Although Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish State of Israel, it is also home to a large population of Christians, mostly Arabs but also a sizable (and growing) number of Jewish Believers as well as others including ethnic Armenians and Christian people from different countries around the world who are in Jerusalem on a long-term basis for work or academic studies.
The holiday of Christmas is celebrated in different ways by these different communities. Most congregations, whatever their confessional orientation, take the opportunity to teach on the story of Jesus’ birth as found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
The Jerusalem Municipality has a tradition of providing conifer type trees for Christian residents of the city who might want one, and although the traditional churches of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox confessions are more likely than the Protestant and Messianic Jewish congregations to have a tree and other traditional decorations, there is one Protestant place that dives into traditional Christmas decorations, carols, food, lights and worship of the Lord.
That place is Christchurch.
Located just inside the Jaffa Gate to Jerusalem’s Old City, Christchurch was the first Protestant Church built in the entire Middle East, being consecrated by the Church of England in 1849. Since then, despite its small size and a staff which has rarely been larger than a few dozen people, Christchurch has blazed trails for many other Protestant communities in Jerusalem and throughout the Land of Israel. It’s annual Christmas Eve and Christmas morning celebrations are cherished gatherings for many of the pastors, elders and members of these communities, but the really amazing thing about them is that they are also attended by thousands of Jewish Israelis and others (including tourists, in years when there’s no pandemic.)
Most of the Israeli Jews who come are attracted by the carols, cookies, décor and general cheeriness of the occasion. But they also come with questions about who Jesus was and what He taught.
The Christmas services at Christchurch are centered around the story of the Nativity, presented in a way that people who have never read the Gospel accounts can easily understand. It has been observed over the years that many Jewish Israelis, Arabs and tourists from all over the world have found this story so intriguing that they have requested, and received, a copy of the New Testament in their own language to take home and read.
In this way, the Body of Messiah in the Land of Israel has been greatly enlarged over the decades, and this process continues in the Advent Season of 2021.
As for TV7, our crew is heading to a vacation beginning on 23 December until 4 January, when we will be back in the office and continuing to film, edit and prepare new programs, including our daily news broadcasts. Between now and then, our computers will not be on vacation, but rather will continue to upload new shows to our youtube channel including fresh episodes of Middle East Review on the evening of 25 December, Times Observer on the evening of 26 December, Jerusalem Studio on the evening of 28 December, Watchman Talk on the evening of 1 January and Editors Note on the evening of 2 December.
We look forward to continue serving our viewers in 2022.
– by Aaron Hecht