Happy New Year!!
We live in a small world, really… Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s such a small world”?
Today, Ruth, one of my Ecumenical Accompaniment team mates in Jerusalem, and I went to church. Our team is trying to meet some of the 9,000 Christians that live in Jerusalem. While that number may seem big, it is actually small considering that Jerusalem has over 750,00 people. People around the world are worried about how few Christians remain in Palestine and Israel.
We joined the congregation of the Greek Catholic Patriarchate near Jaffa Gate in the Old City. Have a look at this map . Look for the Jaffa Gate on the left side of the map. (We, in the Jerusalem team, live north of the Damascus Gate, near the top of the map.)
Click here to see the inside of the church.
As the mass was just about to start, two children walked quickly up the side aisle of the church into the area beyond the altar. They reappeared shortly afterward dressed in yellow vestments worn by altar boys and girls like the yellow vestment at this website . One of the children was a girl about 8 years old; the other child was a boy about 10 years old. They helped the adults (including priests, religious sisters, and lay members) conduct the mass.
After the mass, Ruth and I joined members of the congregation for coffee. We started chatting with a woman nearby. She was excited to hear that I am from Alberta, Canada because one of her sons lives in Calgary! She knows about EAPPI, the program that Ruth and I are in as Ecumenical Accompaniers. To our surprise, she lives right across the narrow street from the EAPPI office. I asked if she has a balcony, thinking about a photo that I took about two weeks ago of a girl who was blowing bubbles from a balcony above the street. Guess what?!!!!!!!! That same girl is this woman’s granddaughter…and…the altar girl in today’s mass!!!!
Emily blowing bubbles in the Old City - 16 Dec. 2010
Her name is Emily and this is her brother!!
Look at those bubbles!!
Emily and her brother at church - 2 Jan. 2011
The woman’s name is Georgette and we plan to meet for coffee soon. She asked if I would take a photo of the church’s baptismal font because she was baptized in that font and in that church…in this very old place, the Old City of Jerusalem!!
Georgette and me - Greek Catholic Patriarchate, Jerusalem - 2 Jan. 2011
What a small and amazing world this is…
Happy New Year!!
KidsStories4Peace 
Comments on: "It’s a small, Old-City world…in Jerusalem!" (1)
Sherry Ann enjoyed so much reading about the city, people and all your excursions. Photos are wonderful. Hope you feel fulfilled by your efforts of good will. Bev