Wednesday in Holy Week

Holy God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

Reflection: How do you move through suffering with hope and dignity? Who is the world today is an example to you of facing suffering with hope and dignity?

Register for Virtual Trivia Night!

Register here for our virtual trivia night!

Come One, Come All!

Join St. John’s for Virtual Trivia Night!

What:  An all-ages virtual social hour and trivia night

When:  Saturday, April 18, 6-8 PM

Where:  Zoom! (invitations to be sent to those who register)

We have partnered with the local trivia company, Sporcle, to host a virtual trivia night for ages 1 to 100.

A member of St. John’s has generously contributed to the cost of this event. Any additional funds raised during the event will be donated to St.John’s Episcopal Church.

Each participant or household will need access to a computer or smartphone with a microphone and internet, and the Zoom app. Participants will be organized into teams.

  • 6-7 PM: log-in,  Zoom orientation, and social hour / 7-8 PM: trivia

    • To ensure that all who wish to participate can do so, please join the Zoom meeting no later than 6:30 PM.

  • After 8:00, everyone is free to continue to socialize.


RSVP 

Please rsvp no later than April 15, 2020 and also fill out this form.

Tuesday in Holy Week

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 71:1-14

1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; *

let me never be ashamed.

 2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; * incline your ear to me and save me.

 3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *

you are my crag and my stronghold.

 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *

from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, *

 my confidence since I was young.

 6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;

from my mother’s womb you have been my strength; *

my praise shall be always of you.

 7 I have become a portent to many; *

 but you are my refuge and my strength.

 8 Let my mouth be full of your praise *

 and your glory all the day long.

 9 Do not cast me off in my old age; *

 forsake me not when my strength fails.

 10 For my enemies are talking against me, *

and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.

11 They say, “God has forsaken him; go after him and seize him; *

because there is none who will save.”

 12 O God, be not far from me; *

come quickly to help me, O my God.

 13 Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced; *

let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.

14 But I shall always wait in patience, *

 and shall praise you more and more.

Monday in Holy Week

From the Book of Common Prayer,

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Praying with Color

Thanks to Terry Boutelle, pray with this coloring page for today and engage in the reflection as part of your Holy Week journey.

These are the times that try our souls.

April 3, 2020

These are the times that try our souls.
          - Paraphrase of Thomas Paine quote

Guide My Feet Lord, while I run this race, 
For I don’t want to run this race in vain
          - Black Spiritual

Often in times like these of fear, disappointment, struggle and confusion, my mother would repeat the words from black spirituals, Scripture and tried-and-true platitudes.  She did not distinguish between their sources.  Indeed, growing up, I thought they were all from the Bible, because she rolled one into another, and said them emphatically, with the conviction of faith; and at times she told me they were from the Bible. 

I remember certain sayings she particularly used as her “scriptures.”  When I asked for something, she would say, “God bless the child that’s got his own."  As an adult, I learned that that saying was not from the Bible, but from a song written and sung by the jazz singer Billie Holiday.  When she wanted me to clean my room or wash dishes and such, she would say, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness." That platitude can be traced to ancient Babylonian and Hebrew texts before and beyond the Bible.  To me, that particular saying truly sounded "biblical," until I discovered its origins.  Also, John Wesley included that phrase in a 1778 sermon, which made it a little closer to a religious saying.

Another very familiar saying she often quoted comes to me now, as we are requested to be responsibly and safely sheltering at home, with the exception of those providing essential services. Again I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness and respect for those on the front lines of dealing with COVID-19 and putting themselves at risk:  First responders, medical and scientific research personnel, state and local governments, the civil service and employees of other essential services still at work.  

Now, as I am isolated, and bereft of community, regular public worship and the sacraments, with no certain date of life resuming in the company of others, this familiar saying echoes inside me:  "Patience is a virtue.”  This, again, is not in the Bible but is from the third century BCE Roman orator and senator, Cato the Elder. 

