Nazareth Village Based on solid New Testament scholarship and the most up-to-date archaeology, Nazareth Village brings to life a farm and Galilean village, recreating Nazareth as it was 2,000 years ago. Come meet the people and experience first-century hospitality. Step through a stone doorway into the dim interior, and smell the smoke from the oil lamps. You will begin to imagine life in another time, when Jesus lived here in Nazareth. In the courtyard peer into the cistern, a vital part of any household. Hand-hewn caves store wheat and other supplies. Nazareth is a busy city with a population of approximately 70,000 people. For nearly 2,000 years hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have found their way to the setting which shaped the Man who changed the course of history. Nazareth Village is located on the last remaining tract of virgin farmland, just 500 meters away from where Jesus grew up. Walk where Jesus walked! Come walk where Jesus walked and see the Holy Land in a whole new way. A winding path leads you through a working farm, past an ancient winepress and stone quarries. On the hillside grapevines flourish and olive trees sway in the breeze. Donkeys pull a wooden plow and sheep graze on the hillside. This is the environment which shaped Jesus' early years and ministry in the Galilee. From this place he drew the images for his parables. The fruits of these fields nurtured Jesus from infancy to adulthood, and their features illuminate his teachings. To visit Nazareth Village electronically or discover how to visit in real life, go to nazarethvillage.com.

NAZARETH, Israel – Many are resigned to fear and friction between Middle Eastern Arab peoples and the secular and Christian West. But Mennonite workers are finding that, because of their core religious beliefs, they are able to make surprising connections. One example is Eastern Mennonite Missions worker Janelle*, serving at Nazareth Village, a re-creation of the first-century village of Nazareth, Israel.

Janelle grew up in Pennsylvania's Franconia Conference and graduated from Christopher Dock High School and Messiah College. She says that as a high school senior, she “had an encounter with God” that pushed her to go into full-time work to tell others about God. While studying nursing at Messiah College, she took a year off to go into EMM’s Youth Evangelism Service program, and says at that time that she says she felt a strong call to the Arab and Jewish peoples.

While working on a Jewish kibbutz in 2003, Janelle says, “I began to feel, and still feel very strongly, that it is important to not pick sides [between Arabs and Jews] – that to pick sides is to participate in the problem.” Her firsthand experience gave her better understanding than what is fostered by Western secular and religious media. “The more I learned about the complexity of the Middle East, the more I was intrigued with it, and my passion to serve here grew.”

Working at Nazareth Village, Janelle says, “My image of ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ has been shattered! Understanding that Jesus grew up in the tumultuous political Roman times has made the contrast of his teachings all the more brilliant. What a revolutionary set of teachings he brought to the world! His parables are timeless but in the context of his culture and time, they were life-changing. Today, we continue to use the parables of Jesus at Nazareth Village, knowing that they still have the power to change the world.”

The visionary behind the creation of Nazareth Village was Dr. Nakhle Bishara, a ninth generation Nazarene, whose dream was “to show pilgrims the living stones of Jesus’ legacy.” The dry dusty stones are now transformed; History News Network proclaims, “Nazareth Village is no dry museum piece or shallow tourist trap, but a working village that recreates a Jewish community at the time of the first century.” (More information at www.nazarethvillage.com.)

Some may wonder if it’s foolish for an American to live in that part of the world. But Janelle says, “Often people get the image that Muslims are all terrorists. But living here feels very different; the Arab culture is very hospitable. Muslims are the friendliest and warmest people I know. Security is also very tight here – I feel very well protected.”

She is also aware of the sad reality that a significant proportion of the Palestinian population was at one time Christian – and is now marginalized by the Western church and lumped into the category of “Palestinian terrorists.” They have received such little support in the face of an oppressive situation, that the Arab Christian population in Palestine has withered – even though some would say the Christian population is the best hope for peace in the Middle East.

But there is presently a great deal of tension between Messianic Jewish Christians and Arab/Palestinian Christians, because they often have vastly different views on who has rights to own their land. The rhetoric from each of the rigidly opposing pro-Jewish/pro-Palestinian perspectives often minimizes the negative of their own side, and maximizes the negative of the other, hindering any real progress. Janelle says, “I believe that God's plan for Israel is held off by the mistrust and hatred being lived out in his Body.” Janelle sees the damage that simplistic perspectives of the conflict foster. However, some people are working to bring the groups together in this complex situation.

Janelle says, “Since arriving here five months ago, my desire to pray for this place has been deepening and intensifying. I have been especially praying that God would teach us to work together well, to be a team, no matter what background you come from. I have also been praying that God would show us how to be the Village that he wants us to be. We want to challenge people's faith in a way that brings hope and life.”

-Kenton Glick


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