Israel Handbell Tour – Day 8

Note:  I was unable to get online last evening…the service here in Nazareth has been sketchy.  So, here is yesterday’s blog.

I am currently sitting in the beautiful Gothic Church of Jesus the Adolescent (The Silesian Church) in Nazareth listening to an arrangement of “A Voice in the Night is Calling” while the Muslim evening call to prayer can be heard outside in the city…a real awareness that we are in the Middle East. The combination of a text from Isaiah and the Muslim prayers being broadcast over loudspeakers was a powerful experience.

Today was our “outreach” day…we began with a concert in St. Gregorio’s Church in Haifa. This small church, part of the Greek Catholic diocese, is located on prime property in Haifa…right on the beach of the Mediterranean Ocean. Our host, Sumaya Abboud, outdid herself with hospitality and publicity. The church seats about 100 people and it was packed full. The audience was appreciative and enthusiastic and was made up of people of all ages, both Jewish and Arab. At one point in the concert, Debbie invited audience members to come up to the tables and ring with the ringers…almost everyone did so! It was so much fun to play and interact with the people.

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Following the concert, we had lunch on the front steps of the church while we overlooked the ocean and basked in the warmth of the sun and fresh sea air.

We arrived back in Nazareth in time to visit the Greek church that houses Mary’s well and the stunning Church of the Annunciation. Following an early dinner we traveled to our final concert destination.

Tonight’s concert is, as mentioned above, in the Church of Jesus the Adolescent and, once again, is full. This church sits on the mountain above the city of Nazareth and was founded by the Silesians, an order of the Roman Catholic Church that is particularly known for its dedication to education. The audience, as was this morning’s, was incredibly youthful.

This is our fourth and final concert of the tour. It is bittersweet: we have grown so much together as an ensemble over the past week and have had a great time sharing our art form and music with those who, for the most part, have never seen, much less heard , of a handbell; but we are also looking forward to two days of sightseeing in the Galilean area without having to worry about a concert.

From Nazareth, peace and blessings.

Israel Handbell Tour – Day 7

Hello all!  Today was a great day and it is now late.  So with that said, I am going to summarize the day:

We began early and visited the St. Anne Church and Pools of Bethseda in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Great acoustics in the church…we sang VENI EMMANUEL and it was heavenly.

We then traveled to Jericho (not on the itinerary) and viewed an ancient sycamore tree like the one Zaccheus, the tax collector, climbed to see Jesus as he walked by (he was a wee little man, remember?).  Next we viewed the Mount of Temptation where tradition says Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days and nights.

Following Jericho, we traveled through rich and verdant farms towards the Bet Shean (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She%27an) where we experienced this gem of an archeological excavation.

We arrived at our destination of Nazareth around 4:15 and, after checking into the hotel, had free time to explore a bit on our own before dinner .

Tomorrow we travel to Haifa for our 3rd concert and then back to Nazareth for our 4th and final concert.   Will share more later!

Off to bed!

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