To hold patience as a virtue, that is, a high moral and desirable standard of behavior, is commendable and helpful for individuals and society in general.  I think it is only a part of what is necessary in these difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I deeply yearn for corporate liturgy and the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and to go about again in the world, embracing others.  Waiting for the time when again I can engage with others and the real presence of Christ in bread and wine, I think patience is only a part of what is required of me.  Patience is only a part of what I need; being patient is only part of what I think I should be.

Over the past few weeks I have watched and participated in liturgies of the Eucharist online, but I find a difference within me compared to when I participate in other liturgies such as the Book of Common Prayer Daily Offices of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline.  I deeply feel in these services the power of prayer, song and connection with others around the Anglican Communion and the globe.

But I find myself somewhat uncomfortable with online Eucharists even though I have what is traditionally called a “high church” theology on the sacraments and liturgy.  The sacrament of the Eucharist is vital to me:  As St. Paul wrote, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26)  Yet viewing and seeking to participate in online eucharistic liturgies, I feel restrained and constrained.  Holy Eucharist is the most sacred and most intimate liturgy. 

In the elements of communion we are offered spiritual intimacy with God and each other.  It is God’s grace coming to us, and in us, to empower us to go out into the world to proclaim and serve God. It truly is communal in its essence, which is why a priest may not celebrate Eucharist alone; Christ’s presence in bread and wine is a divine manifestation with humanity, not just the individual.  It is not magic; it is the presence of the Holy One in us.  But this is my own struggle.  I realize many disagree with me, and find comfort, solace and strength from online Eucharists, and I am thankful for that, even if I don’t quite experience it online as others do.

That is why I know patience is only part of what is required of me.  Waiting patiently for this time to pass is not enough. 

What I believe is required of me, especially as we approach Holy Week, Easter and the weeks beyond, is endurance.  While I am bereft of sacrament and community, endurance requires I process the loneliness and isolation within me, without giving way to it, in examining what truly is foundational and what principles and values I hold.  To ask myself:  Is this what God desires; is this following Jesus?  To endure means I must sustain and lean into my trust in God and God’s love to continue in this time.  

Endurance is more than being patient and waiting; it is not passive but active engagement with a situation.  During this pandemic, endurance demands spiritual stamina, which invites me to enter more deeply into prayer, Scripture, hymns, stories of the saints and the vast resources of spiritual writing through the ages. Endurance comes from realizing I am a part of something beyond myself and beyond this frightening season.

Endurance.  As the Apostle Paul wrote: “But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance, in afflictions, hardship, calamities…  as dying and behold we live, …as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing and yet possessing everything.” (2 Corinthians 6:4,9-10 NRSV)

A dear longtime friend of mine shared with me the words that follow below, which give her more hope and endurance during this pandemic.  I also think these words of Colorado Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre echo what St. Paul wrote, a poetic inspiration during the COVID-19 crisis:

Nothing Left

And when there is nothing left to do but live,
let us retire the noise,
and build a home inside the stillness.

Grab a wrench and unfasten the parts of you
that have become mechanical;
rest your weary limbs in the bed of anomaly.

Outside,
the machine is powering down.
You can hear the birds when the gears aren’t grinding.

When there is nothing left to do but live,
make a vacation of your body;
each part explored, a stamp on your passport.

Begin with your heart, maybe?
Crawl inside and sightsee,
ask difficult questions about who it is, and why.

Outside,
the machine is powering down.
You can hear yourself when the gears aren’t grinding.

When there is nothing left to do but live,
simply show up;
that has always been enough.

And together in this sudden strangeness,
radical imagination will run wild;
tomorrow being built today.

Yours in Christ,+Gayle
The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris

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"For the facing of this hour": pastoral message from Bishop Gayle Harris

Dear Friends in Christ:

God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient Church's story;
bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour...
...for the living of these days.
          From Hymn 594, The Hymnal 1982, Words by Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969)

A few days ago I sent some of my thoughts to the vocational deacons of our diocese, and I wish to share those and other reflections with all among and connected to us during this time of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are difficult days for the people of Planet Earth, our island home.  These are challenging days for Christ's Body, the Church.  While the pandemic of COVID-19 has forced the isolation of one from another, and the present global fear is new to most of us in 2020, pandemics and fear are not new in humanity, nor to the Church.

