“I understand now where that power comes from”

Associate Director of Communications Richard Paige recalls a recent immersion experience in Israel with Professor Bob Royalty’s class “Contested Texts, Contested Sites,” and finds slippery streets, saffron and halvah, moving celebrations, and that the sounds of children are the same everywhere.

“I didn’t expect to be moved. It’s not like I’ve come back and want to go to church every Sunday, but I understand now where that power comes from, because I’ve been there,” says Paige. “There’s something bigger than me, and it’s not about me—it’s about us. Especially in a place like Jerusalem.”