What a blessing today was. It started extra early as Dan and I woke before dawn and walked out to the water's edge to see the sun come up over the Sea of Galilee. There were a few others out with us, including Riva, Carol, Marguerite, and Mal. It was a spectacular start to what turned out to be a day of many blessings. Briefly, we visited Magdala, where Mary Magdelene came from and Jesus probably visited and taught. Then we rode a boat across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum where we walked where Jesus performed many miracles, including healing Peter's mother-in-law. After a lunch of St. Peter's fish (for those who so desired), we spent some time on the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached the sermon on the mount, then finished up at Tabgha where Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish. Our afternoon concluded with an intimate Eucharist on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
It's hard to choose just one highlight in such a spirit-filled day, but my moment closest to God occurred during our Eucharist when the breeze picked up and gently swirled around us and among us as we prayed. Earlier in the day we had been singing about feeling the brush of angels' wings, and as the breeze came through that's exactly what it felt like. Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place. Shalom. Nancy Ries The Gift Today was the best one yet, beginning with a beautiful sunrise on the Sea of Galilee, followed by a memorable visit to the Mandala Center, where archaeologists have uncovered a first century synagogue, one which Jesus had to have visited. They even uncovered the very stones Jesus walked on. I could put my feet close to where Jesus put His. Not wanting to miss anything, I wanted to take my shoes off and to feel these stones with my bare feet. As I stood there looking down at the large square grey stones, I felt connected to Him then and there in ways I had never anticipated, as if the intervening millennia had lifted like fog. A sense of peace, love, and gratitude radiated through my whole body and soul, unanticipated and unforgettable. We experienced many other spiritual events today, including riding a boat to Capernaum, visiting the Mount of Beatitudes, discussing what that sermon means to us personally, and having Eucharist overlooking the coast where Jesus fed the 5,000. As usual, we ended with a discussion of our liminal experiences with God, followed by compline. All beautiful stuff. For me, though, that connection to Jesus on those stones in the road where He walked was the best gift of all. ~Judy Kuhns
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Shalom from Tiberias! We are praying for you daily and can feel your prayers. We continued our Pilgrimage by visiting the Samaritan Museum in Nablus in the West Bank and hearing a talk from the Samaritan who began the museum, a young Muslim woman and a young Samaritan woman. A most wonderful visit where we learned that Samaritans believe themselves the true Israelites and children of Abraham. It was very interesting to learn about modern day Samaritans. Their theology and traditions are as close as we could imagine to Biblical Judaism. As our teacher said, the basic difference came when Judaism began to centralize all worship in Jerusalem (King David's time) and they maintained Mt. Gerizim instead (See woman at the well in John 4). Today there are very few remaining, less than 750 total. But today we spent time with the "GOOD" Samaritan and thoroughly enjoyed it.
We had extremely interesting visits today with oppositional hosts. First was a winery tasting room by a new winery established in a Jewish "Settlement" in the Palestinian Authority land. Second was an olive oil pressing and production company. It is working as a Fair Trade coop oriented group to increase economic opportunity for the farmers of Palestine. We will need to do a Wednesday night session strictly on the sad realities we've seen first hand and the unlikeliness of good solutions, given the attitudes and structures. PRAYERS are needed. We visited two Greek Orthodox Churches today—-one that is built over Jacob’s Well in modern day Nablus. The Biblical city was Shechem, which was very important in the Old Testament. It was an absolutely beautiful church. While we were there, there was a worship service going on and the combination of incense and chant moved us all. The other Greek Orthodox Church was St. George's in Burquin. It is the fourth oldest church in the world but the population of 7,000 has only 70 Christians. I cannot describe the poverty of this town but the warmth of the children is felt everywhere. It was very humbling to move from that town to our resort hotel on the Sea of Galilee. After dinner tonight (more food than the people in would see in a month), we had Sunday Service with communion. What a blessing! Peace be unto each of you. Linda McGraw .......Wow what a BUSY day. We began with our renewal of baptismal vows with a ceremony of recommitment in the Jordan River. Episcopalians don’t get “rebaptized” but most of us wanted the opportunity to re-enact our baptisms in the same place where Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. The place was beautiful and the experience was powerful for all of us. We even had two white doves fly by us as we were preparing, reminding us of the gospel account.
