Day 1      Wednesday, 24 February

TRAVEL TO THE HOLY LAND

We gather at London Heathrow to join a morning flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival we will be met by our guide and then driven north to Galilee and our hotel by the lake. Dinner and overnight at Galilee.

Day 2      Thursday, 25 February

CAESAREA PHILIPPI & JESUS’ LAKESIDE MINISTRY

After an early breakfast we begin our pilgrimage by journeying into the Golan Heights to visit Banias, biblical Caesarea Philippi, the site of Peter’s great declaration of faith in Christ. Situated in what is now an Israeli National Park, a tributary of the River Jordan flows through the site, by which we will renew our baptismal vows. After this, we return to the area immediately around the Sea of Galilee, where we will visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter and the Mount of the Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We will then drive to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry. We will have a chance to sail on the Sea of Galilee, as well as visiting an authentic First Century fishing boat of a kind that would have been utterly familiar to Jesus.

Day 3      Friday, 26 February

MT TABOR, NAZARETH & CANA

Our day begins at Mount Tabor, which commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John, after which we will 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. In Nazareth we will have an opportunity to meet with leaders of the local Anglican Community at St Margaret’s Hostel, where we will break for lunch. Dinner and overnight by the Sea of Galilee.

Day 4      Saturday, 27 February

JERICHO, BETHANY & BETHLEHEM

After breakfast we leave Galilee and drive south along the Jordan Valley to the oasis city of Jericho. Here we view the Mount of Temptation, the traditional Sycamore tree and excavation of ancient city walls before breaking for coffee and the chance to shop for Dead Sea products and the traditional coloured Hebron glass. Late morning we leave Jericho and drive up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness to visit Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and where we will break for a late lunch. In the afternoon we continue towards the summit of the Mount of Olives and and we will have the opportunity for seeing the stark reality of the vast wall being built around the West Bank. We will then proceed through the wall into Bethlehem and our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Bethlehem.

Day 5      Sunday, 28 February

JERUSALEM - BETHLEHEM

This morning we drive back through the wall to join members of the local community for the Eucharist at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral. We return to Bethlehem for lunch at the International Centre, founded by the Revd Mitri Raheb, Pastor of the Lutheran Christmas Church. After an introduction to the Centre’s remarkable work, we will visit the Shepherds’ Fields and the Church of the Nativity.

Day 6      Monday, 1 March

BETHLEHEM & THE ISRAEL MUSEUM

After breakfast we will visit the Holy Family Maternity Hospital, to learn about its vital work in the West Bank. We then visit Bethlehem University where we will break for lunch. In the afternoon we leave Bethlehem and proceed to West Jerusalem to visit the Israel Museum, to see both the model of Jerusalem at the time of Christ, and the Shrine of the Book - a display about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Finally we drive to the New Gate of the Old City, to check-in to our hotel in the Christian Quarter of the Old City.

Day 7      Tuesday, 2 March

MOUNT OF OLIVES & SABEEL

Today we set off after breakfast and drive to Bethphage, 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. We return to our Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8      Wednesday, 3 March

OLD CITY, MT ZION, QUMRAN & DEAD SEA

After breakfast we proceed to the Dung gate and visit the Western Wall of the Second Temple Esplanade, and the excavations close by in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. If permitted we will ascend to the Temple Mount to visit the area around the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque. Late morning we drive up to Mount Zion to see the traditional site of the Room of the Last Supper, the beautiful Abbey of the Dormition, and the Church of St. Peter in Galicantu, for a Eucharist. There we will view the recently excavated Roman pathway and steps that lead up from the Old City. In the afternoon we will descend back to the Jordan Valley, to visit the National Park at Qumran and learn more about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, before finishing with the chance to bathe in the unique waters of the Dead Sea.

Day 9      Thursday, 4 March

THE VIA DOLOROSA & YAD VASHEM

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 visiting 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. In the afternoon we will have the option of visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum and Park, returning to our Jerusalem hotel for our final dinner.

Day 10      Friday, 5 March

OUR JOURNEY HOME

After an early breakfast we leave Jerusalem and visit Abu Ghosh, a possible site of Emmaus, to celebrate a final Eucharist. After a break for lunch we proceed to Tel Aviv Airport for our afternoon return flight to London Heathrow.