For several years, our spiritual life has been led by the Reverend Ann Reeder Riggs, the chaplain who charms us in chapel with homilies that help convey the relevance of biblical lessons to our modern lives, listens to our problems and concerns, and keeps us laughing with the latest antics of her young grandchildren.
Last fall, Chaplain Riggs had the opportunity to visit many of the biblical sites she refers to in her sermons when she took a ten-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land with her sister and brother-in-law and other members of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Burke, Virginia.
"It was a lifelong dream that I would be able to do this someday," says Ann Riggs of her journey. "We went to experience the places where Jesus had lived, walked, been crucified, and where he later appeared to his disciples. I certainly felt that it was going to be personally enriching, on a spiritual level, but would also help me witness the meaning of Christianity in the world today; to become more aware, on a cognitive level, of what the Bible is about."
Last November's trip was organized by the Reverend Randall L. Prior, rector of St. Andrew's. For Chaplain Riggs, the trip began with a seven a.m. farewell from some 20 St. Margaret's students and faculty members, who serenaded her on the morning of her departure with "Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God." "It was a wonderful, love-filled send-off," she says, "which stayed with me through the entire journey."
Arriving in Jerusalem after two days' travel, the group spent three days touring historic sites in Bethlehem (including the manger where tradition says Jesus was born), Old City Jerusalem, Mount Olive, Mount Zion and the Upper Room (site of the Last Supper), Jericho (believed by some to be the oldest city in the world), the Dead Sea, and Mt. Nebo (where Moses viewed the Promised Land).
"We were visiting these sites just two weeks after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated and the official mourning period was still in effect," explains Chaplain Riggs, then continues, "At any given site you could identify multiple layers of civilization--so many archaelogical digs have been done--as many as 20 layers of civilization all affected by earthquakes, floods, or invading armies."
During her stop at the Western Wall, the remnant of the last Jewish temple destroyed in 70 A.D., Chaplain Riggs offered special prayers given her by members of the St. Margaret's community, placing them in the cracked wall of the temple, together with the names on the school's cycle of prayer.
On day six, the group visited Arab villages in the Ramallah area, Beir Zeit, a sister parish of St. Andrew's, and an orphanage. Ramallah, she explains, is a Palestinian town occupied by the Israelis since the Six-Day-War, and the day the group visited was a day of much excitement and rejoicing because it was the first day since that occupation that the Palestinians were allowed to fly their own flag.
Also of great interest was a visit to Birzeit University where they were guests of Dr. Hanna Nasir, Birzeit's president, and a prominent player in the P.L.O. peace effort. Mona Nasir, a '93 graduate of SMS, is Dr. Nasir's niece.
"The land for the university," Chaplain Riggs explains, "was given by the Nasir family in the 1920's. The Nasirs are Palestinian Christians and, like many other Christians in Israel, the families have been Christian since the first century. The Nasir family's association with the Episcopal Church made possible Mona's senior year at St. Margaret's. Mona was my advisee--she did her Independent Study Project in Jerusalem in a rehabilitation center for people who had been wounded as a result of terrorist activity. I have nothing but admiration for a student who could go from life in our easy culture to one so different, and who had already learned to relate equally well to both."
Returning to the subject of her visit to Birzeit University, she recalls that Dr. Nasir spoke to the group for about an hour, giving the historical background of the area from the Palestinian point of view.
That evening the group met with Rabbi Yehezkel Landau from New Jersey. The Rabbi and his Israeli wife, Dalia, and her family have given a home they call "Open House" that sponsors a series of educational programs for all ages and is dedicated to providing equal representation from the three faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Muslim) in each program they offer.
"From the Landaus we learned about Israel's background from the Jewish viewpoint. It was a very powerful and moving day," Ann Riggs says. "Interestingly enough, both sides had similar final statements: that in any given time in the history of this troubled land, one group was committing atrocities and destroying and conquering the other. They both said it is hopeless to try to settle based on the historic right or wrong--the two sides must look to the future and learn to live together or else they will totally destroy each other."
As they left the lush Jordan Valley and proceded into the desert, Chaplain Riggs found herself fascinated with the stark landscape. "I had a real curiosity about the wilderness. I was aware that a lot of the holy sites had been places of worship for so many Christians, and were overlaid with ritual and symbolic religious items, and as a result it was sometimes hard to grasp the simplicity of Jesus' time. But the hills and the wilderness have remained unchanged, and that was very powerful. It gave me a different perspective on some of Jesus' stories and parables."
In particular, she noted a visit to a convent housing an order of French nuns, under which exists a village that predates the birth of Christ, and a first-century altar built on the remains of the house of Joseph to commemorate the site. "You could easily imagine you were walking on a street where Jesus had been as a child," Chaplain Riggs says. "It was an overwhelming experience."
A similarly moving incident occurred when Chaplain Riggs' traveling companions opted to stand in the drizzling rain so she could celebrate the Eucharist in the Holy Land.
"The only chapel at that location was Roman Catholic so of course I couldn't celebrate there because they don't permit women celebrants, so we decided to go to an outdoor altar on the shores of the Sea of Galilee so I could celebrate the Eucharist on Thanksgiving day. But it was raining, and I was afraid that meant I wouldn't get to celebrate." Her companions, however, unanimously decided to ignore the rain and go ahead as planned. Recalling their understanding, her eyes water in a characteristic display of sensitivity. "I was almost overcome by emotion," she says softly.
For Chaplain Riggs, the trip proved both awesome and inspiring. "I took great hope for the future in realizing that this faith and trust and belief in this one God is some six thousand years old," she observes. "Christianity has been through earthly trials and tribulations, yet has survived; I gained a greater sense of the extended kingdom of God's church on earth. I also realized how fortunate Americans are to be able to practice our beliefs, but how great the burden is to pass on to future generations that which we value and hold dear."
As this generation of St. Margaret's students can attest, Chaplain Riggs bears the "burden" proudly, and with great joy.
(Excerpted from this spring's 75th Anniversary edition of the Thistle, St. Margaret's alumnae magazine.)
You can email Chaplain Riggs at: ariggs@sms-va.com