We can remember the fear and the epidemics of SARS, MERS, Ebola and other diseases that most of us have not experienced directly.  As a seminarian, I was involved with ministries in Oakland and San Francisco when AIDS, mysterious and unnamed, began to strike fear.  As I was growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, my parents lived with fear every spring trying to keep me inside for fear of my contracting polio, as my uncles did (one died, one was disabled), until the vaccine was developed and widely distributed when I was about eight years old.

The influenza pandemic of 1918, yellow fever, smallpox, bubonic plague, the Black Death--the list goes on of deadly communicable diseases that have visited us.  All began as mysterious, even invisible, agents of panic, suffering and death.

And what are now "childhood diseases" were at times intentionally given to the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas by invading Europeans to cause death among those who had no immunity.

The precautions mandated by Governor Baker of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the directives of our Bishop Diocesan Alan Gates and the statements by our Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry have been for our protection, and largely to curtail exposure to COVID-19.  They will temporarily keep us from public worship and providing ministry in our physical presence, but they do not dismantle our pastoral and spiritual ministries in the world and with each other.

I, like you, miss being present with others.  I long for the sacrament of the Eucharist, not only the act of the community of faith, but the grace and strength I need to keep hope alive in these days.  I turned to my St. Augustine Prayer Book, to the section titled "Spiritual Communion: When unable to attend the Mass," and these words jumped off the page:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock:
if any hear my voice, and open the door,
I will come to them,
and will sup with them
and they with me.
     --Revelation 3:20

In union, dear Lord, with the faithful at every altar of thy Church where the blessed body and blood are being offered to the Father, I desire to offer thee praise and thanksgiving.  I believe that Thou art truly present in the Holy Sacrament.  And since I cannot now receive thee sacramentally, I beseech thee to come spiritually into my heart.

I unite myself unto thee, and embrace thee with all the affections of my soul.  Let me never be separated from thee.  Let me live and die in thy love. Amen.
--St. Augustine of Hippo

As we do continue in a spiritual community, we can offer solace and ministry to those who are alone, vulnerable, afraid, confused and ill by communicating our presence in ways we are unaccustomed, by the use of telephone, electronic and social media.  Let us also rely on the power of prayer to encourage and support one another.  As members of the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement we have a rich and creative tradition to face days like these.  We also have the liturgical and spiritual resources of several hymnals and The Book of Common Prayer.  It is time to rediscover the wealth of prayers and worship services for individuals and families within it.  These resources can help us to articulate our hopes and needs, especially when words may fail us.  If you do not have a copy, The Book of Common Prayer is available online here .

The Daily Offices are prayerful worship services intended for congregations, individuals and families, and do not require clergy to officiate.  Please see the following:

Pages 17-135
     Morning Prayer (Rite I or II)
     Evening Prayer (Rite I or II)
     Compline (for the end of the day)

Page 136-143
Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families:
     In the Morning
     At Noon
     In the Early Evening
     At the Close of the Day

Pages 814-841
     Prayers and Thanksgivings (Various)

St. Augustine of Hippo once said "they who sing pray twice" acknowledging that in song we tie heart and mind, with our whole body in the act of singing.  As I turn to prayer, our hymnals and the spirituals of the black religious experience keep coming to mind.  The one hymn from The Hymnal 1982 that continually comes to mind, and that I pray for the world, is Hymn 680, with words by Isaac Watts (1674-1748):

O God, our help in ages past, our help for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home.

May we continue in faith and may we know God's grace is present to give us strength and hope.  Let us pray for the sick and isolated among us, and those who are despondent and disconsolate from fear.  Let us also pray for first responders, the medical community, government leaders and biological scientists and researchers to be led by courage, compassion and the wisdom of God.