We also climbed the Mount of Temptation and floated in the Dead Sea. Both were amazing experiences. But one of our unexpected blessings was stoping by "The Seeds of Hope". To be honest, many of us thought this was a stop for us to donate money. I wasn't excited about it at all. But was I surprised. Tass Abu Saada was born into a Muslim family who began in Jaffa and was driven to the Gaza Strip. The family was further pushed out and became refugees in Saudi Arabia. Filled with hate and loss of hope, he eventually became an assassin for Arafat. After a long set of losses and opportunities, he was a successful restaurant owner in Kansas City when he converted to Christianity. He spoke to us for 1-1/2 hours about his personal story and the mission he believes God put him into. His “Seeds of Hope” is operating a school, providing water and jobs for Palestinians living in poverty in the Jericho area. He dug a well and built a water bottling plant and is now one of the largest employers in the area, in addition to supplying many social services and working on reconciliation. Listening to his story we witnessed one of God's miracles. A man who knew only hate, sold everything he had to start this ministry. Jesus presence was in the room with me as I felt like I was meeting the apostle Paul - on a modern mission from God. Against all odds, Tass is changing the world in his own corner. It was proven once again… God’s presence is everywhere, even in Jericho where things look hopeless. I was blessed. Jenifer Kamperschroer Collecting our pilgrims
Half of our group arrived today in late morning. It was a joyful reunion of friends who had been doing planning and preparation. Our guide is great -- with an interesting name: Lazarus Kevorkian. We took off for Jericho, going through Jerusalem and then into the Palestinian Authority area. We had lunch at the Temptation Restaurant (the Mount of Temptation will be on our agenda tomorrow). We made it to our hotel and got a little rest before a supper with our tour organizers. Our day begins early tomorrow where Biblical beginnings are the norm -- the Jordan River. Some of our pilgrims have already had insights and experiences of note. Today's blog will feature Keren Pernini, who visited Masada earlier in the week and Carol Gurioli with some thoughts from today. My reflections on our trip to Masada. This was truly a wilderness journey. The desert was unlike any I had ever seen. We drove and drove then suddenly there it was, the plateau in the middle of the desert. When we got up to the top we heard the story of the Romans coming to get this Jewish remnant. We saw where the Roman ramparts had been. I had the dawning terrible realization that these people had watched with horror the Romans building this siege machine slowly over a year growing closer and closer to them. They must have begun to know what their fate was - the dawning horror of what choices were left to them. As I stood there looking down I was so moved. It is a moment I will never forget. Sincerely, Keren Pernini MILK and HONEY? In preparing for this pilgrimage to the Holy Land I found myself open to questions that I would have answered while here. Every passage of Scripture seemed to invite a new perception. I wondered for the first time,"Why is the Promised Land described as flowing with milk and honey?" (Deut 31:20) I watched a Rick Steves video and I saw desert; read about concerns over water rights. When we arrived on Thursday everything seemed so dusty; I drank water insatiably due to the dryness. Nothing lush. Even the Jericho oasis is primarily sandy. I was ready to hear the answer to this question and was delighted when our tour guide (Lazarus) raised it himself on the bus ride from Ben Gurion airport to Jericho! He explained it based on the history of the land itself and the life of a nomadic herdsman like Abraham. Milk would flow because there was ample room for goats to forage. Vast flocks of goats produced not only milk and cheese to sustain life but the wealth which came to the patriarchs of Israel. The honey was not from bees (which were wild at the time) but instead from the molasses produced from dates which flourished in the date palms in the oasis and river areas. Taking this land at face value it seems to have little to offer--no minerals, gold or silver; low rainfall that limits agriculture. Yet God provided an abundant life for his chosen people who knew how to see the possibilities and work with what He did provide. The answer showed another example of how God provides for us if we trust in Him and his promises. Peace, Carol Gurioli For a video of Carol riding her camel at our lunch stop, click here! Chris and I arrived Tuesday afternoon and have been watching Facebook posts to see our group come into Tel Aviv in waves the past couple days. The last of our 25 pilgrims come in Friday morning. I've seen Riva Heron making her way from San Antonio and Karen Meridith from Sewanee, TN. The rest of us were coming from Virginia Beach, by way of DC, Canada, Paris, Istanbul, NYC, Newark and who knows where else. So far, all the obstacles have been overcome. We will know that everyone is here safe and sound in the morning! If you click on "Who we are" above, you will have a list of the whole pilgrimage team.
Chris and I have spent our time sleeping and eating and trying to acclimate to a 7 hour time zone jump. I managed to develop a last minute cold so a slow start has been helpful. I believe Mike McGraw and Jim Pernini were headed to Masada today. Gretchen Hood helped us walk through the old city of Jaffa. I've loved the hummus and some of the other new flavors. Pray for all of us to get plenty of rest tonight and the remaining pilgrims to arrive without difficulty. Tomorrow our adventure begins. We are 25 friends from Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. For a year, we have been planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We chose "Breaking Bread Journeys" for our tour provider because of its wonderful lineup of diverse peoples and experiences for our time. In addition to vital historic and spiritual sites, we will spend time with families from various different communities. Hebrew, Christian, Armenian Christian, Muslim, and Druze families will help us understand history and life in Israel.
Ten days in the Holy Land will begin with two nights in Jericho. From there we will move to the Galilee and end with Jerusalem as our hub. We will visit the Dead Sea, Capernaum, Nazareth, Tabor, Megiddo, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Shechem, Bethlehem and more. Watch for our daily blogs and you will be able to experience some of the wonder with us as we seek God in the places and in the people. |
We are 25!Twenty-five members of Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia (including a couple of our 'diaspora' are on this spiritual journey together. See our names on "Who We Are"... ArchivesCategories |