On Monday we went to Bethlehem. All I could think of the whole way there was 'clip clop clip clop walk on to Bethlehem' etc (Michael Mangan…kids’ Christmas carol, if you’re unsure!)...which stuck in my head. The reality of Bethlehem itself was however V different. Not really sure yet of the impact it has had on me, but our day was so varied and full of contrasts, beginning with the difficulty it can be to get into the place. As it turned out, we had no difficulty at all on the way in, slightly different on the way back when we had a passport inspection on the bus which was a little unusual for us, but all was well. The child (who looked like a year 8) inspecting the passports was chewing chewy…one of the other teachers said he was so tempted to tell her to take her gum out. But she had a big machine gun and we were all behaving ourselves, so he didn’t. Two soldiers get on, one stands watching and scanning while the other checks the documents. Quite awe inspiring really, [she says, pretending it didn’t bother her when in fact it did….]
The first thing we did in Bethlehem was celebrate mass together at the church in Shepherds Fields, you guessed it, where the 'shepherds watched'. In Bethlehem you can only say the masses for Christmas, (and at the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem you can only use the mass for Easter…) so we celebrated Christmas, and for us Australians it was quite normal to have the heat. Some of the others found it a bit strange and said they missed the snow. I got a bit overwhelmed when we sang ‘O come ye to Bethlehem’ and looked around me to see that is where we were….it is quite hard to believe some times. Mass was celebrated by David, a priest from Qld. who is the 'man of the match' as far as I am concerned. He is the one who always goes to the back of the group and makes sure everyone is ok, he's usually walking not far behind me, as I am never in the front! So we sang Christmas carols and celebrated together, and it really felt like we were a community, which really we are. There are 37 of us here in the biblical program, from 12 different countries. The Diocese of Sale contingent is the largest,…there are nine of us.
The rest of the day in Bethlehem was full of contrasts and challenges. We visited the Franciscan Family Centre, where the sisters support Palestinian Christian families, and which I will tell you about in person when I get home. It is the most practical, empowering supportive agency you could imagine, and their work is absolutely awe inspiring.
Bethlehem town is very saddening…every time we walked from point A to point B we were pursued by little boys, the youngest looked about 3 and the oldest about 7. They were selling postcards and asking for money, but the ‘elders’ warned us not to give them money as they should have been at school, and were trying to make cigarette money. It was a bit difficult to try and ignore them when they walked up to me and put their little hands right in front of my face to ask for money…but I did what I was told and tried to harden my heart….
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