CMJ Heritage Centers
Jerusalem
We have two Heritage Centres in Jerusalem, one in the Old City and one on the New City.
In the Old City the Heritage Centre is located at Christ Church and is named Bet Nicolayson in honour of John Nicolayson, the pioneer CMJ and Protestant resident in Jerusalem.
Here the heritage centre has two distinct components: one building which is entered directly from the street leading to the Jewish Quarter, which is now the main entrance to Christ Church Centre. Various old models of Jerusalem (made by Conrad Schick and J.M. Tenz, whose other models are located in the British Museum) and historical explanations are on display here. Of special importance is the Montgomery Bible, a gift from the Jewish leadership of Eretz Israel in 1942 to General Montgomery following the victory at El Alamein. Montgomery had ministered at Christ Church in 1931.
A very important part of the heritage centre is the entrance way into the Herodian Tunnel Room under our floor. This tunnel was discovered when Christ Church was being built in the 1840's, and is revealed in one of the Schick Models of Jerusalem from the 1860's. The entrance way was uncovered when renovations were being made for the heritage centre in 2001.
The second component of the heritage work encompasses the entire Christ Church Centre - all of which we view as a Heritage Centre. So From the Heritage Centre one can then proceed through into the Coffee Shop, and then into the courtyard and visit the Church.
In the Coffee Shop (which doubles up as the dining room of the guest house) there are more historical explanations, as well as the unique Jerusalem Panorama Painting of 1879 which was officially unveiled by former Jerusalem mayor, Teddy Kollek, as well as the special 360degrees Jerusalem Panorama Photograph.
One could view the entrance into Alexander building and see a display and portrait of Bishop Alexander, the former rabbi who became Jerusalem's first protestant bishop. Upon request one could also visit the Alexander lounge, which hosted a Conrad Schick Model from 1864, a small display about Jerusalem's Leonardo da Vinci, view an underground cistern - and perhaps even peek into the newly completed Conrad Schick Library adjacent to the lounge.
Through these various displays and involvement of William Wilberforce, Joseph Frey, Lord Shaftesbury, Nicolayson, Alexander, Schick, Consul James Finn and others who can gain a glimpse of the important role that Protestant Christians and Hebrew Christians played in laying the foundations for the modernization of Jerusalem and restoration of Israel.
To our knowledge there is no other such display in Jerusalem.
The second of our Jerusalem Heritage Centres is located at the Anglican International School Jerusalem (AISJ) and is known as Bet Barclay, after Rev. Joseph Barclay, an Irishman, who was a CMJ worker here, the third Protestant bishop, and who had the vision and foresight to purchase this property.
This heritage centre is dedicated primarily to the history of this property, one of the first property developments outside the Old City. It's history is very rich, hoisted such illustrious personalities as Captain Warren and Lieutenant Horatio Kitchener of the Palestine Exploration Fund; as well hosting General Allenby and one T.E. Lawrence in December 1917. This place also served hundreds of Jewish refugees of the first aliyah, which was a large factor in provoking the famous Baron Rothschild to then come to the aid of these destitute refugees, which laid the foundations of the modern Jewish restoration in Eretz Israel.
At the time of fledgling Israel's greatest need, in 1948, when surrounded by Arab armies and forces, she lost touch with her main hospital, Hadassah, CMJ then loaned the Jewish community our hospital which was located on this property, and thereafter it became Israel's major hospital in Jerusalem. When Hadassah moved out in 1962 the small CMJ School then began to expand into what it is today - the main international school of an international city.
Beit Immanuel in Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Our heritage centre here is known as the Baron's Palace Heritage Centre, after Baron von Ustinov (grandfather of Peter Ustinov).
The heritage centre here is located in one of the former rooms of the Hotel du Parc and is in the form of a former Palace room resplendent with chandeliers etc. It is dedicated to the history of this most famous building, as well as the former American and German colonies where it is located, and forms part of a bigger story - the gentile Contribution to the development of Jaffa and the area.
Beit Immanuel was one of the first buildings outside the walls of ancient Jaffa, and throughout its colourful history has hosted such people as Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Victoria and many other notable guests when it was the main hotel in Jaffa. Baron
Ustinov had the first botanical garden and zoo in the land, boasting monkeys and colourful parrots.
In the 20th century it was used by CMJ as a school, commandeered by the British Army, and then the Israeli army, and then in the 1970's was the focal point of the emerging Israeli Messianic movement.
Included in the presentation at Beit Immanuel is the opportunity, for groups, to view some unique old glass slides with a glass slide projector, and to sit in the soon to be restored Baron's Garden Coffee Shop.
Beit Bracha in Migdal
The purpose of the heritage centre at Beit Bracha at Migdal on the shores of the sea of Galilee is to present to the Gentile Contribution to the development of the Galilee and restoration of Israel.
There are two main components of this displays: a number of historical displays presenting the story of how and why pioneer Gentile Christians came to the Galilee, either CMJ or the Scots, and began the modernization process at Safed and Tiberias. This display will also present the efforts of Lawrence Oliphant, a British gentile who greatly assisted with the restoration of Israel; and of the Australian soldiers (Light Horse) who played the major role in capturing the Galilee and Migdal in September 1918.
The second component of the heritage centre will be some 30 large colour photographs of the Galilee, some of which are unique and which date over 100 years.