March 25, 2001

Overlooking the Sea of Galilee in Northern Israel.

Sunday is here, the fourth Sunday of Lent, and we had an invitation to worship in the evening with friends in their church in Shefa'amer (north of Nazareth). Following morning Mass, we headed up by way of Nazareth - we had to make a delivery to one of the sisters in the convent there. Even though it's only half an hour's drive from Zababdeh, no one here can make the trip these days because of the closures (many can't even get to Ramallah), so several times we have found ourselves couriers for various things, including medicine and birthday presents.

An American group leads music at St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Shefa’amer, Israel).

Liturgical dance at St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Shefa’amer, Israel).

Our hosts in Shefa'amer, the Anglican priest of St. Paul's and his family, took us to the Sea of Galilee as a nice surprise. Near Tiberias (after the October anti-Arab rioting in that village, going there with Palestinians is not advised), we had lunch at a kibbutz's restaurant overlooking the Sea and dined on St. Peter's fish (there's something ironic about eating meat on Friday and fish on Sunday).

We then went back to St. Paul's for their 6:30 PM evening prayer service. A group from Michigan had been there all week putting on programs for children and visiting refugee camps and closed villages on the West Bank. They had planned several pieces of liturgy for the evening service at St. Paul's, including songs and two dramatic pieces. One of the dramas involved the children. A fellow American Presbyterian who runs a ministry in Nazareth called The Harbour was the preacher, the first English sermon we've heard in a while (quite refreshing).

Marthame with a fellow American Presbyterian minister and the parish priest of St. Paul’s Anglican (Shefa’amer, Israel).

We went back with the Michigan group to their hotel for a late night supper and talked about their - and our - experiences. We crashed for the night in The Harbour.