Itinerary

Day 1 Monday 4 March

Journeying to the Holy Land

Meet at London Heathrow for our afternoon flight to Tel Aviv. Dinner served in-flight. On arrival we will be met by our guide and driven to Galilee and our hotel on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the places where Jesus lived and worked.

Day 2 Tuesday 5 March

Nazareth, Cana & Mount Tabor

Our pilgrimage begins at Mount Tabor, traditionally associated with the Transfiguration. After visiting the glorious Basilica on the summit of the mount, and enjoying wonderful views of the Jezreel Valley and the plains of Armageddon, we will drive to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first sign, according to the Fourth Gospel. Finally, we will come to Nazareth, the town in which the gospel story begins. In addition to visiting the Basilica of the Annunciation we will visit Mary’s Well and the Synagogue Church. We will return to the our hotel in time to freshen up for our evening meal. Overnight stay at the Mount of Beatitudes. ministry around the home he made for himself by the Sea of Galilee. We will visit the excavated ruins of Capernaum, as well as sites associated with the Feeding of the 5000, the re-commissioning of Peter, and the giving of the Sermon on the Mount. In addition we will have a chance to sail on the Sea itself in a modern replica of a First Century fishing boat. We then visit the River Jordan, and have the opportunity to renew our baptism vows, as preparation for our journey south towards Jerusalem. After a break for lunch we begin our journey south. We come first to the oasis city of Jericho where we can view the Mount of Temptation. After a break for coffee we head up hill through the Judean wilderness towards Jerusalem and the vast concrete wall surrounding Bethlehem. Passing through the checkpoint, we make our way to our hotel situated on Manger Square.

Day 3 Wednesday 6 March

Lakeside Churches & Bethlehem

Today after an early start we will focus on the principal sites of Jesus’ ministry around the home he made for himself by the Sea of Galilee. We will visit the excavated ruins of Capernaum, as well as sites associated with the Feeding of the 5000, the re-commissioning of Peter, and the giving of the Sermon on the Mount. In addition we will have a chance to sail on the Sea itself in a modern replica of a First Century fishing boat. We then visit the River Jordan, and have the opportunity to reflect on the significance of Christ's Baptism. After a break for lunch we begin our journey south. We come first to the oasis city of Jericho where we can view the Mount of Temptation. After a break for coffee we head up hill through the Judean wilderness towards Jerusalem and the vast concrete wall that surrounds Bethlehem. After passing through the checkpoint we make our way to our hotel situated by Manger Square.

Day 4 Thursday 7 March

Bethlehem & Beit Sahour

Today will give us the chance not only to see the places associated with the birth of Jesus, but to see the implications of the Incarnation as lived out by the Christians of Bethlehem. During the course of the day we will visit the Shepherds Fields and the Church of the Nativity, as well as seeing the work of two remarkable Christian institutions endeavouring to bring something of the abundant life promised in the gospel to those living under the restrictions of the Occupation. We hope to visit the Holy Family Hospital, which offers the only neo-natal care in the southern West Bank, and the remarkable International Center of Bethlehem, founded by the Lutheran Pastor Mitri Raheb. Dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.

Day 5 Friday 8 March

Model & The Mount of Olives

We leave Bethlehem after an early breakfast and proceed to Jerusalem passing through the check-point and separation wall. We begin our day with the Israel Museum, to see a model of Jerusalem as it was at the time of Jesus. We then proceed to the summit of the Mount of Olives, where we will spend the morning recalling the Palm Sunday route, and visiting places associated with particular events in the gospels as we slowly make our way downhill. We start at Bethphage, the traditional starting point of the procession of palms, and in the course of our journey will visit the church of the Pater Noster, where we recall Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples, and the church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the fate of the city. Finally, we reach the Garden of Gethsemane, and the dark and brooding Church of All Nations, where we recall Jesus’ agonized prayers prior to his arrest, and reflect on the failure of his closest friends to keep awake and watch with him. Finally we proceed to our hotel within the walls of the Old City.

Day 6 Saturday 9 March

Mount Zion & The Old City

The first part of today will be spent exploring the holy sites located on Mount Zion, where the earliest Christian community lived in the days following the resurrection. Here we will find a site commemorating both the Upper Room used for the Last Supper as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and a striking abbey in honour of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The principal focus of the morning, however, will be a visit to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, built at the top of an ancient set of steps which leads up from the City of David to what is believed to have been the residence of the Jewish High Priest. Many believe that Jesus himself was led up these steps to his trial by the Jewish authorities after his arrest. Here too, we recall not only Jesus’ incarceration over the last night of his life, but also Peter’s faithless threefold denial of Jesus.

After a break for lunch we start our visit of the Old City. We begin by visiting the remarkable church of St Anne and the Pools of Bethesda, which we will visit, before coming to the start of the Via Dolorosa. Here we will celebrate the Eucharist, and then wind our way through the narrow alleys of the Old City, following the traditional Way of the Cross, culminating in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem steps which leads up from the City of David to what is believed to have been the residence of the Jewish High Priest. Many believe that Jesus himself was led up these steps to his trial by the Jewish authorities after his arrest. Here too, we recall not only Jesus’ incarceration over the last night of his life, but also Peter’s faithless threefold denial of Jesus. After a break for lunch we start our visit of the Old City. We begin by visiting the remarkable church of St Anne and the Pools of Bethesda, which we will visit, before coming to the start of the Via Dolorosa and then wind our way through the narrow alleys of the Old City, following the traditional Way of the Cross, culminating in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7 Sunday 10 March

Ein Karem & Yad Vashem

This morning we will visit St George’s Cathedral, and worship with some of the local Christian community. Later in the day, we will have the chance of making a brief visit to the Western Wall, before heading to Ein Karem, a beautiful suburb of Jerusalem, venerated as the birthplace of John the Baptist, and the site associated with Mary’s meeting with her cousin Elizabeth. After a break for lunch we drive over to West Jerusalem and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and Memorial Park., before returning to our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 8 Monday 11 March

Abu Ghosh & journey home

After a leisurely breakfast we will check out of our hotel, and start heading west, towards the airport. After seven miles, we will stop at the village of Abu Ghosh, one of the sites associated with the village of Emmaus in the gospels. After a stop for lunch, we will arrive at Ben Gurion airport, to board our flight back to London, and our journey to our own homes. And we hope that each one of us will continue to tell our friends all that has happened to us on the road...