Itinerary

Day 1, Monday 12th November

Journeying to the Holy Land

We meet at Luton Airport for our non-stop flight to Tel Aviv arriving in the early evening, where we will be met on arrival and transferred to the Benedictine Pilgherhaus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which will be our home for the next three nights.

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Day 2, Tuesday 13th November

Revelation and Annunciation

Our pilgrimage begins at Mount Tabor, traditionally associated with the Transfiguration. After celebrating the Eucharist, and enjoying wonderful views of the Jezreel Valley, we will drive to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first sign, according to the Fourth Gospel. We also hope to meet a representative of the Arab Association of Human Rights, based in Cana, one of today’s signs of hope in this land, to learn more about the lives of Palestinians living in Israel. Finally, we will come to Nazareth, the town in which the gospel story begins. We will return to the Pilgerhaus in time to freshen up for our evening meal.

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Day 3, Wednesday 14th November

Teaching and Feeding

Today we will focus on the principal sites of Jesus’ ministry around the home he made for himself by the Sea of Galilee. After remembering the call of the first disciples by the shores of the Sea, we will visit the excavated ruins of Capernaum, as well as sites associated with the Feeding of the 5000, the recommissioning 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.

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Day 4, Thursday 15th November

An ancient pilgrimage route

This morning we bid farewell to the Galilee, and begin our journey south, entering the northern part of the West Bank by Jenin, and driving to the city of Nablus in which is found Jacob’s Well - a site which Jesus himself visited on a journey to Jerusalem. From here we drive through the heart of the West Bank, and are able to see something of the nature of the Israeli Occupation and consequent building of illegal settlements. We will visit the village of Taybeh, the only entirely Christian village in Palestine, before heading up hill through the Judean wilderness towards Jerusalem. Driving round this great city, we head a short distance south until we come to the vast concrete wall surrounding Bethlehem. Passing through the checkpoint, we make our way to our hotel situated on Manger Square. Dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.

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Day 5, Friday 16th November

Incarnation and abundant life

Today we will visit the places associated with the birth of Jesus, and get a sense of the lives of modern-day Christian in Bethlehem. During the course of the day we will visit the Shepherds’ Fields and the Church of the Nativity. We will also have a tour of one of the three major refugee camps in the city, and see the signs of hope in the remarkable work of the Holy Family Maternity Hospital, which offers the only neo-natal care in the southern West Bank. Dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.

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Day 6, Saturday 17th November

Tears and Prayers

In the morning we journey south from Bethlehem to the ancient city of Hebron, the burial place of Abraham and the patriarchs, to see how the hideous complexity of occupation and division in clear focus in the centre of this city. In the afternoon we approach Jerusalem via the Mount of Olives, to recall 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 disicples, 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. Check-in to our Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

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Day 7, Sunday 18th November

The First Day of the Week

This morning we will visit St George’s Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, and worship with some of the local Christian community. Later in the day we will visit the Model of First Century Jerusalem at the Israel Museum, before visiting Ein Karem, venerated as the birthplace of John the Baptist, and we will end the day by visiting a church associated with Mary’s meeting with her cousin Elizabeth, so that we, too, can sing Magnificat as the first day of the week draws to its close. In the evening we hope to have a visit from a member of Breaking the Silence, to have a new insight into the costs of the Occupation from former serving members of the Israeli Defence Force. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

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Day 8, Monday 19th November

I do not know the man

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 we recall not only Jesus’ incarceration over the last night of his life, but also Peter’s faithless threefold denial of Jesus. The rest of the day will be devoted to an exploration of the Jordan Valley, starting just on the other side of the Mount of Olives, where we will visit Bethany, home of Jesus’ close friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus. From here we will drive to Jericho and on to River Jordan, to the place most strongly associated with Jesus’ baptism by John. After renewing our baptismal vows, we will finish the day by experiencing the unique sensation of floating in the waters of the Dead Sea. Early evening we return to Jerusalem and our hotel.

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Day 9, Tuesday 20th November

Taking up the cross

If permitted, we will start our day by visiting the Temple Mount, where we can see close up (but not enter) the glorious Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque. This will lead us to 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. The afternoon will be free, allowing people to revisit places that have particularly moved them, or of taking part in an optional visit to the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. Return to our hotel for farewell dinner and overnight stay.

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Day 10, Wednesday 21st November

Telling what had happened on the road

After 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, to celebrate our final Eucharist together. 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...

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