Olive Wood Carvings

Hand carved religious sculptures made by Palestinian Christians living around Bethlehem, where Jesus’ mother gave birth to him, will be available for veiwing and for purchase after worship on Sunday, May 12th.

Last year, Pr. Ben had the incredible privilege of staying for several days in Bethlehem, worshipping at the local Lutheran church, and getting to know his siblings in Christ in the West Bank. Though Palestinians in the West Bank are not directly affected by the violence in Gaza, many of them have family members who are, and all of them have experienced a complete collapse of their economy which was based largely on tourism. In an attempt to sustain a livelihood, these Palestinian Christians are shipping carvings from local olive wood around the world.

On the cover of May's FaithTalks is a picture of one such carving that Pr. Ben purchased in Bethlehem last year. They make a great gift for the mother figures in your life!