence in the Palestinian-held territory of the West Bank. A small sign indicates the entrance to the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church and the Lutheran Centre. The centre has expanded from this spot to three locations. According to Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, director of the centre, 2% (50,000) of the population in Palestine are Christian. The centre provides a wide diversity of programming (educational, sports, cultural) for children to seniors. In trying to gain a better grasp of the situation, the tour participants asked what Dr. Mitri thought the future held. He commented that the Holy Land needs bridges, not wars and said he thought that future generations will work things out though it may take 30 years. Later, in Jerusalem, in a discussion with a Franciscan monk involved in preserving and maintaining the Holy Places, we found the same hope for the future. For, as this man said, today young people play on the same sports teams and come together socially in a way that didn t happen in the past. JERUSALEM - In the picture taken from the Mount of Olives you can see the Temple Mount and the wall around the Old City. In the foreground is a cemetery and between it and the Old City is the Kidron Valley. We were told cemeteries are always on the east side of the city, the only exceptions being somewhere like Tiberius where the lake is on the east side. There are lots of ups and downs in the Old City as you will see in two of the pictures. The statue is King David...painted gold. Jerusalem - from the Mount of Olives ISRAEL - There s so much to see, so much to do, in this country where our Saviour lived and worked, not just places of significance to Christians but also some that Christian tour groups may not visit but are part of the fabric of life in Israel. 6 Tapestry www.lutheranwomen.ca