A Day in 'The Holy City'

This morning several of us went to Christ Church, an Anglican church just within the Jaffa Gate. I found out later it was the first Christian Church built within the Old City, and because they were not allowed to erect a cross, they built the church in the shape of one. The inside was designed to make Jews feel at home, as if in a synagogue. This means there was lots of wood paneling and high domed roofs. It was a beautiful church, but even more it was very beautiful to worship with brothers and sisters overseas. Last time I was in Israel, we did not have the opportunity to go to church, but I can tell I will love weekly worship. Although Jerusalem is considered the most holy city in the world, I learned there are only about 5 Christian churches in all of Jerusalem. I also hear they tend to be very segregated between Jewish believers and Palestinian believers, but Christ church makes it a goal to try and reach both groups. We prayed for Jews and Palestinian Believers, and sang in both English and Hebrew.
I appreciated the message, which talked some about the value of tradition, and how it can be good to uphold some church practices which are not necessarily commanded in the Bible. The Pastor pointed out that sacrifice was meant to bring one closer to God, and what can we today give a God who has everything? Everything. And it should be a sacrifice. And the sacrifices of ourselves brings us closer to God.
We also took communion, which was an interesting experience in it's own right, partly because I'd never tasted wine before (Wheaton people, it was communion, so I think I'm ok! ;)
The first time communion really started to mean something to me was at Wheaton, I think, with All School Communion. Something about hundreds of us taking the Lord's supper together finally helped the idea of unity as Christ's body sink in for me. Especially going back to my parent's church, where there are about 50 members attending on a Sunday morning. I realized that they are just as much my family in Christ as my brothers and sisters at school, and we all take of the Lord's supper.
At Christ Church this morning, we knelt at the front of the church, and a wafer was broken into our hands. Then, when the guy distributing the drink looked me in the eye and said "Sister, this is the blood of Christ, shed for your faith." I felt again the beauty of what Christ did for us. Not only do two totally different communities in the U.S. belong to the same body, but so does the international church. How awesome that this Israeli believer called me, a kid from the U.S. who had never showed up to that church before, his sister. And we are family in Christ.
Pray for all our family, that we would act like it, and be united. Psalm 122:4 was written on a plaque outside the church.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you!"
an later the Psalm says,
"For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good."
Dr. Wright said this implies that the other will in turn seek your good. We are to look out for the concerns of others, not just seek our own good.
Anyways, it was so good to see again the extent of the Kingdom of God!