LEWISBURG -- A Valley bishop's planned visit to Israel to support a local Evangelical church mission and meet with political leaders has been canceled in light of fighting along the Gaza Strip.
Bishop Robert Driesen, of the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, decided against joining fellow bishops who left last weekend as part of the annual Conference of Bishops Academy because of the war between the Palestinians and Israelis.
More than half of the group members, who were joined by several Canadian and Caribbean bishops, made the trip to Tel Aviv and plan to stay through Jan. 16, according to Driesen, who was among about 30 bishops choosing to stay home.
"Our purpose was to join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan for a time of theological reflection and learning," Driesen said. "Our intent was to also offer our support for our brother and sister Christians who have been suffering so long in the Holy Land."
Driesen said the group questioned whether to make the trip because of warfare along the Gaza Strip, highlighted in recent days by rocket strikes and arson.
"There was a lot of struggle whether we should proceed at all," Driesen said. "Each bishop was given the choice to go."
Part of the decision, Driesen said, was influenced by the heightened security and travel restrictions that would have disrupted the group's itinerary and restricted its movement through the region.
According to Driesen, his decision weighed more on the weakened effect the visit would have rather than the danger he and other bishops would face.
"I was concerned our presence at this time would be open to a great deal of misunderstanding," Driesen said. "I suspect people on both sides would attempt to use our trip to make a political statement, which was not our desire. Also, the political leaders we were to meet would be so preoccupied with the situation."
Driesen said the bishops who chose to stay home hope to make a visit the Holy Land later this year, should the fighting cease.
The next trip would be the second opportunity Driesen has had to visit the place he describes as "absolutely amazing to experience in person."
Driesen's first visit to Israel a decade ago to enjoy the wonders of the Holy Land was filled with emotional images of Christ's birth place in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
There was also a dark side.
Driesen's pilgrimage as a young parish pastor was also interrupted with images of terror, such as many buses with shelled windshields, evidence of the tumultuous relationship between Palestinians and Israelis. Yet Driesen is looking forward to a second trip into Israel.
Until then, Driesen says his thoughts and prayers will be on his fellow clergy as they continue their travels.
"We need to be very aware that many people are suffering in the Middle East," Driesen said. "What happens to the average person there on a day-to-day basis is very difficult for Americans to understand, especially considering the amount of suffering that goes on there."
To follow the bishops' trip to the Holy Land, which includes video reports, visit http://blogs.ELCA.org/09cobacademy.
n E-mail comments to jnorth@dailyitem.com.
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Gaza war leads bishop to delay trip to Israel
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