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September 11, 2008: Dr. Paul Wright,
Its been a while since I’ve shared news of
what’s been happening at Jerusalem University College. Diane and I
were hither and yon for more time than usual summer, and we’ve
landed back in Jerusalem in time to help get everything up and
running for the fall. It was a particularly busy summer, with nearly
500 students participating in 10 short-term academic programs during
May, June and July. Kudos and congratulations to Cyndi Parker, who
did a stellar job keeping everything running in our absence! We
welcomed 59 new semester students to our Mt. Zion campus last week,
with the total fall semester enrollment reaching the nice round
number of 80. Associated schools sending semester students to
Jerusalem University College this fall include:
Columbia International
University (7) Taylor University (6)
Wheaton College (6) Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary (4) Philadelphia Biblical University (3) Asbury
College (2) Calvin College (2) Cedarville
University (2) Cornerstone University (1) Eastern University (1)
Gordon College (1) Multnomah Bible College (1) Northwestern
College (1) Simpson University (1) Westmont College (1)
Our curriculum and classrooms are full and
bustling with activity. We welcome Dr. Akiva Cohen to our adjunct
faculty ranks. Akiva is teaching the course The Gospel of Matthew
in its Jewish Setting, a first-time offering for us. It has
already proven to be very popular with our students, with the second
largest enrollment of all of our fall classes.
We also welcome Tim and Avigael (Abby) Hereford
to the JUC staff. Tim and Abby are each half way through their MA
program in Biblical History and Geography, but for the next two
years are setting aside the “quick route” through the degree in
favor of taking on additional responsibilities as JUC’s Residence
Life Coordinators. Tim and Abby (with their cat, Dopey) have set up
their apartment in the Tomb Room where they can freely interact with
our student community. “We are here to support the students. It’s
fun. We like it,” they say in unison. So do we. After they finish
their degrees, Tim and Abby hope to work in practical ways in the
developing world. They have gotten a jump by living and studying in
Israel, but also by spending a year with Samaritan’s Purse in
Indonesia where they provided disaster relief for victims of the
2004 tsunami. Of special note, Abby is a second-generation JUC-er.
Her parents, Bill and Laura Rhodes, were semester students at the
then-Institute of Holy Land Studies in the late 1970’s, and she was
born in Israel.
This summer and fall we have added Geobasics
in the Land of the Bible: Maps for Marking to our Biblical
Geography curriculum. This new volume (2008: Biblical Backgrounds)
is a complete revision of the “Syllabus Maps” that we have used in
the classroom and the field for many, many years. The Geobasics
upgrade promises to be a helpful tool in allowing students to learn
the basic composition of the land of ancient Israel through its
geology, terrain, routes and site locations. Further information can
be found at
www.bibback.com.
As has been the custom, our Friday evening
vespers began with a campus-wide Bar-B-Que following the first week
of classes. It was a warm evening. We have been enduring several
weeks of unusually hot and still weather (the high pressure zone
sitting over the northern part of the Arabian peninsula just isn’t
moving), and the cool breeze that reaches the Judean hills in the
evenings feels especially refreshing. We held vespers in the JUC
gardens, at sunset (remember that God also met Adam and Eve in a
garden in the cool of the day). As the city quieted for the
beginning of Shabbat (it was also the first Friday of the annual
Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan), we heard the sound of a bagpipe
playing a Scottish tune from St. Andrews’ across the Hinnom Valley,
then the sound of synagogue prayer from Yemen Moshe (more or less in
unison)—then we added our voices to the Jerusalem night by lifting
worship to God under a darkening sky. Next week we will resume our
practice of celebrating more traditional Shabbat meals, with
tablecloths and candles, to welcome the Sabbath and the
end-beginning of the week.
A special note from the kitchen: Omelet
Wednesdays! Our day cook, George, is now cooking made-to-order
omelets every Wednesday morning in the service line. That’s
something to get out of bed for! Thanks, George!
And a news flash from the laundry room: We have
disposed of (with relish!) all of the washers and dryers that have
given everyone so much trouble over the past couple of years and
purchased five new washers and four new dryers. Happy washing! (For
some of you old-timers, it’s worth a trip back to Jerusalem just to
have a good time in the laundry room).
This weekend we look forward to a student
activity trip to the Yehudia National Park on the Golan. Waterfalls,
fresh water pools, hiking rugged wadi-bottoms—lets just say that we
don’t have time to do everything on Physical Settings trips.
September is always JUC’s turn to host the
monthly breakfast gathering of Men in Ministry, a group of men
involved in professional and volunteer Christian ministry in
Jerusalem. This is always a great time to showcase JUC’s work to the
Jerusalem Christian community, to network joys and concerns, and to
pray together.
I would be remiss if I did not thank our
growing and faithful circle of donors. It sounds a bit trite, but
your gifts really are important to us. The strength of our donors
allows us to strengthen our programs; the strength of our programs
attracts students; the strength of our graduates attracts additional
donors. Secure on Mt. Zion and in the hands of God, everything comes
full ‘round, from strength to strength:
“How blessed is the
one whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
Passing through the Valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rains also cover it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion” (Ps 84:5-7).
On a personal note, Diane and I are empty
nesters this year. Our youngest, Ben, began his freshman year at
Taylor University in August. He’s taken it upon himself to chat up
study-in-Israel programs at JUC among his new friends and
classmates, and may even work himself into a job as unofficial
field-rep before long. Those of you in northeast Indiana, beware!
You may catch I-need-to-go-to-Jerusalem-itis. Our oldest,
Jessica, graduated in fine style from Bethel University in May with
a degree in nursing, and is thriving in a position on the cardiac
and renal floor of Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Her parents and grandparents are proud!
We look forward to seeing many of you in
Jerusalem sometime this year. | 
