May 17, 2002

Girls waiting for first communion in the Latin Church.

Boys waiting for their first communion.

We headed of to the Latin church for worship this morning. Today is first communion, and the Rosary Sisters have been preparing the third graders for weeks now. Abuna Ra'ed, who works in the Latin Patriarchate and is a Zababdeh native, was there, as were three Italian priests on a visit collecting information for Pax Christi. The Bishop of Nazareth, Boulos Marcuzzo, was making his way here, but was turned back at the Jalame checkpoint. This morning at 4:00, fifteen tanks entered Jenin - that may explain the tanks near Zababdeh last night. He headed down to the Tayasir checkpoint where, though he was the first car in line (with consular plates and Latin Patriarchate flags to boot), he was made to wait for forty-five minutes before the soldiers bothered to come to his car. He arrived a bit late, but in plenty of time for the first Communion. First communion struck a familiar chord with youth Sundays - the children who had been prepped were also responsible for the lay leadership of the Mass - Scripture readings, prayer requests, etc.

Children singing at their Kindergarten graduation.

Immediately after the Mass, the crowds shifted down to the Church Hall for cute-factor #2, Kindergarten Graduation. Before the adorable little ones received their adorable little diplomas, there were a few speeches, presentations, and songs. One of them is a new Lebanese song which has become quite popular, "Nahnu mish irhabi", with the chorus, "We're not terrorists. We're the people of freedom - Muslims and Christians." Everywhere you go in the West Bank, people are singing this - Muslims and Christians. Unfortunately, some folks - including the head kindergarten teacher - weren't able to come because of the new Jenin incursion. We simply hope they'll be able to continue with school.

Some of the parish youth and young adults lead the graduation singing.

Bishop Marcuzzo poses with one of the proud graduates.

We shared lunch with Bishop Marcuzzo and the other guests before getting a ride up to Nazareth in his car. Our wait at the checkpoint was much shorter, but as each car approached, one soldier's job was to aim his gun at the driver, who must leave the car and approach the other soldier. Yipe. Bishop Marcuzzo has been in the Middle East for forty years, leaving Italy to study at the Latin Seminary in Beit Jala. Before becoming Bishop in 1994, he spent six years (in the 70s) serving a Christian tribe along the Nile in the southern Sudan, where he learned a great deal about the traditional tribal religions and how they interact with Christianity.

One of our proud Kindergarten graduates!

We shared ice cream and coffee at the Bishopric, along with the Italian visitors, before heading off to our friends to catch our breath. Tomorrow, we head off to Jordan and then to the Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding conference, so this is a short breath-catcher. Nonetheless, it is a relief to be out of Jenin for a while.