By now, most of you know that I’m NOT going to Israel this coming Friday. While I’m very disappointed, I am feeling very unsettled as well and both of those feelings are overshadowed by shock and grief of the events that are unfolding in Israel/Palestine. In situations like this, which is so complex, I often feel hopeless and helpless, so I do what I usually do: I light a candle, reminding myself that each little light, sheds more light, I pray, because I can’t just cope on my own, and I send financial support to an organization on the ground that is working towards peace. In this case, rather than receive a full refund, I decided to donate some of my registration money to Sabeel, which was the organization that was hosting us.
One of the people who was going to be on the Come and See Pilgrimage with me wrote the following and I have permission to share it.
I will still be on Study Leave for the two weeks and will work on some advance planning for Advent/Christmas, and perhaps beyond, the presentation of the Listening Circles material, getting some reading done that I never seem to get to, and maybe take in a couple of webinars.
Rev. Judith Perry will be leading worship this week. The scripture is Ruth 1: 1-17. We are going to once again sing Creation, Like a Prism Shines, with the events in Israel/Palestine unfolding, the last verse seems so poignant:
We children all of Abraham,
Are Muslim, Christian, Jew
Shalom, salaam, with you be peace
And also friend, with you.
St. James United Church Dartmouth 