Thoughts from Beverly Good

BEVERLY GOOD TAKES PART IN ISRAEL SUMMER SEMINAR

Beverly Good, one of our pastoral associates, was privileged to participate in an interfaith group’s study tour of Israel from July 26 through August 2^nd. The Tour, sponsored and underwritten by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, gathered religious leaders from several communities to savor some of the most ancient sites in Israel and to listen and learn from many perspectives about the challenges and opportunities facing contemporary Israel. Among the participants, were the following leaders who joined Beverly from Lexington: Rev. Paul Schupe from Hancock Church, UCC, Rev. Sally Thacher from Pilgrim Church, UCC, Pastor Bryan and Karen Wilkerson from Grace Chapel and Rabbi David Lerner from Temple Emunah. Also enjoying the experience were three priests from the Archdiocese: Fr. John MacInnis, Fr. James O’Driscoll and Fr. Sean Maher. We asked Beverly to share some “highlights” of the trip…

When I accepted the chance to go to Israel, I thought that the trip’s strongest effect on me would be that when I heard of geographical places in Scripture, my eyes would get that special light I often see in the eyes of those who’ve been there. And, surely, that has happened to me. Now, when I hear (or read) the Scriptures, I can picture the Lake of Tiberias, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Sea of Galilee. We stopped at the Mt. Scopus Promenade on entering into Jerusalem to recite a traditional blessing as we looked over the city. We visited Old Jerusalem, both the Jewish Quarter and the Christian Quarter. We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and prayed the Stations on the Via Dolorosa. We went to the Western Wall, and prayed there. Many of us prayed Shabbat, and then all of us celebrated Shabbat dinner with rabinnical students from the US. A whole morning at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum—not long enough! And, yes, those places were amazing, and being there with a group so diverse (Rabbi Bill Hamilton said he admired “How faith dances in all of you.”) was a lovely, long exercise in good listening and respectful truth-speaking.

The surprise for me, though, was in the people we met in Israel, and the amazing stories they shared with us. When we went to Misgav Am, a northern Israel kibbutz and army outpost, we met Ari, from Cleveland, who fought in six wars. As we looked over the border to southern Lebanon, he told us his story. As did Nadia Ismail, a Muslim Israeli citizen; Col. Benzi Gruber, deputy commander in the Israeli army; two young men, one Arab, one Israeli, who are both executive directors of One Voice, a group that advocates for peace, and a husband and wife journalist team from America. They all spoke from their own reality, and our group heard each one’s truth. But, the stories don’t always match up. What one person (or group) sees as aggression, the other names self-defense. I am convinced it is in the telling of the narratives that people can come to awareness of the larger picture. Since we’ve come home, face-to-face meetings have been scheduled to work toward peace. Remarkable! May God bless these efforts in marvelous ways!

Thoughts from Father John MacInnis

July 29, 2010
Today is Friday, a day when the old city of Jerusalem will swell with crowds of Muslims going to prayer during the day and tonight our Jewish companions will take us to Shabbat services. Friday is the day Christians recall the death of Jesus Christ. For Father Jim O'Driscoll, Father Sean Maher and me, today began at 6:30 AM when we celebrated Mass in our small hotel room.


The heart of this daily priestly ritual is the dying and raising of Jesus. Later we'll walk the Via Dolorosa with our group. Jim and Sean will lead the Stations of the Cross, recalling 14 points along the route Jesus took to his death and burial. We will end up at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which tradition holds marks the place where Jesus died and was buried.
Our morning lecture was a lecture on "Ethics in the Field" by an Israeli colonel. During his explanation of how soldiers are trained to avoid civilian casualties when responding to terrorists, the colonel received a call on his cell phone. He was told that a missile had been fired from Gaza into the city of Ashkelon. He continued his lecture but suddenly I feel -- and I'm sure others felt -- that the reality of the violence we've been talking about has become uncomfortably closer. A little while later, on the bus, Rabbi David Lerner got a call from a friend in Ashkelon. She tells him the missile landed not far from her home. Terrorism feels much closer, more personal. During the day, as we pray at the Western Wall I lay my hand on the ancient stones and pray for peace with terror. When we were entering the Old City, I read aloud from Psalm 122 "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" I have prayed this so many times as a Priest. Today I prayed with deeper emotion and urgency. I recall that the death of Jesus outside the walls of this ancient city was the sacrifice which God's own son, his beloved, made of himself to save us from sin and death. His story does not end with but new life after his resurrection. When, I asked myself, will the dying in this land be transformed into new life? When, I pray will this land, so holy yet so wounded over centuries, become a place where believers can dwell in worship in peace with God and with each other?

Thoughts from Rev. Sally Thatcher

Rev. Sally Thatcher

Our experiences of Israel began to unfold, believe it or not, with El Al security at JFK Airport. While Alan and David were taken aside and interviewed separately by 2 security people, we members of the group were interviewed in twos. Our interviewers were young women who sounded educated, intelligent, polite, and very intentional about what they were doing. They gave the impression that they take their job seriously and consider it important. It was a new experience to this traveler.

Shortly before flight left noticed a group of Jewish men in long black coats, wearing distinctive flat top, widebrimmed hats praying by the window looking out at our plane. David told us that this was a traditional Jewish ritual before traveling and invited us to do the same. We formed a circle: Catholics, Protestants and Jews, while Paul prayed a Christian prayer and David recited and in English and Hebrew a traditional Hebrew prayer for travelers. It certainly felt as we were starting off on the right foot (or feet).

We had additional opportunities to observe, close at hand, Jewish men in prayer. Our group was seated near the rear of the 747. There were many large groups of children returning home from summer camps as well as families with young children. It seemed as if we 14 were the only non-Hebrew speakers on the plane.

As darkness fell, some are over the Atlantic, a group of 10 or 12 men, again in black coats and hats, gathered in the aisles beside and behind us praying aloud from prayerbooks. It was impressive to see the way a schedule of praying structures their lives even while traveling. They prayed again at dawn. I don't know exactly when, but I was awakened by someone brushing me gently with his long white shawl, right arm and hand wrapped in a kind of strap and wearing what looked like a miner's light strapped to his head. Mercifully, the men prayed silently as I was not yet ready to greet the day, and apparently others or group weren't either. Bill and David participated and Bill promised to explain. More on this in a later entry.

The plane landed a few hours later to cheers and applause from Israelis. This traveler had goosebumps on her throat at finally being here. There is so much to learn about this land and its people in such a short time. What a week it's going to be!