Christ Church, Jerusalem

Today I took the opportunity to check out the other Anglican church in Jerusalem, Christ Church, which is located inside the Old City Walls, directly across the street from the Tower of David.

I was told before heading there that the service would be 'different' from the Cathedral and more than one person was interested in my impression upon my return.

The inside of the church resembles Redeemer, the Lutheran church in the Old City. The walls are plain stone with nothing hanging on them. There was a praise band though, and a screen on which the hymns were displayed.

The welcome message on the screen before the service began declared:

Christ Church as "the first Protestant Church established in the Middle East and the first major building in Jerusalem. Consecrated in 1849, the Church was built by the London Society for the promotion of Christianity amongst Jews (since developed into CMJ, the Church's Ministry among the Jewish People), and Anglican missionary society founded in 1809. The founders revived the art of stone cutting, previously a lost art in Israel, by utilizing stonemasons from Malta for the church's construction. They styled the church after 18th century neo-Gothic Victorian architecture."

The church is identified as messianic-Jewish. The worship was praise-song filled - four in a row before the readings (none before the Gospel reading). The service itself, while recognizably Anglican, was set in a different order, slightly re-worded and included Hebrew prayers.

For example, the Shma:

"Shma Israel, Adonai Eloheinu,

Adonai ekhad.

Barukh shem kavod malkhuto le'olam

va'ed.

Other changes, the Gloria and the Creed referred specifically to "Jesus the Messiah." The Affirmation of Faith in particular, was: "Messiah has died, Messiah is risen, Messiah will come again. Lord Jesus come in glory."

The experience was certainly different. It was low church (I'm most comfortable in middle-of-spectrum-to-high-church). There was a Menorah placed on the high altar, no candles, not a cross to be seen, short of the one imaged in a stainglass window above the high altar. While the clergy wore colars, they did not wear vestment. There was no prostration. No crossing one's self.

Although the service ran two hours! and the sermon about 34 to 40 minutes of that, the preaching was a bit of a let down. I will chalk it up to maybe being an 'off day' for the preacher.

A few pictures of the church: