Yad Vashem

Today we had the joy of visiting the Israel Museum. Our major purpose was to explore the giant model of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a great thing. And having spent ten days exploring the actual city it really helps to focus those explorations.
But, what a fantastic museum/art gallery it is. Apart from the fabulous display of modern Israeli art of phenomenally high quality I was also struck by teh outdoor installations, and the traditional paintings....why do there seem to be soi many Pisarros. One would think it rivals the Orsay; and the Gauguins, two beautiful Monets and Van Goghs, El Greco and Rembrandt. Didn't see a Picasso but there is almost bound to be the same!
But we then moved on to the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, which is dveadtating in many ways and needs more careful reflection than this blog.
The picture alongside is a dome of phots of holocaust victims, amidst a room full of files ....possibly 6.5 million....as you look up....or at least as I looked up,  I was quite overwhelmed. The as you look down there isa  deeep, deep pit. "Is this hell?" I wondered. And then you see a pool of water so far down and clear that it is more possible to think of it as a place of re-creation.  One hopes so.
But, as I say, it needs and will have more detailed reflection on my return. Good and great stuff.

And did those feet

The Church of England is revamping its "Wedding Project" site. It is an interesting venture, particularly aimed at the community (I suppose) that does not go to Church, but because the C of E is 'established' ... that is, it is the State religion of England .... such people have a sense of ownership in a way that is probably not true in Australia.

One of the interesting questions addressed on this hotch potch of a site is whether or not you should sing "Jerusalem" at a wedding (see a sort of answer here) it's a popular song, with a stirring tune which is well-known at a time when not much religious music is. But the words are about something totally unrelated to getting married (debatable I suppose).

One can only imagine why such an issue has such prominence It's to do, I suspect, with a bit of conflict on a whole range of different levels (eg. Churches only allowing certain sorts of music, clergy being dogmatic about what is and what is not acceptable, and couples not really having a clue about what is and what is not appropriate......). One can only imagine.

My policy (which I think has worked quite well) is to be as open as possible. I don't need to inflict my musical taste on people, whilst also remembering I am a guardian of the sacred.

I always begin my spiel with "The church is not hired in the way a secular venue is hired."

Part of the trouble is that people seem to assume that if they pay for something then they should be able to do what they like.

Of course this is not even true of a secular venue, they are often very restrictive in terms of what you can and can't do; where you can sit and what you can throw at the B & G; and certainly you have to drink and eat their products!

Beside all this I am curious given the picture above (taken from the sit) as to how Whoopi Goldberg has apparently become a Vicar in the C of E.