Dear friends of Magdala: As many of you know we are currently in the middle of the construction process of the Magdala guesthouse, and as we continue to move forward and see more progress I feel the need to better express the motivations behind this particular aspect of our project as well as answer some…
When 6:00 pm finally arrives, the wind gusts offer some relief to the 100-degree August heat, and I am ready to dip my feet into the refreshing waters of the Sea of Galilee. What a day! Non-stop tours: Baptists from Atlanta, Georgia; Evangelicals from Sweden; Anglicans from the UK; Catholics from Mexico and Peru; four…
A few days ago I celebrated my 1-year anniversary of life in Magdala, Israel. September 2015 to September 2016 was a year of culture shock, adventure, and pita. A westerner coming to the Middle East, I definitely found myself in “another world,” and unlike the many tourists or pilgrims I wasn’t accompanied by a local…
Dear Friends of Magdala, Let me share with you today a brief story about the history of Magdala, which has caused many to laugh, and others to consider it a strange and curious detail. I refer to the fact that the first plot of land we purchased for Magdala was a small resort that Israelis…
As Magdala volunteers we live in a church compound that is frequented on Fridays by a small group of local Christians. It is not uncommon for volunteers to encounter strangers browsing the contents of the refrigerator or using private bathrooms. The first experiences with this type of interaction felt like a total invasion of privacy!…
After participating in the symposium “Women of Influence”, organized at Magdala in March of this year, I felt sure I would come back for another visit. I was impressed by the women of the various walks of life and religions, and their stories so generously shared with us. I was equally impressed by the aesthetics…
July 22 was a special day in the Catholic Church, and even more special for Magdala. It was a day to celebrate a woman’s role in evangelizing. It was a day to celebrate the life-giving freedom of being made new in Christ and being sent to announce the good news: Jesus is alive! After the…
“Lord, make your face shine on us and we will be saved.” Psalm 80:19 The scorching daily sun, the hot whisking, afternoon winds and weeks of cloudless skies form part of the summertime Magdala experience. This doesn’t stop us from climbing up Mt. Arbel at 5:00 am to see the strong orange and red beams…
In early July we welcomed a new team member. Celine Kelly is originally from the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland. She says: “I am delighted to join my older brother, Fr. Eamon, at Magdala. This is the first time in forty years that we are assigned to the same ministry and we look forward…
Dear Friends of Magdala: I would like to wish all a peaceful and joyous summer that I hope you can enjoy with some days of rest and alongside your families. (at least in the northern hemisphere). We are living in the month of July when for the first time we celebrated the Feast of Saint…
