Photo Album
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Day 1 - Thursday, April 25, 2002:
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The delegation (l-r) Maureen Andrew, Pam Engberg and Rev. Hans Arnesen with Rev. Susan Thomas at the Christmas Hotel in East Jerusalem.
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Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, director of Augusta Victoria Hospital, Jerusalem, with New England delegation member Pam Engberg in the background.
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Pastor Susan Thomas and Dr. Nasser at the Christmas Hotel in East Jerusalem.
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Day 2 - Friday, April 26, 2002:
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Maureen and Pam light candles in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
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Pastor Ibrahim Azar plays "So Much Wrong" on the piano in the chapel of the English-speaking Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem.
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Pastor Azar points to beautiful courtyard and gardens in the center of the church complex in Jerusalem. The courtyard was once used as a place to chain up the mentally ill.
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Day 3 - Saturday, April 27, 2002:
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Men wait to get through the Kalandia checkpoint leading to Ramallah for two or more hours.
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A map at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope school shown vandalized by Israeli soldiers.
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Two students at the Hope school in Ramallah take a break from play.
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An employee of the City of Ramallah stands in the doorway of his second floor office in the city's Municipal Building. Seven offices were blown up when Israeli soldiers exploded a safe in the hallway that held the employee cash salaries. All the cash was taken.
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Fifty-five year old Nabil Hajmeer shows where he was kicked on his side while he was bound and gagged for twelve hours in his own home.
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Pam Engberg hands out stickers to children waiting to get through the Kalandia check point.
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An Israeli soldier was showing signs of losing self-control. He was waving his rifle around wildly and cursing loudly as the tired crowds pressed the line of barbed wire. It was probably the most anxious moment of the day.
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Day 4 - Sunday, April 28, 2002:
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An American protests the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
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Har Homa settlement was built four years ago on a prominent hill directly opposite Palestinian housing in Bethlehem. Before the erection of the settlement this hill was a lovely wooded knoll. It's construction Jonathan Frierichs called "provocation in limestone."
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Jonathan Frierichs, communications specialist for Lutheran World Relief, is interviewed by Reuters at the Bethlehem checkpoint.
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About 150 people representing different faiths and commitments to peace and justice marched toward the Bethlehem roadblock to pray and protest the military siege of Bethlehem. These protests have been occurring every Sunday afternoon.
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A Franciscan placed palms at the feet of an Israeli soldier and said, "We just want peace." Today is the Orthodox Palm Sunday.
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Day 5 - Monday, April 29, 2002:
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Rev. Dr. Mary Jensen explains about the area around the Sea of Galilee to Maureen and Pam. Behind them is the Sea of Galilee from the Nof Ginosar Hotel north of Tiberius.
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My father, Sig Arnesen, joined our delegation on Saturday evening.
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Remnants of the Roman aqueduct at Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea.
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Part of the foundation, including pool, of a Roman palace at Caesarea.
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Day 6 - Tuesday, April 30, 2002:
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A font from a 5th century church in Hebron. The font is now in Tagbha, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
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The Tagbha Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This Franciscan chapel was built in 1933 on the site of a 4th century church. It covers the rock that traditionally was the place that Jesus offered breakfast to the disciples: "As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it." (John 21:9)
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This church, the Mount of Beatitudes, was built in 1938. The octagonal shape of the church commemorates the eight beatitudes (MT 5:3-10).
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In 1986, when the water level of the Sea of Galilee was low, a wooden boat dating back to the time of Jesus was found buried in the mud at the water's edge. Dubbed the "Jesus Boat", it has been preserved and now is on permanent display at the kibbutz in Ginosar on the western shore of the Galilee Sea.
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Day 7 - Wednesday, May 1, 2002:
Augusta Victoria Hospital, The Mount of Olives:
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Every bed at Augusta Victoria Hospital is covered with a LWF blanket to increase the level of comfort for the patients. LWF blankets are made by Lutheran church sewing groups all over our country.
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Relief supplies are being prepared for shipment to smaller hospitals throughout Palestine and the West Bank. Augusta Victoria Hospital has become a sort of clearing house for much needed medicines, medical supplies and even food, resulting in a huge budgetary strain on the hospital.
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Dr. Tawfiq Nasser is the chief executive officer of the 160-bed hospital and medical center. He has the challenging task of meeting humanitarian needs locally and regionally, dealing with constant challenges of staff caught by checkpoint delays or closures, and finding the financial resources to keep everything operating. His family has been kept from their Ramallah home for five weeks.
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Hela Salah is one of many dialysis patients that the hospital treats every other day with their eleven dialysis machines. Here delegation member Maureen Andrew presents Hela a small angel. The hospital has seen a 129% increase in need in the last month due to the closures of other hospitals. Staff pick up dialysis patients three times a week from outlying towns in the West Bank.
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Craig Kippels serves as the Lutheran World Federation representative in Israel/Palestine. Over lunch he described to us the pending tax case against Augusta Victoria, which he describes as politically motivated and requiring political intervention from the United States.
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This man, Bilal, was one of the first of eight to be shot during a peaceful protest the day after Ariel Sharon entered the Al Aqsa mosque on September 28, 2000. He died at Augusta Victoria from a bullet wound in the head, and his picture is displayed at the hospital. Bilal's brother and father-in-law were working at the hospital when he was brought there. Palestinian reprisals for Sharon's actions and the shootings began 2-3 weeks later in the West Bank.
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Day 8 - Thursday, May 2, 2002:
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Rabbi Arik Ascherman is the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights in Jerusalem. Arik talked about the two purposes of his organization, to address/redress human rights abuses and to introduce a humanistic understanding of Judaism.
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Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway is a professor at Al Quds University in Jerusalem, a Palestinian university without a campus. His area of specialty is Sufism, Islamic mysticism, but he talked about a theology of the land, challenging the notion of an unconditional promise to the land by God.
