Hit the Ground Serving

Dear friends,

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:2)

Sunny, warm days dominate the backdrop for what has already been an incredible month of mission service here in the Holy City, Jerusalem. Upon arriving on October 2, I immediately assumed my responsibilities as a Pastoral Assistant (Sacristan) at St. George’s Cathedral. Eager, but having limited training in liturgical duties, I admit that I was quite nervous when I started. I made a few mistakes on the first Sunday and wrote detailed notes to learn the correct way to perform the tasks expected of me. Paradoxically, during the 9:30 AM service that morning, there was a shooting at a train station 5 minutes down the road from the Cathedral, in which three people were killed including the perpetrator. The repeated thunder of Israeli helicopters overhead and the tragic, unnecessary loss of life quickly eclipsed and diminished my concern about procedural errors made during worship.

The Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr, Jerusalem

It’s interesting to be in this role, because I am so focused on making sure the services run smoothly that my experience participating in them is different as opposed to when I am sitting in the pews at St. Michael’s (my home parish) with no assigned responsibilities. Because of the lower numbers of volunteers and servers here, I am balancing being a Lay Assistant, Usher, Lectern, Crucifer, and Counter –Jerusalem could use the St. Michael’s faithful! It is quite the responsibility and task to remember to do all these things. However, attending and serving in the Sunday and weekday Eucharist and Evening Prayer services are the highlights for me. To worship God in this place, day after day, is a real blessing and a powerful, disciplined experience. To monitor the Cathedral each day and walk down the aisles of the Nave when no one is present conjures humility and reverence in me imagining all those who have passed through its iron doors. I feel this inexplicable presence of countless souls who have sat in the reed-weaved seats and listened to the Gospel, prayed on the kneelers for the peace of Jerusalem, and came forth to Christ’s table to receive the gifts of bread and wine offered to all. All this, of course, happening less than a mile from where the events of the Paschal Mystery are remembered to have taken place.

“I am grateful to God -whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did- when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:3)

I have much to share, but I will hold off for now and write more in the next update, which will focus more on my work in the Diocese, schools, and with Jerusalem Peacebuilders (JPB). Please work and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

In Christ,

Jack Karn