Yours in Christ,
+Gayle
The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris

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Worship Update March 20, 2020

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Join us on YouTube for Worship This Sunday at 10:30 AM

As we live into our new reality of striving to stay connected during this time of social distancing, our Sunday worship is a central event in our week where our onsite worship team and the St. John's community far and wide join together live through YouTube.  Here are current instructions on how you can participate in this Sunday's services.   Please note these may evolve over time.

Sunday services will be at 10:30 on YouTube Live. You can get directly to our channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJnwFyi9KgX1ia1C7JZasZg.

For Sunday morning, you can download the bulletin with selected hymns and the worship booklet in advance.  Then you can view them digitally on a tablet or computer,  or you can print them out for use during the stream, whichever makes most sense for you.  You need to print the worship booklet only once as we reuse it week by week.  The bulletin is updated each Sunday.

You will be able to download all of these materials on our website: https://www.stjohns-jp.org/online-services.  They will also be available on YouTube in the livestream's description.

We encourage you to send in your Prayers to be read during service. Email Liz with those in advance here:  parish.admin@stjohns-jp.org
We are also compiling a list of healthcare providers in our community who do so much at this time of outbreak. If you have a name to add to this specific list, please send it to Liz.

You can also list additional prayers during the service in the chat function on YouTube. Please feel free to participate in The Peace, Prayers of the People etc. during the service. Liz will monitor the chat during the service.

Other Ways St. John's is Connecting Online

Starting this Sunday, the Vestry invites each of our Three Parish Teams to meet online after worship for mutual care and support and to take on one project to serve the whole parish in this current challenging time.  
This Sunday, March 22, the Spiritual Life Team will meet online from 12:30-2:00 PM using Google Hangouts Meet at this link: Spiritual Life Team Online Meeting.  Any web browser will connect with the meeting, and you do not need a Google Account.  You can also call into this meeting from any phone at 1 510-575-0537, then enter the pin 471 217 731#.

Next week, March 29, both the Community Life Team and Resource Management Team will meet virtually after worship, each in their Google Meet space.

Wednesday Prayers will be on streamed Google Meet. That link will be available here:
https://www.stjohns-jp.org/online-services

You will be able to view the latest messages from Ted and others in our Parish Weekly and also on our website. You can always check on our homepage or at The Red Door section of our website to see if anything new has been posted. The Red Door is accessed here:
https://www.stjohns-jp.org/news

We recognize these methods are new for many of you and want everyone to feel confident accessing worship with us at this time. If you have questions, please email Liz or Ted and we will help you.

Thank you!

St. John's COVID-19 Message

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To the St. John’s Community,

My dear friends and fellow Christians, we live in the midst of extraordinary events. 

I wonder if your heart and soul have been feeling like my heart and soul this past week - alternately despondent, angry, hopeful, hopeless, determined, overwhelmed. Worship for us is a grounding place for our hearts and souls in such times and we will continue to worship regularly at St. John’s, as our ancestors in the faith worshipped here before us through extraordinary events in the past, like the Civil War, the Spanish Flu of 1918, Two World Wars and the AIDS epidemic. But in the face of our communal response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, we cannot carry on worship in the same way.

So in response to the events of our day, and with a mix of sadness and determination, our co-wardens and I have decided to take the extraordinary step of moving to online worship services effective immediately and for the foreseeable future. We do this especially to protect our beloved elders who are most vulnerable to coronavirus. Tomorrow at 10:30 AM, a small group of us will join myself and Brian John to lead worship from the sanctuary and livestream it on YouTube at our St. John’s Channel where you can join us. Our Parish Administrator, Liz Cumberbacth will help coordinate our livestream.

You can find our YouTube Channel at this link - St. John's YouTube Channel

To participate in the service, we have the bulletin and psalm available for you as links to download - Season of Lent Worship Booklet & Psalm 95 Inclusive Language

You can find the other readings at this link - Lent 3 Readings

At the end of the service, we will offer a special blessing for Don Hernstrom and Liz Hill, for whom this is our farewell as they move to Florida.

