The Jesus Museum–Update
By Rick Lyon
Steven Marble’s trip to Israel has taken the museum project to a whole new level. A great deal of trust and comradery was created among the teams and contractors working on this project. The design took a major step forward from the designs we have shown previously. Part of it involves the concept of the crystal walls of Jerusem. The proposed rooftop conference, wedding, and event venue overlooking the Sea of Galilee will be amazing.
Two very important members of our museum team are Calev Myers and Nir Kimhi, attorneys for Yehuda Raveh & Co. Law Offices, Jerusalem, www.yrlegal.co.il. They are the top law firm in Israel for creating and managing world-class museums. They have the experience and the know-how to help us make this Jesus Museum a reality. Above, you see a screen shot from their website with Calev on the left, Nir on the right.
We have one of the top design companies in Israel, Diskin, doing the engineering, design, and construction of the physical renovations and installations: www.diskin.com. We encourage you to visit the websites for both of these companies to see who we have working for us. Look at the projects they have done and I am absolutely certain that you will now know, that this is not just a dream but a very potential reality. As Calev told us: “This museum will be created. The question is: ‘Who will create it?'”
We have reached a point in our relationship with the Yigal Alon museum owners that they want assurance that we, Center for Unity, can come up with the money to build what we are planning. We need to raise the funds quickly to demonstrate that the support of the Urantia community and that we can really make this happen. We need to demonstrate that material resources will not stop our spiritual mission.
Another positive development is that the Israeli government has approved a $3 million matching fund grant to the museum. If we can raise $3 million, then the government will grant another $3 million. This will allow us to begin the design and construction and will almost fund the entire project–if we can first raise our $3 million share. With this, the Urantia community can be the ones telling the story of Jesus in the land of Jesus. Calev, Nir, and Diskin say that we could have the Jesus Museum open to the public in 2-3 years. We need $40,000 to begin the engineering design work. Funding this will go a long way toward proving to the museum owners that we are for real and that will lead to signing the agreement securing the museum for our use for the next 25 years.
