JERUSALEM, Israel, December 20, 2002 — As North American Christians celebrate the birth of the Saviour with all of the tinsel and trappings traditional for this time of year, their spiritual brothers and sisters who reside in the land where Jesus lived, will be marking his birth in a quieter fashion.
Ann and Wayne Hilsden are a Canadian couple who have been living and working in Israel since 1983. They lead a non-denominational Christian congregation in the heart of Jerusalem, called King of Kings Assembly. It is the church home of approximately 400 people, who hail from an estimated 80 different countries around the globe. Many of them are Jewish believers, who recognize Jesus as Messiah.
There is little in the way of Christmas festivities
| "Local Jewish believers are very uncomfortable with the way Christmas has become 'paganized'. The focus is on Santa Claus, Christmas trees, snowmen and gingerbread. And they don't see any connection between that and the birth of the Messiah." |
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- Ann Hilsden
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Ann is the Music Director at King of Kings, where her husband is the Senior Pastor. She says that other than singing a few Christmas carols in church over the course of the season, there is little in the way of Christmas festivities. "None of the local Jewish believers (in Christ) celebrate Christmas in the way we would," she explains. "Local Jewish believers are very uncomfortable with the way Christmas has become 'paganized'. The focus is on Santa Claus, Christmas trees, snowmen and gingerbread. And they don't see any connection between that and the birth of the Messiah."
She continues, "What we do (at King of Kings Assembly) is we celebrate Hanukkah - the Festival of Lights. And we say that this is the season of light. The Light of the World was born in this season. And we are celebrating the Light and the Prince of Peace. We try to tie in Hanukkah with the joy and the story of Christmas."
Christian unity expressed at Christmas time
Ann and Wayne Hilsden are a Canadian couple who have been living and working in Israel since 1983. They make their home in Jerusalem with their four sons.
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Ann says that although the Christian community within Jerusalem is very complex, it is also very closely knit. "We enjoy each other very much. There is a lot of unity and cross denominational understanding in Jerusalem and that is actually expressed at Christmas time."
As proof Ann cites the YMCA Interfaith Christmas Eve service, an annual event, which she is responsible for organizing this year. Representatives from many different churches participate in the carol service that has become a Christmas Eve tradition for Ann and her family.
The Hilsdens are parents to four sons who range in ages from 15 to 24. The boys have grown up in Israel, but their parents have worked at maintaining their Canadian heritage and traditions, particularly in their own home at Christmas time. This year as in previous years, they will open gifts on Christmas morning, then have guests for a candlelight turkey dinner with plum pudding, candy canes, and Christmas music playing throughout the house.
2002 - The year violence hit close to home
Their family celebrations are likely to hold a special poignancy this year, for they will all remember 2002 as the year violence on Jerusalem's streets came just a little too close for comfort.
It was a June morning when Ann and her third son Jonathan (18), left home to walk just down the hill to the bus stop together. Jonathan was headed to school. Ann had a scheduled meeting at the church office in the city, and thought she would ride the bus in with her son. As they walked toward the bus stop, Ann's cell phone rang. It was the person she was supposed to meet, saying he had arrived early and was waiting outside because the building was locked. Ann promised to get there as quickly as possible, so her guest wouldn't be kept waiting.
It is clear she has thought a great deal about what happened next for she talks easily, her tone matter of fact, as she recalls, "Jonathan and I went down to the bus stop and we decided that if the bus came first, we'd take the bus. If a taxicab came first, we would take the cab. A cab came first. So the timing was quite miraculous, otherwise, we would have just got on the next bus - the number 32."
Minutes later, as the Hilsdens were safely inside a taxi driving into the city, the number 32 bus arrived at their bus stop and boarded passengers. Then it exploded. All aboard were the victims of yet another suicide bomber.
Wayne Hilsden, who was home at the time, heard the explosion, saw the charred remains of the number 32 from their balcony, and thought his wife and son had been aboard. He immediately called Ann on her cell phone. Much to his relief, she answered.
Our lives are just 'a breath away'
| "...you know, this is the first time in my life that I've taken a taxi cab to school, and it happened to be the day that my bus blew up!" |
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- Jonathan Hilsden
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Ann tells of each of their reactions; "I think Jonathan was more shaken than I was. Jonathan said, 'you know, this is the first time in my life that I've taken a taxi cab to school, and it happened to be the day that my bus blew up!' So it shook him.
"It shook up Wayne because he saw the actual explosion. It didn't shake me up that much, because to tell you the truth, we can always say that we are within seconds of ... you know. Our lives are always just a breath away."
When asked why they stay in a country so prone to such violence, Ann responds with determination. "We just feel that God has his hand on Israel. That's the bottom line conviction that we've got. And there is a purpose for us to stay. We feel like we've been called to the people of Israel. And we feel like it's a very exciting and a very interesting place to live.
There is more than just firm resolve in her voice. There is also evidence of an unshakeable faith, as she continues.
Proverbs 3: 5,6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (NIV)
"Proverbs 3:5,6 sums up a lot of things for me. Trusting God is what keeps you enjoying life. It's key to the abundant life. Trusting is what takes away fear and trusting is what takes away the anxiety about anything, because the Lord is so totally, absolutely trustworthy."
Now entering their twentieth year in Israel, the Hilsdens feel quite at home living in the land of the Bible. They have not only come to terms with their environment; they hold a genuine love for the country to which believe they have been called. They are at peace, even if the nation they inhabit is not. And while their Christmas celebrations may no longer include building snowmen, seeing wreaths on every door or hearing the strains of piped Christmas music at the mall, Ann says there are other seasonal experiences they treasure.
"I believe it was our first Christmas in Israel. We went by bus out to the hills of Bethlehem with a group of Christians and we took candles. It was a really rainy night and (one of the men in the group) prayed out loud on the bus, 'Lord, make a donut in the clouds and let us see the clear sky. Let the rain stop just long enough for us to go out and have a time of carol singing.' And you know that's exactly what happened! We went outside and we looked up. We could see stars above us! There were clouds all around the edges - the rim -- but there was this bright opening right above us!
"So it was really quite special.
"We sang Christmas carols, by candlelight in a shepherd's field."
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