All other in person events planned for tomorrow, March 15, are cancelled. Liz and I will work to set up online gatherings soon for these and future meetings - the Family Service, the Racial Equity Food Challenge meeting, and Youth Group. We will hold our Wednesday night Evening Prayer service online and our vestry will hold their regular March meeting online this Wednesday as well. Part of our discussion as your parish leaders will be how we continue on as a community and care for each other in midst of these extraordinary events. We will communicate with you regularly through email and through our parish website, www.stjohns-jp.org. While we will not be open to the public, Liz and I will keep the church's office hours and you can reach us by phone at 617-524-2999 Tuesday through Thursday.

We are embarking on an adventure of faith in challenging times, and while we do not know what will unfold, we do know the core Gospel values that will see us through - love, compassion, mercy, service to others, especially the most vulnerable among us. God is with us in all the times of our lives, ordinary and extraordinary. I am thankful and blessed to be with you all in these times in the name of Christ. See you online Sunday!

Peace and blessings,

Ted+

Footprints

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This set of footprints outside the church this morning brought to mind the old poem:

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

Holy Land Pilgrimage 2020

From our Friends at St. Pauls:

I am thrilled to announce that I will be leading, with my good friend the Rev. Tom Mousin, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January of next year.  Over the course of 10 days we will travel, pray, eat and learn together at some of our scripture's most sacred sites.  The draft itinerary is below.  Prior to the trip there will be reading lists to digest and two in-person meetings to plan for the trip.  We'll be traveling in a group of 25-35 with people from other parishes and the Diocese of Maine, where Tom lives.

Details follow.  If you are interested, or have questions, please let me know at jmello@stpaulsbrookline.org. A non-refundable deposit will be due at the end of August.  

Tom and I are excited to lead this trip.  We hope you will join us!  

Peace,

Jeff+

Cost and Itinerary 

The cost is somewhere in the $4,000 pp range, based on double occupancy.

This includes:

Airfare, lodging, three meals each day, our guide's services, three lectures, all entrance fees and a small contribution to the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem.

This does not include:

Alcoholic beverages, souvenir purchases, upgrade to single occupancy, or upgrade to business class on the flight. 

A Journey to The Holy Land

Under the Direction of The Rev. Jeffrey Mello, The Rev. Tom Mousin and  Local Guide Canon Iyad Qumri  

12-Days: January 18-29, 2020 

Tentative Itinerary 

Jan 19-22 Saint George's Guest House  

Jan 22-25 Sisters of Nazareth  

Jan 25-29 Saint George's Guest House  

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, DAY 1: DEPART USA On our way to the Holy Land  

