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THE HOLY LAND
I took the opportunity to visit the Holy Land three times in my life. The first time was in 1992 and it was called a familiarization tour. It was a group of pastors that went in hopes that they would set up future trips with groups from their churches. In 1994, I led a group of 80 youth from the Southwest District of our Conference. And again in 1996, we took a group from our district of youth and adults.
In January of this year, I am again leading a pilgrimage to Israel. I am hoping to take a group from St Paul's and any other friends we might know that would be blessed by such an experience. Brochures are available in the church office. There are savings if you register early so please make this a consideration.
We will be leaving on January 3rd from New York and traveling to Amman, the capital city of Jordan. We would arrive in the evening to check into our beautiful hotel and be treated to a lavish buffet before getting a good night's rest. We will spend the day in Jordan first on Mt. Nebo and see the Holy Land as Moses saw it before they entered. We will travel to Petra the city of rock, where one of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed. The next day we will walk through the Roman City Jerash and seek to understand the culture of that time. Later that day we will cross the Jordan River and stop in ancient Jericho. We will spend the night in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee.
The next morning we will go out on a boat on the Sea and have a special time of worship. We will see the synagogue at Capernaum and stop by the spot where it is believed Jesus shared the Beatitudes and fed the 5,000. Later that day we will go to the Jordan River and have a reaffirmation service for our baptismal vows.
The next day we will visit Cana where Jesus attended a wedding and saved the host from embarrassment by turning the water into wine. We will visit Jesus' hometown of Nazareth and cross the plains of Megiddo, visit Mt. Carmel, the Roman Aqueduct at Caesarea and end the day by entering the city of Jerusalem.
The next two days we will be seeing all the sites around Jerusalem. We will go to the Mount of Olives and view the Old City, walk the Via Dolorosa, pray in the garden and at the Western Wall, visit the Dome of the Rock, sing a carol at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at the garden tomb.
The next day we will take the Old Roman Road to Jericho and continue to the Dead Sea. There we will explore Masada, Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls we discovered), and Ein Gedi. We will cross back into Jordan for a good night's rest and in the morning fly back to New York.
Throughout the pilgrimage there will be times of worship and studying of the scriptures. You will experience the sights and sounds of the Holy Land that you have read about. We will also visit the Hope School in Bethlehem. It is a school that provides education for the physically challenged. The United Methodist Church has supported this ministry for many years.
I am looking forward to this wonderful and powerful spiritual experience. Please prayerfully consider if you could join me for this pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Pastor John |
