Bethlehem Lutheran Church

On March 31 I will be traveling to Jerusalem with a group of individuals who will be setting up a new printing room in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. This is the church I lived in during my seminary internship year of 1995-1996. I have not been back since 1998.

      I am anxious to return to the smells and sounds of this beautiful and turbulent land-where church bells of all denominations, calls to prayers from minarets, and the shofar horn signaling the beginning of Shabbat all compete to call people to prayer and rest. As you walk through the cobbled stone streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, your nose is assaulted with incense from an open church door, then fresh ground coffee, then cardamom spices, and then mint tea mixed with the smell of leather goods in the market. As you continue to walk through the twists and turns of darkened corridors and arches made of ancient stones you begin to wonder if you really can hear the stories that they must have to tell.

      Many people visit this part of the world to experience the exotic, to romanticize over the dead stones and to imagine the footsteps of Jesus. There are living stones, however, who aren't just pointing to Jesus' ancient footsteps. They are Christians just like you and me walking the walk of Jesus in real, albeit extraordinary, ways everyday. These are the people our group will be meeting and working with.

      The Christians in the Holy Land are witnesses to peace in extremely difficult circumstances and providers of quality education for Muslims, Christians and Jews alike. The printing operation we are helping to upgrade prints materials for six churches, four Lutheran schools, and five kindergartens across the region in three different languages (English, Arabic and German). Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry and the ELCA Global Mission have been working together to gather these funds. Among the contributors are Bethlehem Foundation, Mt. Calvary Lutheran in Excelsior, St. John Lutheran on Nicollet, Peace Lutheran in Bloomington and many individuals who are making this project a reality. (We are still $3500 short of our goal if you would like to contribute.)

      Gordon Olson, Sandra and George Anderson, and I are going from Bethlehem. Representatives from the other contributing churches are also part of this working group. While we are there, we will be exploring ways that we can continue to be mission partners with the Living Stones-the living witnesses to the Risen Christ-in the Holy Land. Christmas Lutheran Church and the International Center of Bethlehem, for instance, is dedicated to the development of a "holistic and integrated system of human resource development, for the creation of committed, pro-active and creative Palestinian leaders." Because they believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved because of the lack of visionary and responsible leaders on both sides, this Christian community is building a university for the "Bright Stars of Bethlehem" that will help develop and foster this new visionary leadership. Wow! Just think of the exciting mission partnership that could develop with the exchange of visionary leadership between Bethlehem in Minneapolis and Bethlehem in the Holy Land! (And that is only one of the possibilities.)

      I plan to make a live call during the worship services on Sunday, April 6, and give an update on our work and progress. Watch for updates on our website too. Please keep us in your prayers and let me know if you have a passion for being involved in this continuing mission partnership. This might mean another trip in the not too distant future with you.

Grace and Peace, Pastor Beth