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, DAY 2: ARRIVE BEN GURION AIRPORT / TRANSFER TO JERUSALEM Arrival to Tel Aviv, you will be met by your guide, Canon Iyad Qumri, transfer to our accommodation in Jerusalem Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, DAY 3: HORIZONS OF JERUSALEM / HERODIUM Introductions, In the morning we will drive to Mt. Scopus where we will look at the different dramatic settings of the Scripture. Then we will look at the many different Jerusalem, visit Herodium some 12 km. south of Jerusalem, on a hill shaped like a truncated cone that rises 758 m. above sea level, stood Herodium, the palace-fortress built by King Herod. It had a breathtaking view, overlooking the Judean Desert and the mountains of Moab to the east, and the Judean Hills to the west. Guest Speaker: Contemporary Issues - A Palestinian Perspective Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, DAY 4: SHEPHERD'S FIELD / BETHLEHEM We depart Jerusalem for Bethlehem and the Shepherds' Field, visit a 1st century cave dwelling, Lunch is in Beit Sahour (Shepherds' Field), 'And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night', Church of the Nativity located in Manger Square. It is the oldest church in Christendom, constructed by Constantine in AD 326 and the traditional site of the Nativity Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, DAY 5: JERICHO / NAZARETH Wadi Qelt, early morning to get the feel for the desert, depart for Jericho to hike up Mt. of Temptation and view Tell Jericho, 20-minute meditation on Mt of Temptation, Lunch in Jericho,drive through the Rift Valley to Nazareth. In Nazareth we will visit Mary's Well, the site of the only spring-fed fountain in the city, and most likely the place where Mary would have gone to draw water. We then visit the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation where we will have an opportunity to have an introduction to the Icon, we then follow on foot the path to the Latin Church of the Annunciation, the traditional site of the Angel Gabriel's appearance to Mary, telling her she would conceive Jesus, the Emmanuel Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, DAY 6: JORDAN RIVER / CAPERNAUM / BEATITUDES / TABGHA Today we depart for the Sea of Galilee-Lake Kinnereth. Stop at the Jordan River for the renewal of Baptismal vows, Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, we then visit Capernaum where we see the Ancient Synagogue and St. Peter's House. We continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, Lunch, visit to Tabgha (Heptapegon), The Loaves and Fishes Church and the Chapel of St. Peter's Primacy, Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, DAY 7: SEPPHORIS / CAESAREA PHILIPPI Sepphori, where we explore the excavations of the Roman / Byzantine city, the capital of Galilee at the time of Jesus. Lunch, depart for Caesarea Philippi (Banias) and Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" Meet with Fr. Nael Abu Rahmoun at Christ Church in Nazareth Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth A treat you will not want to miss!!!! 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, DAY 8: BURQIN / NABLUS / TAYBEH Depart for Burqin. Jesus had passed through Burqin on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth, and as he was passing by the village he heard cries for help from ten lepers who were isolated in quarantine in a cave, Nablus to visit (St. Photini the Greek Orthodox Monastery), St. Photini lived in first century Palestine, she was the Samaritan woman who Christ visited at the well asking her for water, the church built over Jacob's well where will tour the church and drink from the Well, Lunch in Taybeh, visit Taybeh, the only 100% Christian town in the Palestinian Authority, in the fourth century the Emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helena built the church of St. George in the village, the ruins of the Church are still found on a hill in the town. Taybeh is also the home of the only Palestinian brewery in the Middle East. Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House Guest Speaker: Lecture on Islam Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House 

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, DAY 9: WESTERN WALL / DOME OF THE ROCK / WORSHIP AT SAINT GEORGE'S CATHEDRAL / ISRAEL MUSEUM We depart for the Western Wall near Elharam Esh Sharif (The Dome of the Rock and the Al- A Aqsa Mosque), St. Anne's Church and the pools of Bethesda. Sunday Eucharist at Saint George's Cathedral, the liturgy will be celebrated in English and Arabic, the language of our Arabic Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land and the whole Middle East. Lunch. Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. We will also visit a scale model of the Old City of Jerusalem, describing the city as it would have been during Jesus' time. Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House Guest Speaker: Contemporary Issues - An Israeli Perspective 

MONDAY, JANUARY 27, DAY 10: OLD CITY / CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER GROUP PHOTO, Walk the Cardo to the Constantinian Entrance to the Church of the Resurrection to the Holy Sepulcher, Lunch, afternoon Holy Sepulcher (Cont.) walk to the Armenian quarter where we will be able to observe the Armenian Vespers. Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, DAY11: BETH-PHAGE / DOMINUS FLEVIT / GETHSEMANE / DEAD SEA Depart for Beth-phage and Mt. of Olives walk down the Palm Sundayday Road ending at the Garden of Gethsemane. Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, this church was built over the palace of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Peter denied Jesus three times. Lunch at the Qumris in Jericho. Dead Sea, where you will have the option to swim - or really, float (Rocky Beach) Dinner and overnight at Saint George's Guest House 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, DAY 12: WAY OF THE CROSS / EMMAUS Stations of the Cross, Silent reflections at the Empty Tomb, Later in the morning we will depart for Emmaus Nicopolis. We celebrate the Eucharist at the ruins of the Byzantine Church. Lunch. 

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport  

The Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello
Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Dean, The Charles River Deanery
15 St. Paul St.
Brookline, MA  02446
617-566-4953
jmello@stpaulsbrookline.org
www.stpaulsbrookline.org