Center for Unity Origin Story – Part 4

2019

In September 2018, Urantia Foundation invited Sandra and me to participate as presenters in the 2019 Cultural Symposium at 533 Diversey in Chicago, Illinois.

I decided to include three slides about the Center for Unity in my presentation.

In hindsight, this is a major clarification in the concept. A shift from a “pilgrim center” to a Center for Unity. According to these developing concepts, The Center for Unity would be sharing the REAL life and teachings of Jesus not only with my Jewish sisters and brothers, but with all religions.

The religion of Jesus is the most powerful unifying influence the world has ever known. 194:3.17 The Urantia Book

The name “The Center for Unity” is directly inspired from this quote.

After the presentation, Gard Jameson asked Sandra and I to “prepare a concept.” Gard backed this up with a sizable seed investment, and also suggested that we should cooperate with Mark Khoury, an architect from Lebanon that also participated in the Cultural Symposium.

We contacted Mark after the symposium. He was enthusiastic but had no spare time to engage.

Gard’s guidance was the catalyst to the next phase. Once more I was left with the question: “what’s next?”

Once back in Israel, it was time to organize another meeting with Idan Greenboum, the head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council. I wrote to Mr. Greenboum that I was exploring the possibility of building a “visitor center and museum focused on the Christian pilgrim market.”

We met on May 14th to discuss the possibility of building The Center for Unity in a location called Beit Tamara. There was an old house there, which could be renovated. The entire plot was a little under 5 acres. Mr. Greenboum mentioned this property to me back in 2016. At that time, he mentioned that there was a possibility of building a museum there. I was not interested in a museum. I was thinking of a resort, so I did not give Beit Tamara more than a cursory look.

Now Beit Tamara looked like the only possible option for a suitable plot of land and the idea of a museum came back to my awareness.

During the meeting, Mr. Greenboum told me the story of Beit Tamara. In the 1960s, this plot was bequeathed to the Jordan Valley Regional Council with the request that a “museum” be built. Curious, no?

I left the meeting with the realization that the way forward with Beit Tamara was to plan for a museum. This is how the idea of a Jesus Museum came to be.

After the meeting, I called my business partner and told her that I needed to talk to a real-estate lawyer. She recommended Adv. Even - a well-connected real-estate lawyer from Haifa. I figured I would need his help to navigate the bureaucratic waters of Israeli Land Authority.

On May 19th, I went to see Adv. Even in the Haifa office. He gave me a very thorough interview and was all excited about building a venue that will share the life and teachings of Jesus.

While we were discussing some ideas, we talked about the 5-star hotel that was being built in Capernaum. Adv. Even mentioned that he knows the owner of the architecture firm that designed it - Miloslavski.

We called her then and there, and I left a message and asked to be contacted.

By November, I was seated in front of the owner of the Miloslavski firm in their posh offices, near Tel Aviv. I told them about the Jesus Museum and the possibility of leasing the plot at Beit Tamara. It was a great conversation, until I realized that it is a bit too early in the game to hire a top-notch architecture firm when the idea for the Jesus Museum was still not clear in my mind. I guess at this point I was not fully convinced this was the Father's will.

I received a quote for professional services from Miloslavski. I sat on it for a while until it was clear to me it was too early.

The meeting with Guy Miloslavsky was part of the big plan, however. During the meeting Guy mentioned that I should talk to Adv. Calev Myers. He said Adv. Myers is extremely well connected with many Christian interests in Israel and he should be able to help us secure alternatives to Beit Tamara.

In the beginning of December, I called Adv. Myers and told him about the project. We had a nice chat, but nothing concrete came out of that. Remember Calev’s name. He will return in the “third act”, so to speak.

In early November I told the Zikhron Yaacov tourism board manager about the Jesus Museum. She invited me to attend a workshop and meet with officers from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism (MoT). Sandra and I attended the workshop in mid November. I met Dr. Gili Aviv, a consultant for the MoT and she told me I could get a professional tourism expert to guide me in the next steps. For that, I had to submit an application to the MoT.

I felt the idea of the Jesus Museum had a lot of promise. At the same time, it was obvious I was swimming in deep waters – I had no experience in tourism.

I followed Dr. Aviv’s advice and submitted an application to the MoT. By early December, I was invited to present the Jesus Museum to several mid-level officials.

When I present the idea of a Jesus Museum in Israel, I usually get the same reaction. People’s eyes open and they say it is a great idea. Then, they ask themselves (and me) why on earth it was not done before?

It was no different with the MoT officials. They approved my application. The next step was for me to choose a consultant from the pre-approved list.

I spent the rest of December talking to several tourism consultants, and finally settled on Mr. Israel Eshed.

We had several conversations, but I was not sure how to advance. Something inside of me was hesitating.

I needed a clear sign before I could take the next step. I did not know what to do.

Whenever I did not know what to do, I simply prayed and waited. It works like a charm, if you have enough patience. I guess that is my biggest lesson so far - the Father’s plans have their own tempo and we simply have to play along, and do the work.

To be continued...

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