Holy Land Story and Photography by Phyllis J. Pregiato, Theology Department chair, Upper School Theology teacher
Sacred Heart schools strive to encourage an ongoing adventure of the mind and heart for all constituencies. One of the greatest adventures for teachers is the sabbatical offered annually in Greenwich to a teacher whose proposal best meets the criteria. Dreaming about an idea and then creating a written format for it are stimulating for the imagination. Personally experiencing the sabbatical transcended all expectations and became one of the great highlights of my life.
HO RI ZO N S
WINTER 2010/2011
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Since I have been teaching Scripture for many years, Israel placed highly on my “A list” but I had never seen it. Due to the sabbatical, I was able to attend the Tantur Ecumenical Institute, located on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in Israel, during February and March 2010, for six weeks of classes, travel and prayer. The Institute, now under the auspices of the University of Notre Dame, was established shortly after Vatican II as a direct result of the desire for more ecumenical dialogue. Open to people of all religious beliefs, the Institute promotes and encourages far-reaching discussions. Their six-week program fit my needs perfectly. Travel is always engaging for me but I wanted to do more than just tour the region. This program allowed for greater immersion in the day-to-day life of the people who live there. I had time to visit and revisit the holy sites and to absorb the culture and the sacredness of this Holy Land. Although most of the time was spent in and around Jerusalem, included was a five-day trip to
the Galilee, the region where Jesus walked and taught. Everyone kept asking me if I thought I would be safe. I had not really thought about personal safety as in guns and bombs. What was more daunting to me was arriving in a country where I did not know anyone or speak the language, finding strange ATMs, procuring a shared taxi from the airport to Jerusalem, an hour away, and arriving at an unknown place after dark, alone. Not only do I not usually travel alone, I also did not know anyone who had been accepted into this program. Did I think about safety? Yes, but more in terms of getting to the right place before my nerves dissolved. Tantur is on the outskirts of Jerusalem and there was a shouting match among the taxi drivers and the dispatcher over who was going to take me there from Tel Aviv. It was in Hebrew, but I got the gist. Nobody wanted me…but ultimately I was directed to a cab. When we eventually arrived at the big iron gate, I rang the bell, and rang, and rang, three