Dear Friends

Although by the time you read this letter I will be back in the UK, I feel that by writing my letter in Jerusalem, you may get a flavour of what it is like to be in this Holy Land. There is a real contrast here - one which keeps on arising in many different ways. As you travel from Jerusalem down towards the Dead Sea, you are suddenly in a very different terrain - from a green place to a place that becomes more barren as you get further way from the city. In a matter of a few miles you are in the Judean Desert, a place of hills and sand and rocky formations rising out of the wilderness.

This is also a place of contrasts in wealth and in equality, depending on which side of the wall you live and whether or not you are Palestinian or Israeli. The man made wall dominates the landscape in many places, but there are many other walls in this place. Devoted Jews praying at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the walls of the old city, the walls on Temple Mount, the walls of Jericho, the walls of the Holy Sepulchre (the location in which it is thought that Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again). They all evoke different feelings and thoughts and points to reflect upon.

One of my thoughts leads me to think about my experiences at the Western Wall. On Friday evenings the whole area is alive - many are praying close to the wall, the Synagogues have groups of people worshipping and celebrating, groups of people gather and start to pray together, groups of people are dancing and singing. What a wonderful cacophony of activities. The Joy of people worshipping God and praising the start of Shabbat is quiet incredible. A real sense of a family event. Although the men and women close to the wall are separate, it feels a very safe and uplifting place to be, a real feeling of being in Godís presence.

Thinking about how we live our lives and how we worship I am lead to a passage from Amos 7:7

This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?". And I said "a plumb line".

We are given the means to live and worship in the name of the Lord - a straight wall if you like, built straight with a plumb line. But how do we measure up? Are our lives straight? We don't always measure up to God's plan. We get a few stones that don't seem to fit and we need to remember that they will fit. We are living stones, full of purpose and ability. I feel as though sometimes we don't feel as though we don't come up to scratch, that we are so uptight about getting it right or we are so reserved, we forget the joy and celebration of knowing Christ.

I will never forget the delight, happiness and joyfulness of the crowds at the Western Wall and pray that we to can know, live in and worship Christ in that delightful, happy and joyous way.

Shalom

John