JERUSALEM JOURNAL: DAY 8 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 3, 2010
COMMENTARY
We got up for our 8 AM quiz, the first of three plus a final exam. It was a tough exam, but I got 35 of 39 points. I thank God that I did that well, because I really did not have time to study, with all of the other activities going on. After the quiz, we had a church service together. My roommate Jim led the service, while Dr. Rigsby preached the sermon.
CHRIST CHURCH, JERUSALEM
After that service, I walked up to Christ Church, an Anglican Church located near our hotel. I came in during the sermon, and during the service, I discovered that I had stumbled upon the Blessed Sacrament Church of the Middle East. I spoke with their pastor for some time. He is from the United States and is named David Pileggi. They view their mission as bringing the Gospel to the Jews rather than a mission of peace and justice for the Palestinians. Because of their stand and their sponsorship of GAFCON, a conference of Traditional/Conservative Anglican churches, the Diocese of Jerusalem has pretty much cut their funding from outside sources for this mission. I had lunch with their deacon. The church runs a hostel/hotel.
YAD VASHEM, THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM OF JERUSALEM
That afternoon, we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum of Jerusalem. The displays were moving, but very difficult to describe adequately, so I won’t even try.
We viewed the Walk of Righteous Gentiles, at which trees have been planted in the memory of gentiles who helped the Jews during the Holocaust.
The Hall of Remembrance contains an eternal flame and remembers the concentration camp that killed so many Jews.
The main section, where no pictures could be taken, provided multimedia presentations of World War II activities. It was sad, sickening, but moving and a story that needs to be told over and over again to remind us of the horrible atrocities that took place.
EVENING ACTIVITIES
After dinner, we were treated to another hour and a half of Todd’s lectures.
