December 19, 2001

This afternoon, Marthame attended daily prayers at St. George's Orthodox Church with Abuna To'mie. At first, it was just the two of them. About 10 minutes later, another member of the congregation arrived, then another ten minutes later. They sang and led the liturgy together for the next hour. There is something powerful about the idea that prayer and liturgy are important enough to do every day. Even if it is the same, or approximately the same, there is a great deal of power in its habitual practice and expectation that God is listening.

We had a particularly important reason for intercession today - a friend of Marthame's from the States is in the hospital after he was paralyzed by a hitchhiker who shot him. We're not the only ones at risk these days...

Sheikh Fathi offers a gift of essential oils to Fr. To’mie.

Christian and Muslim leaders of Zababdeh meet to exchange holiday greetings.

Marthame then headed off with the Christian men of the village to greet the sheikh of Zababdeh in recognition of 'Eid al-Fitir. Both Abuna Aktham and Abuna To'mie were there, as were many representing their two churches and the various Christian families of the village. A vigorous discussion ensued about such important matters as the origin of various town names and the way that "kids today" act, after which the sheikh taught us a little of his knowledge of essences, perfumes, and oils - something he has more than dabbled in for some time. He presented both priests as well as the mayor with some samples (we still have ours from our visit for 'Eid al-Adha in March).

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was attending evening Mass at St. Matthew's Anglican Church. Given that it was pre-Christmas, mid-week, a small congregation, and a rainy night, it was not surprising that there was only a handful of people there. Somehow, Father Hossam managed to get from Nablus to Zababdeh yesterday. He's headed back in a few days - we just hope he'll be able to return here in time for Christmas day services.