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The cell phone is the key tool to movement anywhere around the West Bank. Pastor Michael Thomas, co-pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (English) in Jerusalem, calls about whether travel into Bethlehem in the afternoon is possible and advisable.
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Redeemer Lutheran Church, Bangor, ME sent along a turquoise blue prayer shawl, "the color of Baptism", as a gift for Pastor Jadallah Shihadeh and the members of Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala.
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Following a joyous welcome and embrace, the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb talks more seriously about how tanks were situated directly to the front and the back of his house. The shots from the main guns terrorized the whole family.
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With Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem visible just to the left, we saw a war zone all around the church compound. In the foreground one can see the demolished square that had been developed for the millennium 2000 celebrations in the city.
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Pastor Susan Thomas stands in front of one of the dozens of destroyed autos in the vicinity of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Each of the autos represents a significant family investment, and their loss is not covered by insurance.
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Children thrilled at a few brief hours of play during the lifting of the curfew in Bethlehem.
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While we walked the streets around Christmas Lutheran Church a small entourage of children followed us. This young girl\'s bright face is a wonder given what she\'s seen and heard.
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Everywhere we went we heard the same stories of computer equipment being shot and hard drives taken. From the municipal building in Ramallah to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah to the offices of Christmas Lutheran Church (shown above), hard drives were taken and with them invaluable records. Time and again people asked, "Does this look like a war on terrorism?"
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Mitri Raheb receives a stole from our New England Synod delegation. Each of the pastors has received an identical stole hand-woven by Pam Engberg.
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Day 9 - Friday, May 3, 2002:
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Pastor Samer and Abla Azar have been at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Amman, Jordan for three years. They're expecting their first child this Summer.
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The current facility of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd was built in 1986 with mostly help from the Lutheran church of Finland.
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The inside of Good Shepherd church is decorated for Good Friday worship service.
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Two arrangements of thorns flanked the altar, reminding us of the crown of thorns and the suffering of Christ.
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Following Good Friday worship we went downstairs for tea and conversation. Suad Younan, shown in the foreground, catches up with people she had not seen for three years.
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The church elders of Good Shepherd, Amman, treated us well with dinner following Good Friday worship. Their appreciation for our presence, the first group from our synod, was genuine.
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Day 10 - Saturday, May 4, 2002:
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We went for a drive on Saturday around poorer parts of Amman, including the largest of thirteen refugee camps in the country. Within the Al Baka'a Camp the YWCA operates a training center that includes sewing, a bakery, and a kindergarten.
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Day 11 - Sunday, May 5, 2002:
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We were greeted at worship this Easter morning (according to the Orthodox calendar) with fresh flowers to replace the thorns of Good Friday.
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Hans Arnesen and Pam Engberg present Pastor Samer Azar and Bishop Munib Younan with stoles handmade by Pam. The rainbow design is a reminder of God's baptismal covenant with us and a sign of our covenant partnership with the churches of the ELCJ.
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Following worship all the members gathered in front of the church to share fellowship and Easter greetings. The children handed out colored eggs.
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Passionate discussions about politics and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict have been a frequent sight these days. Here Bishop Younan holds court with Abla Azar's father, a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic.
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Our visit to Amman can be characterized by a genuine and gracious hospitality from the Azar family and the members of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.
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A final picture of the Azar and Younan families before goodbyes. Pictured are (l-r) Abla and Samer Azar, Bishop Younan and his daughter Martha, Suad, and daughter Anna.
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Return to the "Journey to the Holy Land" main page...
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 Maureen Andrew, Pam Engberg and Rev. Hans Arnesen with Rev. Susan Thomas at the Christmas Hotel in East Jerusalem.'))
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![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/04-26_piano.jpg', '400', '300', 'Pastor Ibrahim Azar plays "So Much Wrong" on the piano in the chapel of the English-speaking Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem.'))
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![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/04-28_bar-homa.jpg', '400', '300', 'Har Homa settlement was built four years ago on a prominent hill directly opposite Palestinian housing in Bethlehem. Before the erection of the settlement this hill was a lovely wooded knoll. It\'s construction Jonathan Frierichs called "provocation in limestone."'))
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![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/04-28_palms.jpg', '400', '300', 'A Franciscan placed palms at the feet of an Israeli soldier and said, "We just want peace." Today is the Orthodox Palm Sunday.'))
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![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/04-30_primacy.jpg', '400', '300', 'The Tagbha Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This Franciscan chapel was built in 1933 on the site of a 4th century church. It covers the rock that traditionally was the place that Jesus offered breakfast to the disciples: "As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it." (John 21:9)'))
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![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/04-30_jesus-boat.jpg', '400', '300', 'In 1986, when the water level of the Sea of Galilee was low, a wooden boat dating back to the time of Jesus was found buried in the mud at the water\'s edge. Dubbed the "Jesus Boat", it has been preserved and now is on permanent display at the kibbutz in Ginosar on the western shore of the Galilee Sea.'))
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 in Jerusalem, calls about whether travel into Bethlehem in the afternoon is possible and advisable.'))
![Click here to view the fullsize image...](javascript:displayPhoto('images/05-02_prayer-shawl.jpg', '400', '300', 'Redeemer Lutheran Church, Bangor, ME sent along a turquoise blue prayer shawl, "the color of Baptism", as a gift for Pastor Jadallah Shihadeh and the members of Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala.'))
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, hard drives were taken and with them invaluable records. Time and again people asked, "Does this look like a war on terrorism?"'))
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 with fresh flowers to replace the thorns of Good Friday.'))
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 Abla and Samer Azar, Bishop Younan and his daughter Martha, Suad, and daughter Anna.'))