Category: pilgrimage

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Day 10 intercessions at Sea if Galilee

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Most gracious God, source of all healing , we give thanks to you for all youIr gifts but most of all for the gift if your Son, through whom you gave and still give health and salvation to all who believe . As we wait in expectation for the coming of that day when suffering and pain shall be no more, help us by your Holy Spirit to be assured if your power in our lives and to trust in your eternal love, through Jesus Christ Amen So many churches, Lord, and temples and synagogues. So many holy places we … Continue reading Day 10 intercessions at Sea if Galilee

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Day 11 Return to Jordan and Jerash

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We began our final full day with a quiet swim in the outdoor pool next to the Sea of Galilee. The rising sun took a while to break through the cloud, but it was 530am.. Great time and place for bird watching – swallows, sparrows, some kind of tiny bird the length of a wren but thinner, serenaded by pigeons, and over the Sea the egret and the large bird resembling a cormorant or even heron but pure white. Finally we said farewell to the most beautiful region of Galilee where so much of Jesus’ ministry had taken place and … Continue reading Day 11 Return to Jordan and Jerash

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Day 10 Sea of Galilee

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Sunrise over the Golan Heights across the Sea of Galilee. An early moment of quiet with my feet washed by the Sea and the fish clustering around the shore. Jesus became real at that point, looking out over the freshwater sea in Galilee, uncertain how but knowing what he had to do, pulled from this quiet beauty into the world of human pain to preach and teach. We began our day in Galilee at Mensa Christi, a dark basalt church on the shore of the lake where the resurrected Jesus is said to have appeared to the disciples as they … Continue reading Day 10 Sea of Galilee

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Day 9 Abu Ghosh and Nazareth

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By comparison with yesterday we seem to have done little today. No complaints, it was lovely to reach the new hotel in Tiberias by mid afternoon, with a balcony view of the Sea of Galilee. But first after leaving Jerusalem we drove to Abu Ghosh, said to be the place where the disciples met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus. The most beautiful garden planted with palms and every kind of flowering bush led to a church of great calm, built by the Crusaders in 11th century and still filled with the loveliest paintings on walls, arches and … Continue reading Day 9 Abu Ghosh and Nazareth

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Day 8 Bethlehem

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We had been prepared for a commercialised Bethlehem but not for the wonder of it. The day began with the short drive from Jerusalem to Herodium – an extraordinary desert palace fortress of Herod the Great- set on a small hill with a manmade hill built up around it. Effectively Herod moved a mountain – our guide Saffiq suggested this could clearly be seen from the southern teaching steps where Jesus spoke about faith moving mountains – possibly a remark with such particular local significance. Herod’s palace is still very clear inside his manmade mountain, as are the traces of … Continue reading Day 8 Bethlehem

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Day 7 st George’s cathedral and Israel museum

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A perfectly ordinary Anglican church but hymn numbers in Arabic script. A pigeon incubating eggs in a nest on top of a terrace light by the entrance to St George’s . The familiar green English Hymnal and a splendid organ not dissimilar in decoration to St Dunstans, though larger. A sermon about healing with reference to last night’s deaths in Gaza from an 82 year old priest with a renewed heart and a kindly face. Lemon barley after the service from an urn. A cathedral briskness about the service. But the same God as this morning by the Western wall. … Continue reading Day 7 st George’s cathedral and Israel museum

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Day 7 the western wall

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Why was I so surprised to be permitted to pray at the Western Wall – the holiest site for Jews? Surprised that as a Christian I was allowed to touch the wall at the women’s side . The notice reads: the Divine Presence never moves from this Wall. Jews believe that this remaining part of the second temple built by Herod the Great not only connects them to their history but is close to where the Holy of Holies was inside the temple – the place closest to God’s presence where it was possible to talk to Him. I approached … Continue reading Day 7 the western wall

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Day 6 Via Dolorosa

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Where to begin to describe a walk through so many churches, so many prayers, so many people? We began pilgrimage this morning at the Paternoster church. The fragrance of roses, the hibiscus blooms, gardens all around provide a setting for the tiled illuminations of the Lord’s Prayer in 140 languages, some no longer spoken. Inside – the remains of a cave – were Jesus and his disciples ever there? Does it matter when the stones were there in His time close to this place where He was presented, learned, entered in triumph, prayed, was betrayed and taken prisoner, was tried … Continue reading Day 6 Via Dolorosa

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Day 5 Jericho and arrival in Jerusalem

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A strange Jericho. All our previous impressions were wrong. Instead of a closely packed ancient city we found a sprawling half unkempt town. We stopped by the side of a road and looked at a mound of earth – which was a Tel – showing archeological evidence of civilisations going back 12000 years! The geography of this spot must have been compelling with fresh water springs as well as the Jordan encouraging nomads in prehistoric times to stay and settle here. No-one so far has found evidence of the Biblical walls of Jericho, but the city certainly existed way before … Continue reading Day 5 Jericho and arrival in Jerusalem

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Day 5 Allenby Bridge

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  An early start meant the joy of seeing the Petra mountains in cool and creamy light. We once again passed the white spot which signified the hilltop dedicated to Aaron. We found the first part of our journey familiar, the same tethered white pony to the side of the Kings Highway, but then we took a left turn and began to drop through the mountains. We are becoming accustomed to spectacular scenery. We wove through and dropped more than 3000 feet to reach the Dead Sea coast road and then followed the Sea right along to it’s northern shore. … Continue reading Day 5 Allenby Bridge