Olive Wood Crosses

Last Christmas, all of the children, youth and teachers in the parish received an olive wood cross as a gift from our Church pilgrimage to Israel. At the time, I sent a card to each atrium and class, which told a bit about the crosses and included some pictures from our trip. In a conversation with a parent recently, I realized that I never shared this information with you, and that many parents may not know the story behind these little crosses. So I thought I would share it with you here.

Dear Children, Youth, Catechists and Teachers,

As you know a group of parishioners traveled to Israel in October. While we were there we thought of all of you so often and we wanted to share a small token of our trip with you. These little crosses were purchased for you in Bethlehem, and each one has been blessed by Rev. Peter.

The crosses are made from the wood of the Olive Tree which is a native tree common in Israel. Olive trees have been important in Israel since ancient time. Olive oil was commonly used for cooking, lighting lamps, and ointments. In the Hebrew Scripture olive oil was used to anoint Kings, and used to light the lamps in the Temple. In the Christian Scripture, Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives, and he went there to the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper just before he died and rose again.

Your little cross could be carried in your pocket, or kept on your nightstand to hold while praying. You are also welcome to chose a string and make your cross into a necklace.

We hope you enjoy this little cross and that it is a blessing to you!

Capernaum

One of my favorite sites from our pilgrimage to Israel was Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Capernuam is mentioned frequently in the Gospels as Jesus' home base and the place where he called several of his disciples from their nets, but it never made much of an impression on me until I was there!

In many of the Biblical sites we visited, ancient and modern buildings dominated the space in a way that made me more aware of the history of the site than of its spiritual significance. 

Capernaum is different. In this little village along the Sea of Galilee, first century ruins are surrounded by water, trees, and sky. Wandering through the grounds, it is easy to believe and appreciate the fact that Jesus was here. 

In Capernaum there are ruins of a beautiful fourth century Temple.

Beneath this temple, and visible from the outside, are the remains of a first century temple. The white stone is from the fourth century, and the grey stone at the base is from the first. This first century temple is most likely the temple that Jesus knew and where he taught!

Inside the temple, the floor is open in one spot to reveal first century remains.

This modern Church is built above the remains of the site that is believed to have been St. Peter's house. 

Underneath the modern Church are the remains of several Churches built on the site over the centuries, including this 5th century Church.

For me, one of the holiest moments of our trip was celebrating Communion with our group under this tree beside the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum.

The Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee at sunrise.

It's amazing traveling the familiar path of the Church Year after a trip to Israel! This Epiphany, my mind keeps returning to the Sea of Galilee. There, more than any other place, I felt a real sense of the presence of  Jesus. The smallness of the region and the rural landscape have left a lasting impression on me.

As you walk along the Sea of Galilee its easy to imagine Jesus walking here too. Along these shores Jesus called simple fishermen to follow him, and they dropped their nets and followed. In nearby fields Jesus taught rural people with metaphors for the kingdom that they understood - growing wheat and baking bread.

Looking to shore from our boat.

In these small communities around the Sea, Jesus found (and was found) by people on the fringes of society and he healed them and restored them to the community. And around this small Sea, news of Jesus' teaching and power traveled from town to town, and the crowds following him were so large that Jesus had to perform miracles just to feed them! 

The trip also brought home a geography lesson I remember learning when studying Mark. Standing along the Sea of Galilee it is easy to imagine Jesus' ministry unfolding among common people in rural places. And it is easy to see the tension building as Jesus strikes out to Jerusalem to face the political and religious leaders who feared him.

The Southern tip of the Sea of Galilee.

In this season of Epiphany as you hear scriptural accounts of Jesus' ministry unfolding, draw to mind these images and your own of this small but beautiful place. 

Baptism of Our Lord

The Jordan River

In honor of the feast of the Baptism of our Lord, I've been flipping through my pilgrimage photos and thought I would post a few here.

Along the banks of the Jordan.

We visited Yardenit, a baptismal site along the Jordan River. Today, the Jordan River is generally very small, and much of the water that once flowed through it is now siphoned off for other uses. But at Yardenit, the river is a good size and very beautiful.

On the day we visited, Yardenit was busy - crowds of people, lots of baptisms, and many things for sale. I had been looking forward to spending time at the Jordan, but this felt a bit too commercial and I was turned off by it.

Mark 1:9-11 is written in many languages around the site.

In the midst of the crowds, Mary Jo read us the scriptural account of Jesus' baptism from Mark, and we wandered along the river. Anthony found a very quiet spot and we went down a little flight of stairs and put our feet into the water.

I can't explain it, but the experience suddenly became very intimate, as if we were the only people there. Our priests blessed us and I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as we splashed in the water and laughed together. It was one of those holy moments that you don't see coming! As a result, I have very fond memories of our trip to the Jordan and still feel blessed by it!

The sunset was breathtaking as we left Yardenit that evening.

Maps of the Land of Israel

The geography works are an important part of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd because they help us to remember that Jesus was a real person who lived in a particular place at a particular time in history. In the True Vine Atrium, the geography work is extensive, and children explore the regions, cities, and topographical features of the land of Israel using pin maps and booklets. In preparation for Christ Church's pilgrimage to Israel, many of the children have been making their own maps and researching and highlighting places our group will visit. These have been really lovely and I thought I'd share a few pictures here for you to enjoy. To learn more about geography in the atrium, check out this post on Geography.