Pastor’s Letter 2023 May

Grace and Peace my siblings in Christ,

 I write to you from our Palestine Holy Land Pilgrimage. We have just begun our pilgrimage in Bethlehem, West Bank, entering one of the many Palestinian refugee camps and along the Barricade Wall (called also The Separation Wall). I am reminded that it is still the Easter season, the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, a Palestinian Jew.  

     Having to go through the military checkpoint to enter and leave Bethlehem, I am reminded as the Gospel of Luke shared, Joseph with a very pregnant Mary, walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem, around a two week walk. If this were today, they would have had to go through a military checkpoint, having to explain what right they had to go in or to leave. 

     This day we have taken our first visit into Jerusalem leaving Palestine (also called West Bank).  We walked almost the whole wall built around Jerusalem, and visited the Temple Mount/Aqsa Mosque compound. It was very beautiful. We also visited the church of St Anne, the mother of Mary, and the pools (now dry) of Bethesda which you might remember was where, on the Sabbath, Jesus healed the man paralyzed for 38 years. 

      I so look forward to our opportunity to share with you our pictures and our experiences of our journey.  I am sharing two pictures with you: the four of us from BMUC whom you all have supported and pray for and, our whole group of pilgrims with our guide, Ata Manasra. Many of you will remember Ata is a leader in Wadi Foquin with whom our church and many other United Methodist Churches share an alliance. 

     I pray you are all well and I continue to pray daily for you all.

Salaam, Shalom

Rev Pamela L Kurtz, Pastor 
She/Her/Hers

Cady, Hailey, Pablo & Rev. Pam
Temple Mount Aqsa Mosque