April 18, 2003 — Mudeif Productions

Happy Birthday, Dad (the check's in Mom's envelope). Today is our day off, our sabbath, our day of relaxation. Elizabeth has come down with an ear infection (seemingly an annual occurrence we'd rather not celebrate), so she spent much of the day resting, breaking our Lenten fast from television. She's allowed.

In the afternoon, we heard the death bell sound at the Latin Church. When a member of a parish dies here, the death bell sounds. In our three years here, we've come to know the different bell signals. From there, the news of whom spreads by word of mouth. Marthame walked to the Convent to find out who passed away - the grandmother of a number of our students. Families here are deeply intertwined and also large, so deaths affect a large number of people quite closely. The deceased has a daughter in Nablus and a son in Amman, as well as another in Germany. The original thought was to wait until at least the daughter could come, but then decided that the situation was such it would be better to go ahead and have the funeral. In Muslim society the funeral is the same day. For the Christians, it is often the same or the next day.

Marthame then went to the Latin Church for the stations of the cross, followed every Friday in Lent by the Latin parish. It is a simple service of readings, hymns, and a lot of kneeling. In the middle of the service, the electricity cut off (for the second time today). The service was more moving as a result, hymns sung a capella and Fr. Aktham's voice carrying in the echo. Having walked the stations of the cross in their traditional locations in Jerusalem, it was strange to do it here so close to their site - and yet so far.

When prayers ended, Marthame, Fr. Aktham, and Deacon Homam led the silent procession from the church to the home of the deceased. The men are gathered outside, while the women gather inside around the casket. There is a small prayer said in the home, then the casket is closed and carried to the church. At the church, the family stood around the casket while the rest of the church was filled with more distant relatives and friends.

From the church, the clergy - now including Fr. Firas, the Melkite priest - led the procession of men to the graveyard, where the body is interred. Hers was in a raised mausoleum, and all waited until it was cemented over and the engraved headstone was set in place.

A few hours and a few visits later, Marthame was back at the church, this time in the church hall for a supper along with the church bazaar. Being a Catholic gathering, the simple supper was followed by - can you guess? - Bingo! As Fr. Aktham stood up to read out the numbers, the lights went out, the third electricity outage of the day. By this time it was night, so we were bathed in darkness until the smokers broke out their lighters. Of course, being a Catholic church, candles are always handy. Within a few minutes, though, the electricity was back. The prizes were also donated by a number of local businesses, and everyone shared in the fun. Fr. Aktham is a natural with an audience, and people were laughing and joking with each other. A good spirit.

Marthame got home just as the electricity went out for the fourth time today, a new record.