America letter # 17. Extra studies.
April 18, 2008
Dear friends,
There are always some ”extra studies” to do, and I accept much of it. I have taken a course on Israel/Palestine this semester, with focus in Christian Zionism, over four Tuesday evenings. It has been interesting to learn more about Dispensationalism, a theology developed in the 19th century, which has much influence in the USA (and in Norway?), which idealizes war, and interprets the Bible in another way than I do. Tuesday some of us were in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on a performance called “My name is Rachel Corrie.” Rachel Corrie was an ISM (International Solidarity Movement) activist from USA, who five years ago, 23 years old, was killed by a bulldozer when she tried to protect a house in Gaza from demolition. Theater is a powerful tool in communication!
Last weekend I visited a Wartburg friend who lives outside Madison, Wisconsin. She “did homework” on Sunday, and I joined her. Her homework was to experience Orthodox worship, so we visited the Syrian Orthodox congregation in Madison, where both worship and coffee hour were longer than we are used to… I have experienced some Orthodox worship in Jerusalem, but now I got it in English, and could suddenly follow what happened in a new way, at the same time as I could have it explained through conversation with the priest afterwards. The congregation mainly consisted of Ethiopians, and they met in an office building, in a small room impressively churchly furnished.
More extra studies follow next week: Be prepared for something extra!
Greetings from Hanne.
Dear friends,
There are always some ”extra studies” to do, and I accept much of it. I have taken a course on Israel/Palestine this semester, with focus in Christian Zionism, over four Tuesday evenings. It has been interesting to learn more about Dispensationalism, a theology developed in the 19th century, which has much influence in the USA (and in Norway?), which idealizes war, and interprets the Bible in another way than I do. Tuesday some of us were in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on a performance called “My name is Rachel Corrie.” Rachel Corrie was an ISM (International Solidarity Movement) activist from USA, who five years ago, 23 years old, was killed by a bulldozer when she tried to protect a house in Gaza from demolition. Theater is a powerful tool in communication!
Last weekend I visited a Wartburg friend who lives outside Madison, Wisconsin. She “did homework” on Sunday, and I joined her. Her homework was to experience Orthodox worship, so we visited the Syrian Orthodox congregation in Madison, where both worship and coffee hour were longer than we are used to… I have experienced some Orthodox worship in Jerusalem, but now I got it in English, and could suddenly follow what happened in a new way, at the same time as I could have it explained through conversation with the priest afterwards. The congregation mainly consisted of Ethiopians, and they met in an office building, in a small room impressively churchly furnished.
More extra studies follow next week: Be prepared for something extra!
Greetings from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 4:00 PM
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