The Holy People

Jewish people in this city are as common as grains of sand on the seashore—which is exactly what I expected. They come in many different varieties—from jeans and ball caps to large furry hats and flowing robes. Some wear just a simple skull cap in modern clothes and others wear what I would call black cowboy hats and business suits. What was surprising to me was that most Jews in this city are not religious, though many still follow the laws/traditions to some extent—most notably the Sabbath rest. The ultra-religious Jews do not hold jobs, but live in severe poverty to keep up their prayers and rituals; secular Jews may go so far as to lead tours for us "gentiles" on Sabbath and other Holy days.

All these Jewish people are welcomed into the place we visited this morning—Christ Church, the first Protestant church in the Middle East, which was founded back in 1849 to serve the Jewish people. We had an appointment with Paul Hames to learn more about this ministry. His gentle manners and extensive knowledge of Jewish history made it very evident that he is effectively serving this community. Christ Church is made up of a church, a guest house, and a bookstore, all rich with history ... including a newly found tunnel beneath them. "Jews are drawn to the history magnetically," Paul said in his British accent. "We simply share the history and wait for them to ask more—which they inevitably do."

This ministry is done right. It is loving and respecting the people who are being ministered to without ever requiring change from them. After all, that's God's job—for all of us.