Dec 22, 2009
[An article posted in the Chicago Tribune Local Edition. In print, December 24, 2009. Special thanks to Patricia Murphy for writing this article]
“In Daniel Riemenschneider’s three-minute film, Sarah McLachlan’s ethereal rendering of the sacred song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” stands in sharp contrast to the scenes of the heavily barricaded modern-day city.
The Wheaton College graduate student and high school youth and media director at Bloomingdale Church traveled to Israel earlier this month where he connected with international workers of The Christian and Missionary Alliance who are in the Holy Land to help low-income Jews and Palestinians learn computer skills and English. While overseas, Riemenschneider spent much of his time documenting the landscape, the people and the sights of a place sublime in its natural beauty and spiritual significance but marred by centuries-old conflict.
“Even when there’s walls, there’s still hope and you see that in the smile of a child,” said Riemenschneider, who captured the watchtowers and menacing wire fences that surround Bethlehem but also included snapshots of the humanity inside the walls—a row of Palestinian schoolchildren walking in a long line, each grasping the coat of the child in front of them, an old woman selling food on the street, men laughing and conversing under the hot sun.
Riemenschneider traveled throughout the country, making stops in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Be‘er Sheva and the West Bank—and all the while, keeping people back home abreast of his journey via Twitter and Facebook.
“I wanted to take people with me without actually taking them with me,” he said. “It was fascinating how many people responded.”
Amy Jo Steinbruecker, a parishioner at Bloomingdale Church and a friend of Riemenschneider’s, was one of those people.
“[Riemenschneider] is the only one I follow on Twitter on my phone,” said Steinbruecker, who would glance down at the screen periodically and find herself struck by the power of his messages. “When he would write something like ‘I’m walking where Jesus walked’ I was like ‘Wow.’ It really put it in perspective. It’s hard to even imagine Bethlehem and then to read his words—it really made an impact.”
Riemenschneider shot 13 hours of film and took 600 pictures during his week-long trip, but perhaps the keepsake he will treasure the most is the insight he gained from the experience.
“Being in the Holy Land and getting to see the places, the make-up of the land, has really helped me understand the Bible as a piece of literature in a new way,” he said. “In the story of the Good Samaritan, the Bible says a Jewish man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho but Jericho is north so why is it written that way? The reason is that Jerusalem is on hills and is high and Jericho is low.”
The media director will show some of his work and speak about his travels at the church’s Christmas Eve mass.
“I want to make a connection to how life has been difficult for people this year with the economy and job losses but that there’s still joy in people,” he said. “There’s still hope in the walls.”
To see Riemenschneider’s short film, go to http://vimeo.com/8269303.
By Patricia Murphy, Triblocal.com reporter
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