The Deacon's Bench
Is there anything more adorable than a baby camel? Yes. A baby bedouin! With Frank Weathers! I made new friends yesterday at Wadi Rum. Camels just crack me up. Read more
Is there anything more adorable than a baby camel? Yes. A baby bedouin! With Frank Weathers! I made new friends yesterday at Wadi Rum. Camels just crack me up. Read more
If you were looking for a figure representing the diversity and religious harmony of Jordan, you couldn’t do much better than a man who was born in Gaza, was raised a Quaker, married a Muslim, and now serves as the mayor of the capital city of Amman. Meet Mayor Akel Biltaji. Read the rest over at CNEWA’s blog One-to-One. Read more
Is there anything more adorable than a baby camel? Yes. A baby bedouin! With Frank Weathers! I made new friends yesterday at Wadi Rum. Camels just crack me up. Read more
From AP: The Vatican has unexpectedly ended its controversial overhaul of the main umbrella group of U.S. nuns, cementing a shift in tone and treatment of the U.S. sisters under the social justice-minded Pope Francis. The Vatican said Thursday it had accepted a final report on its investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and declared the “implementation of the mandate has been accomplished” nearly two years ahead of schedule. The umbrella group for women’s religious orders had been... Read more
After leaving Petra this morning, bound for The Dead Sea, we stopped at a Greek Melkite Catholic Church, St. George, and caught part of a traditional wedding ceremony. This was something to see. And it was, literally, a shotgun wedding: someone in the wedding party fired a pistol into the air as the bride and her family pulled up in her car. The entire village turned out—not only invited guests—and throughout the 20-minute wedding, people wandered around, children explored the... Read more
From AP: The Vatican has unexpectedly ended its controversial overhaul of the main umbrella group of U.S. nuns, cementing a shift in tone and treatment of the U.S. sisters under the social justice-minded Pope Francis. The Vatican said Thursday it had accepted a final report on its investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and declared the “implementation of the mandate has been accomplished” nearly two years ahead of schedule. The umbrella group for women’s religious orders had been... Read more
Well, here we are in scenic Petra, Jordan. We arrived last night at the Mövenpick Resort, just a short walk from the historic site. The hotel would never be mistaken for a Holiday Inn or a Motel 6. We are in Jordan. And every detail enforces the rich heritage surrounding us. How about donuts dusted with pistachio? After breakfast, we walked over to the main entrance for the Petra site and began the long, long, long, long walk through cavernous... Read more
Happy Hump Day from these guys in Jordan. Read more
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early to pack our bags and head out the door, leaving Amman behind and heading into the wilderness: Bethany, where Jesus was baptized. But first: breakfast. We departed the Sheraton a little before 9 and headed up the road to Bethany, about an hour away. Along the way, we hit a traffic jam. Evidently, it was rush hour. We arrived at the site of Jesus’s baptism and stretched our legs. We were greeted... Read more
Happy Hump Day from these guys in Jordan. Read more
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