Passionate about St. Georges College
Texan friends of North American Committee member, The Very Revd. Barkley Thompson, welcomed in the Deanery at St. George’s College
Dear Alumni, Friends, and future Pilgrims,
March has been a month of both new and renewed friendships at St. George’s College- living out our mission to be a place in Jerusalem that can be a home to all those who enter our gates.
for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; ( Matthew 25:35)
Renewed visits with Nick Porter, Jerusalem Peace Builders, and his co-chair, Stuart Kensinger, included a day at the Herodium after their important work bringing MD Anderson Cancer teaching conversation to the people of Gaza, 8 Houstonians arrived for evening prayer- and we followed this with drinks at the deanery to celebrate new friendships! And on a personal note- my fellow Virginia Theological Seminary alums- Regina and Lark from California surprised me with a dinner night out and of course conversation about returning to St. George’s College with a group of their students! Our college community has welcomed Palestinian theologian, Naim Ateek, as a resident scholar, for several months. ( see below for more details). And our March course welcomed British and Canadian chaplains whose laughter amid serious theological discourse ended with a meal together celebrating the beauty of fellowship in gathered community.
Wendy, a Floridian here a few weeks ago for the Palestine of Jesus course, reflected about the welcoming presence that St. George’s College and Cathedral Close provide for all who enter, whether you are here for the first time or returning for rest and renewal.
Although I have only been here 2 weeks, in my own small way, I feel passionate about St. George’s too. You have an incredibly wonderful facility with a beautiful church, remarkable library, fine accomodations, beautiful gardens- all together in a marveous cloister like environment.
I need not tell you that it feels like Holy Ground here—and all in Jerusalem- how fabulous!!
Welcoming is hospitality and this is how we authentically live into our St. George’s College mission; by making St. George’s your home, the theology of place and the sacredness of this land come together herein. It is amazing how within just a few days, course members become family and a community is born in the midst of prayer at Capernaum, song at St. Anne’s Church, and morning Eucharist shared in the Cathedral chapel.
As we approach the end of Lent and begin our Easter vigil, I know that most of you reading this newsletter are alums who have walked the Way of the Cross. Those memories will hopefully begin to nourish you in the days to come. Are you with Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane? Are you with Joseph from Arimathea asking Pilate for the body of Jesus or are you with Mary Magdalene crying outside the tomb? I am in Bethany helping to find the donkey to carry our Lord.
Whoever you are in the Easter story, our prayers are with you at the foot of the cross for the healing nourishing love of Christ.
On behalf of the entire St. George’s College staff, I send you many blessings from all of us who do feel “passionate about the college,” and thank all of you for feeling the same way.
The Rev. Dr. Susan Ackley Lukens
Associate Dean
St. George’s College
associatedean@sgcjerusalem.org
In the News
March 27 through 30, St. Georges College hosted the Mission Theology Conference under the direction of Bishop Graham Kings, Mission Theologian for the Anglican Communion. and Dr. Muthuraj Swamy, Associate Professor in Theology and Religion from Pune, India. Nine contributors “zoomed in” everyday for discussion of their papers; Myanmar, Egypt, Sudan, Brazil, Japan, and Kenya.
Bishop Graham and Dr. Muthuraj take a break from the conference and enjoy a day in Galilee
Read all about the conference in Anglican News!
Palestinian Theologian in Our Midst
Naim Ateek, Palestinian theologian and founder of Sabeel, is staying in our community at St. George’s College for a few months to finish his next book. On Wednesday, March 29, Naim joined the Mission Theology conference and spoke about how the quest for peace here must begin with justice.
Read more of Naim’s important work.
Justice and Only Justice; A Palestinian Theology of Liberation
EBOOK ISBN 9781600833677
A Palestinian Cry for Reconciliation
ISBN 978 1 570 75 784 6
Looking Ahead
Our course Easter Fire begins next week but already students have begun to arrive. Several alumni of the college are returning, and we are pleased to have Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement, as one of our students during Holy Week. North American Committee member Ed Weidlich arrives soon as well as John Angle from the British Regional Committee. These friendships are vital links with our alumni all over the world.
Justin Welby, The Archbishop of Canterbury, will be visiting next month and the college looks forward to celebrating his presence amongst us on the Cathedral close. Curtis Prather, Director of Communications at Virginia Theological Seminary, will be arriving April 17 to spend the week filming the college. We anticipate the video will be available by early June so all of you who are interested in bringing pilgrims to the college may use this an effective tool for telling our story. In advance, thank you goes out to VTS for loaning us Curtis, and thank you for your talents- Curtis!
DISCOUNT DEADLINE IS APPROACHING
April 15 is around the corner, so if you are seriously considering a course at St. George’s College, you will receive a 10% discount on the course fee if you register and pay in full by April 15. Please email the office manager, Rana Khoury, with any questions. rana@sgcjerusalem.org
And don’t forget- if you are an alum and bring 5 pilgrims your course fee is $0.00. This offer is good through June 2018.
A Grateful Thank You to Our Regional Committee Volunteers
The college staff is very grateful for the volunteer work of our three regional committees under the leadership of Bishop Richard Cheetham, (U.K.) Bishop Jim White (Australia and New Zealand) and the Rev. Dr. Barney Hawkins (USA and Canada). These leaders and their committees are funding scholarships to the college, organizing forums and preaching engagements around the globe, raising money and recruiting pilgrims. Please accept our most gracious thank you for the countless hours you volunteer. Questions about the regional committees or ways you can volunteer, please email the associate dean, The Rev. Dr. Susan Lukens associatedean@sgcjerusalem.org
Reminder: Please stay connected with us!
The sustainability of St. George’s College depends on our alumni staying connected with us and sharing the news about programs at the college. If you are not already a friend, please join our facebook page. We also would like you to get our digital newsletter by going to the website; scroll to the bottom and sign up now.
https://www.facebook.com/sgcjerusalem/
www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com
We would also appreciate your current mailing address so that our database can continue to be updated with your changes. Please email our registrar with your new address: registrar@sgcjerusalem.org