Day 1      Thursday, 18 November

TRAVEL TO THE HOLY LAND

We gather at London Heathrow to join a morning flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival we will be met and driven to Galilee to our hotel by the lake. Overnight by the Sea of Galilee.

Day 2      Friday, 19 November

MT TABOR, NAZARETH & CANA

We begin our day on Mount Tabor, which commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John, we then continue to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first sign, then on to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up, to visit the Church of the Annunciation and the Old Synagogue-Church. Dinner and overnight by the Sea of Galilee.

Day 3      Saturday 20 November

JESUS’ GALILEAN MINISTRY

We start our day at Tabgha, the Church of the Loaves and Fishes beside the Lake and then we proceed to the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter and onward to the Mount of the Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Later we drive to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry. We sail a short distance on the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum to Nof Ginosar, to see the First Century fishing boat where we break for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the New Baptismal site at Yardenit where we will have the opportunity to renew our Baptismal vows, before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4      Sunday 21 November

JERICHO, BETHANY & BETHLEHEM

After breakfast we return to Nazareth to join in with the local Christian community for Sunday Service at Christ Church. We then leave Galilee and drive south along the Jordan Valley to the oasis city of Jericho, the City of Palms. We will stop to view the Mount of Temptation and the traditional Sycamore tree. Leaving Jericho we drive up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness to visit Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, before we continue towards the summit of the Mount of Olives and we will have the opportunity of seeing the stark reality of the vast wall being built around the West Bank. We will then proceed through the wall into Bethlehem and to our hotel adjacent to the Church of the Nativity. Dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.

Day 5      Monday 22 November

BETHLEHEM

This morning we begin with a visit to the Basilica of the Nativity and the Shepherds Fields at Beit Saour. We then visit the Holy Family Maternity Hospital to learn of the vital work it does in and around the municipality. Then we walk to the Lutheran Christmas Church where the Pastor is the Revd Mitri Raheb, author of Bethlehem Besieged (a deeply moving account of the sufferings caused by the Israel invasion of Bethlehem in 2002), we will take lunch here and also see the remarkable work undertaken in the educational centre attached to the church. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 6      Tuesday, 23 November

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES - SABEEL

After breakfast we drive up to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, the start of the traditional Palm Sunday procession on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. From there we will continue to the Pater Noster Convent, before walking down the Mount of Olives to visit the Church of Dominus Flevit, which commemorates the site where Jesus wept over the destruction of Jerusalem, the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. After a break for lunch, we will visit the Ecumenical Christian Theological Movement Sabeel, founded by the Revd Canon Naim Ateek, to learn of its work, before returning to our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem

Day 7      Wednesday, 24 November

TEMPLE MOUNT - MT ZION

After breakfast we will drive around the old walled city and proceed on foot to the Temple Mount, the site of the Temple of Solomon where we will see the only remnant, the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) and also see the Dome of the Rock which now stands on the mount. Our coach then takes us up Mount Zion to visit St. Peter in Gallicantu built over the site of the High Priest’s house and the dungeon where Jesus was held overnight before Good Friday. We also visit the traditional Room of the Last Supper. After a break for lunch we visit the model of Jerusalem as it was in the time of Jesus and then we drive to Ein Karem to visit the traditional home of John the Baptist where we will bring the day to a close with Evening Prayer. Dinner and overnight stay at our hotel within walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Day 8      Thursday, 25 November

THE VIA DOLOROSA

We will begin the day at the beautiful Crusader Church of St. Anne overlooking the Pools of Bethesda, before visiting the Convent of the Sisters of Zion built on the foundations of the Antonia Fortress, the Roman Garrison of Jerusalem. After a celebration of the Eucharist we visit the recently-excavated first century stone pavement (Gabbatha in the gospels) to follow the Way of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary enshrined within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The rest of the afternoon will be free for shopping or for visiting sites of special interest. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 9      Friday, 26 November

DEAD SEA - QUMRAN

This morning we leave Jerusalem and head east for a tour of the Dead Sea basin, the lowest point on Earth’s surface. Driving down to the shores of the Dead Sea where we visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947, excavations uncovered the nearby Essene Monastery, where the Scrolls may have originated. We then break for lunch and an opportunity to bathe in its unique mineral laden waters of the Dead Sea. We return to Jerusalem in the afternoon and the rest of the afternoon will be free to explore the Old City. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 10      Saturday, 27 November

OUR JOURNEY HOME

After breakfast we leave Jerusalem and visit Abu Gosh, a possible site of Emmaus. After a break for lunch we drive on to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport for and our afternoon return flight to London Heathrow