JAY – Joel Gilbert was a recent guest speaker in Mary Sirois’ British literature class at Jay High School. The students had been studying the Middle Ages, the Crusades and Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.”

Gilbert, who traveled to Jordan and Israel in March, compared his religious experience to the pilgrimages.

He addressed the question of how the Crusades began and tied in their historical background with the war that is being fought in Iraq today. He referred to the Old and New Testaments, Moses’ leading his people out of captivity and the age-old heritage of Jerusalem.

Gilbert showed slides of the tapestries in Jordan, Greek Orthodox churches and an altar where animals were sacrificed, an amphitheater, a Byzantine church, the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem and a satellite dish atop a Bedouin tent.

He explained the differences among Jews, Christians and Muslims to an audience of students, who learned about the Koran, the Bible and the Torah. Artifacts he presented included an oil lamp, candles from the Church of the Nativity, a ram’s horn (blown on Jewish holidays), a map of Jerusalem, a copy of the Jordan Times and other mementos from the Holy Land.

His invitation to speak to the class was arranged by his brother, Jonathan, who is a student in British literature. Gilbert is a former student of Sirois.