On the Road to Jerusalem

Thank you for all of you who actually read these wandering and often incoherent thoughts and musings. I especially appreciate those of you who are in dialog with me, for whom these thoughts spur further conversation. Of late I have had several people take issue with some of what I have written and challenge me on it. This is really great. Bring it on! :)

Much of this, I suppose, I write for my own benefit, to help me process the things I am learning and the inner struggles I face. At the same time I write to share with others what I am learning, to challenge others as I have been challenged. I hope to humbly offer thoughts and ideas that, even though uncomfortable, different or strange, may spur us in the pursuit of truth. Most is simply what I am learning from others.

Personal Update:

This last Thursday I returned to my family's home in North Carolina after three weeks at Eastern Mennonite University where I took two amazing classes in Peacebuilding. For the last several days I have been resting and preparing for my trip to Jerusalem. I leave Monday, June 16th, for Chicago where I meet up with Ft. Stewart , the pastor of my church, and Justin a friend of mine from church. We will then fly out together for Jerusalem.

We will be spending 5 days together before the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) starts on Sunday the 22nd. Since Justin and I have spent a fair amount of time in Israel/Palestine, we will be taking Ft. Stewart around. We will be meeting up with some Rez. folk in the area as well as seeing some of mine and Justin's friends.

The GAFCON conference, which begins on Sunday the 22nd, is a meeting of 1,000 Anglican leaders from all over the world (largely the Global South), gathered to discuss the current crises in the Anglican church and how to move ahead in mission. It is a tremendous privilege to be invited to go as a young, simple layman. Part of my hope for the conference is to learn from the wisdom of these Anglican leaders. Also, I hope to give an informal presentation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as this is a topic not addressed by the conference and one that I think many people don't really understand. I appreciate your prayers as I prepare for this.

Also, it is my hope to meet with different leaders, both Israeli and Palestinian, with whom I would like to work in the future. It will be an important time of connection and meetings.

May the peace of the Lord be with you!