Date Line Jordan -Friday,
April 16
So your pilgrims have once again
returned to Amman, back to the very first charming hotel we
visited on our arrival -many of us once again returning to
the very same rooms.
It's about 5PM and in 45 minutes we will gather for a
Eucharist, then spend some time discussing our trip, before
leaving for our farewell to Jordan
dinner!
So very much has transpired since my
last missive. We
have been so very busy, and as both time and computer battery
are limited, I won't try to share too much. Suffice it to say that
Petra is a profoundly beautiful and inspiring place to
visit. It is epic
in scale -it inspires much the same awesome feeling as
staring into the starlit heavens. Most of us bought
a book or two on Petra to learn more about the Nabataeans
who ruled there for over 500 years. I finally gave up on
taking pictures, instead trying to capture a panoramic video
clip or two -I will have to see how successfully that turned
out. Over nine
hours, we all walked, and walked, most climbed and climbed -
but three women -the same ones who braved the steep sand dune
in Wadi Rum -managed to scale the grand overlook, 200 steep
steps above the more than 900 steps already climbed to see the
monastery. So
hats off to Hattie and Ethel and Mary!
Today we drove, actually rode in the
bus, from Petra to Salt where we were very fortunate to visit
a school for the deaf run by an Anglican priest, Brother
Andrew, for the past 33 years I believe. He spent almost 3
hours showing us his school which boards 120 students from the
age of about 5 through 20 or so -teaching them sign language,
Arabic and English, providing them vocational training, often
sending them on to college -from where many return to
teach. It may be
that for many of us this school will be the experience we want
most to share with you.
This Christian cleric speaks so eloquently of the
Christian and Muslim faiths and of their shared beliefs and of
their great need to speak with and live with each other. I will try to share
his web site with you at the close of this final letter, if
not then you will receive an extra edition, following our
arrival back in the United
States!
So be prepared to welcome home your
loved ones -we will be glad to see you too, and to share our
stories and pictures and our various purchases! Meanwhile, I conclude
with the verses to The Servant Song and also a final sonnet
offering from Bill
Kibildis.
The Servant
Song
Won't you let me be your servant;
let me be as Christ to you; pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey; we are
travelers on the road; we are her to help each other walk the
mile and share the load.
I will hold the Christ light for you
in the night-time of your fear; I will hold my hand out to
you, speak the peace you long to
hear.
I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh, I'll laugh with you. I will share your joy
and sorrow til we've seen this journey
through.
Won't you let me be your servant;
let me be as Christ to you; pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
Biran
So Abraham, Jesus and
Mohammad,
Looked down to see how their
religions spread.
"Oh, my," they said, "This can not
truly be."
"See how they fight and dishonor us
three."
Humans' interpretations we must
change,
And love and understanding
rearrange.
Combine the Torah, Bible and
Quran,
All three now one, we will call the
Biran.
Our one God loves all with eternal
Grace,
So the Biran must humankind
embrace.
Faithfully,
Your scribe,
Ross
