Gayle

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Four

2020/01/23 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 22nd, 2020 The day started early. I didn’t really want to eat breakfast, which is kind of a downside when you know you’re going to have a busy day. I was quite unprepared for what it would feel like to cross out of Jerusalem and into the countryside. The countryside is far more what I expected to find here. The expanse of land and seeing the cities in the distance was just absolutely amazing. In some ways it felt very emotional because I felt like for the first time I was in Israel. I feel like we turned a corner and there was the Dead Sea and somehow the connection of water and how water seems to be playing a role in this The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Three

2020/01/22 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 21st, 2020 Today was a little bit frustrating. It Is difficult to be in Israel and in Jerusalem and to spend our time in the hotel listening to speakers. Logistically I understand the need to have done things this way, however, there’s still a certain amount of frustration that comes with not being able to see and experience things as we would like to or as I would have liked to. I absolutely loved hearing from Rami’s grandfather. It was spectacular. As I listened, I imagined my own grandmother as she narrated family history to me many times and I could hear that same love and affection in Rami’s grandfather’s voice as he relayed history and as he struggled to remember places and The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Two

2020/01/21 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 20, 2020 It rained. I mention it because it somehow relates to the purification for visiting holy sites Rami talked about. Perhaps yesterday was a means of purification to be ready and willing to hear, see and experience this place where we are. As I was preparing for this trip many people called it a pilgrimage, or they spoke of walking where Jesus walked, of the specialness of the place. To be honest, none of those things played a role for me. Sure, I wanted to see things for myself. I wanted to touch the stones, to see the places I have learned about my whole life, but from a stoic, intellectual way. After all, it’s just a place. If you have taken The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day One

2020/01/20 Gayle 0

I traveled to Israel and Palestine in January 2020. This is my journal as I recorded it during the trip. At times it may ramble. At times it may be less than coherent (I was tired – physically, mentally, and spiritually) but, I welcome you to journey with me on these two weeks. Stardate: January 19, 2020 I’m not sure what I am thinking about the trip so far. Nothing has been as expected. I was surprised at how green everything is. I expected so much brown, but it is quite a beautiful green space. I understand, as Jared said this is the rainy season. The first view of the city was breathtaking! I have been amazed by the world’s oldest cemetery and hope we The rest of the story

Silent Night

2018/12/12 Gayle 0

Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in Austria. The organ had broken and a young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, in a panic to keep the Christmas Eve service going took a poem he had written “Stille Nacht” brought the words to Franz Xaver Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass. According to Gruber, Karl Mauracher, an organ builder who serviced the instrument at the Obendorf church, was enamoured with the song, and took the composition home with him. He became the “Johnny Appleseed” of Silent Night, teaching it in the many churches where he serviced organs. I heard this story this morning in a The rest of the story