Visit to Israel and Palestine.
October 2009
Friday 23rd October
Fly from Heathrow to Tel Aviv. Check into St George’s Cathedral Guesthouse Jerusalem for 3 nights.
Saturday 24th October
Start the day at the summit of the Mount of Olives. Walk down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. We enter the Old City through the Lion Gate, visiting the Church of St. Anne & the Pools of Bethesda. Next door, we visit the Convent of the Sisters of Zion where we see the Lithostratos (the pavement where Jesus was condemned) and the Herodian Struthian pools. We continue through the Old City along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We have a leisurely late lunch at the Nafoura Restaurant by the Jaffa Gate. Afterwards, we shall go to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu and finish the afternoon by the Western Wall. In the evening we will meet with the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem; Bishop Suheil Dawani at the guesthouse, who will tell us of the work of the Diocese and the Christians in the Holy Land.
Sunday 25th October
We shall join the Anglican congregation at St Georges’ for their 8am Sunday Eucharist From there we proceed to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, and afterwards a brief visit to the village of En Kerem (birthplace of John the Baptist). We shall follow this day with a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli NGO’s at the Peace Centre, in Anata, built on the site of a demolished home, where we shall also have a meal provided by the Schawamreh family, whose home it was. We shall be joined by a member of the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, who will then take us on a tour of the settlements surrounding Jerusalem. During the tour, we shall hope to meet with some settlers.
Monday 26th October
We start the day with a briefing at ATG in Beit Sahour. We continue to the Deheisha Refugee Camp for a walking tour and meeting at the IBDA Cultural Centre in the Refugee camp. Afterwards we proceed to Bethlehem University where we shall have lunch and meet with staff and students. Later in the afternoon we shall visit the Arab Centre for Rehabilitation in Beit Jala, and in the evening have a meal at a Bedouin Tent Restaurant in Beit Sahour.
Tuesday 27th October
We start the day with an early visit to the Church of Nativity, from there we will move onto the Bethleham Bible College and have a talk by Professor Alex Awad. After a snack lunch we shall visit the village of Wadi Fouqin, whose lands have been taken by a huge new settlement, and whose village is being surrounded by the Wall. We shall meet with leading villagers, and have a walking tour of the village. Afterwards we will return to the shepherds filelds for a Eucharist and visit a local Christian Co-operative that sells local made handicrafts.
Wednesday 28th October
We leave Bethleham early and head into the Judean desert, stopping to view the 4th Century monastery of St George of Koziba in Wadi Qelt. We continue to the Herodian fortress of Masada by the Dead Sea, which we ascend by cable car. Lunch will be beside the sea and there will be an opportunity to swim. After lunch we will stop at Jericho for a meeting with the Mayor of Jericho, and perhaps some shopping as Jericho is renowned for it’s delicious fruits and dates. From here we continue to Nazereth where we check into St Margaret’s Anglican guesthouse for 2 nights.
Thursday 29th October
Early morning we shall meet with Archbishop Elias Chacour (authot of ‘Blood Brothres’) in Haifa. We will then travel back to Nazereth to visit the ‘Nazereth Village’ a reconstructed village of the time of Christ, where lunch will be a reconstructed Passover meal in the traditional setting. We will then continue to the Basilica of the Annunciation and St Mary’s well. Then back to the guesthouse for a leisurely evening.
Friday 30th October
A day of pilgrimage following the ministry of Jesus. We start the day at the Church of the transfiguration on Mount Tabor in the Jezreel valley. We then drive along the lakeside through Tiberias, to Kibbutz Nof Ginnosar for an early lunch by the lakeside. After lunch we proceed to the Mount of Beatitudes and then walk down the hill to the Church of the Mensa Christi, the Multiplication, Sowers Bay and Capernaum. We will celebrate Communion and reaffirm our Baptismal promises where the River Jordan meets with the Lake. We will finish our day with a boat ride on the Lake followed by a Fish supper.
Saturday 31st October
Morning to the airport. Returning to Heathrow.