Bishop Alan M. Gates wrote on Nov. 17: On our first full day in Jerusalem we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally venerated as having been constructed over the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion at Golgotha and his resurrection at the Garden Tomb. Beneath the central rotunda is a chapel known as the Aedicule, marking the traditional site of the tomb itself. Here is observed annually on Easter Eve what Orthodox Christians believe is the miracle of “The Holy Fire.” The... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Libby Gibson wrote on Nov. 18: Perhaps it's because I'm missing my children, or perhaps it was the heart-touching healing prayers offered in the courtyard of the church (with an adorable kitten playing nearby), or perhaps it was the simple beauty of the architecture, or perhaps it was the stunning acoustics, but our time at St. Anne's Church moved me to tears. Several times. The remains of the home of Anne and Joachim, parents of the Virgin Mary, are supposedly in the crypt ... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Bret Hays wrote on Nov. 19: Before you go up to the Temple Mount, you walk past signs that say, “Announcement and Warning: According to Torah Law, entering the Temple Mount area is strictly forbidden due to the holiness of the site.” Although the Temple no longer stands, many believe the Divine Presence still dwells where it used to be. With anxiety and gratitude, and with the rest of the pilgrims, I entered the expanse, which Muslims aptly call the Noble Sanctuary. I av... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Ted Ts'o wrote on Nov. 20: "And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7) Although many translations use the word "inn," the Greek word "kataluma" merely means the guest room where travelers would stay--and which often was a cave, where many travelers or extended family members might stay together in the front of the cave, and where the animals would be s... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Hilary Greene wrote on Nov. 21: Today I felt as dry as the desert, appropriate for our visit to Wadi Qelt this morning. It is thought that Jesus and his followers walked through this desert, and across the desert we could see the Mount of Temptation, where it is believed Jesus spent 40 days being tempted by Satan. We met a few Bedouins, heard the 23rd Psalm and then spent some prayer time before celebrating Eucharist with Bishop Gayle. Yesterday was a sea of emotions from vi... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Rick Britton sent this on Nov. 22: Nazareth, Saturday afternoon, Nov. 21, 4:30 p.m. Bells, ringing across the old city awakened me from a nap. It was both joyous and haunting. The Muslim call to prayer sang out at 5:00 p.m. and was joined by more bells from our Christian brothers and sisters. Again, beauty and mystery. I thought: How intertwined our faith experiences are and how similar we find reverence for the sacred. And how we are all held together in God’s hands.... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim John Satula wrote on Nov. 23: Today we had many splendid adventures that touched us all in wonderful and varied ways from renewing our baptismal vows in the River Jordan to walking along the seaside where the Risen Christ appeared to his disciples in the 21st chapter of St. John's Gospel. Our adventures today also found us walking down the path from the Mount on which Jesus gave his monumental Sermon on the Mount. As we pilgrims descended I had this feeling of connectednes... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Manny Faria wrote on Nov. 24: The contrast between first-century ruins and the places layered in Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and later accretions is stark, but in their own way both kinds of sites can and do evoke faith, prayer and a recognition of the thin places. The places layered in accretions, like the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem have, underneath it all, the collected prayers of centuries of pilgrims and proximity to... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Sarah van Gulden wrote on Nov. 25: After three days in Nazareth, we boarded our bus for the long drive through the West Bank to Jerusalem. Our “mini-pilgrimage” to Nazareth and the Galilee had been full of visits and prayers at various churches, the Jordan River, the ruins of Peter’s home and of course the Sea of Galilee. Exhausted, physically and spiritually, I was looking forward to a restorative nap on the bus. Instead my eyes stayed open and focused on the lands... Courtesy photo
Holy Land pilgrim Billy Boyce wrote on Nov. 27: Our last few days in the Holy Land have been marked by remembering and following Jesus’ path from Palm Sunday through Holy Week. We began our morning yesterday in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the Church of All Nations also known as the Basilica of Agony. This church commemorates Jesus praying in the garden for the last time. It is here where pilgrims have memorialized the agony of Christ accepting God’s will for him. We gathered to hear an ex... Courtesy photo
At the conclusion of the pilgrimage, Bishop Gayle E. Harris reflected: Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land is over and we have returned to the United States. Our journey brought us in contact with the sacred and with the worst and the best in humanity. We traveled from Bethlehem in the West Bank to Nazareth in northern Israel; from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan at the Golan Heights, and down to the Dead Sea. All along we encountered joy, resentment, anger, hope, injustice, resilience, f... Courtesy photo
