Day 1      Monday, 3 May

We fly to Tel Aviv from London Heathrow on British Airways, then travel north to Galilee for dinner at the Benedictine-run Pilgrim House, where we are staying.

Day 2      Tuesday, 4 May

We visit the site believed to be the place of the Transfiguration – Mount Tabor – as well as Nazareth, and the site of Jesus’ First Sign in Cana. We will also visit local Anglican Christians in the nearby parish of Shefa Amr.

Day 3      Wednesday, 5 May

During the day we will visit sites by the Sea of Galilee associated with Jesus’ ministry, including the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and the Churches associated with the recommissioning of Peter and the Feeding of the Multitude. We will also journey into the Golan, to one of the sources of the River Jordan on the slopes of Mount Hermon, to renew our baptism vows, and, as we journey, learn something of the occupation by Israel of this Syrian territory.

Day 4      Thursday, 6 May

We will drive south to the Jordan Valley, briefly visiting Jericho and having lunch in Bethany, where we will see our first view of the Separation Wall that divides Palestinian areas from Jerusalem and Israel. In the afternoon we will journey around Jerusalem and go through the Wall again to enter the city of Bethlehem, where we will stay in Manger Square for two nights.

Day 5      Friday, 7 May

We will spend a full day in Bethlehem, visiting the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds’ Fields, as well as encountering the remarkable work of some local Christian organisations. These will include Bethlehem University, the Holy Family Maternity and Neonatal Hospital, and the International Center of Bethlehem, run by the Lutheran Church under its famous pastor Dr Mitri Raheb.

Day 6      Saturday, 8 May

This morning we leave Bethlehem, initially for the Mount of Olives, which we will descend, stopping at shrines and sites until we reach the Garden of Gethsemane. In the afternoon, we visit the Israel Museum to see a model of Jerusalem at the time of Christ, before reaching our hotel in the Old City, where we will spend the rest of our stay.

Day 7      Sunday, 9 May

In the morning we join the local Anglican community at worship at St George’s Cathedral, before going to the beautiful village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, where we will remember Mary’s journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

Day 8      Monday, 10 May

In the morning we will visit the Western Wall, the most sacred place in the world for Jews, before ascending Mount Zion, where we visit the Abbey of the Dormition and the church of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus, St Peter in Gallicantu. In the afternoon we will meet members of Sabeel, an ecumenical liberation theology movement founded by Canon Naim Ateek.

Day 9      Tuesday, 11 May

We hope to visit the Temple Mount, if allowed to do so by the authorities, before walking the Via Dolorosa and visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the afternoon we will be taken on a tour around Jerusalem by the Jewish peace organisation founded by Professor Jeff Halper, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition.

Day 10      Wednesday, 12 May

After a visit to a possible site of Emmaus in the village of Abu Ghosh, we head on to Tel Aviv to catch our afternoon British Airways flight back to London Heathrow.