St. Mary Parish Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Rev. William Turner PhD, KCHS

THE HOLY LAND CHRISTIAN ECUMENICAL FOUNDATION
& St. Mary Parish Invite you on a

Living Stones Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 

 with Rev. William Turner, PhD, KCHS
June 15^th – 25^th 2014 (11 Days / 10 Nights)

In the company of our pilgrimage spiritual director, Rev. William Turner PhD, KCHS, we will visit holy places, give God plenty of time to work on us, and when we return home, we will have faces and stories of Palestinian Christians – the “Living Stones” of the Holy Land deeply embedded in our minds. 

Itinerary

Sunday June 15th 2014 – Travel to Amman, Jordan

Day 1: Monday June 16th 2014 – Arrival at Queen Alia Airport and transfer to a hotel in Amman for dinner. Overnight in Amman.

Day 2: Tuesday June 17th 2014 – Madaba, Baptismal Site, Mt. Nebo
Visit St. George’s Orthodox Church to see the oldest mosaic map of Jerusalem in the world. First look at “The Holy Land” from Mount Nebo, where Moses first glimpsed the Holy Land. Celebrate Mass. Visit the American University of Madaba. Dinner and overnight in Madaba.

Day 3: Wednesday June 18th 2014 – Jericho, Bethlehem
Drive early morning to Wadi al-Kharrar, the traditional baptismal site of Jesus. Prayer and renewal of our baptismal vows at the River. Visit St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church. Cross over the Jordan River into Israel/Palestine. Stop in Jericho to remember Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree and the blind Bartimaeus wanting to see. View the Monastery of Temptation on the summit of the Mount of Temptation. Drive along the old Roman Road toward the city of Jerusalem. Arrive in Beit Sahour to visit the Shepherd’s Field and celebrate Mass. Have dinner and stay overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 4: Thursday June 19th 2014 – Bethlehem
Visit HCEF Office and one of the rehabilitated homes. Visit the Milk Grotto Shrine,  cross the Manger Square to enter the Church of the Nativity through the Door of Humility. Celebrate Mass at the Grotto of St. Jerome and at the Grotto of the Nativity and touch the star. Walk through the old city of Bethlehem and have lunch. Walk to Bethlehem University for a tour, meet students and faculty. Get a close-up look at the wall separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Meet with the students hosted by St. Mary’s Parish in July 2011 (as part of HCEF’s Children’s Peace Project) and with their families. Have dinner with local families and stay overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 5: Friday June 20th 2014 – Jerusalem, Birzeit
Walk part of the Palm Sunday route on the Mount of Olives. Visit the Chapel of Ascension, Pater Noster Church and Chapel of Dominus Flevit on the way to the Church of All Nations (located in the Garden of Gethsemane) and celebrate Mass around the Rock of Agony. Travel to Mt. Zion to visit the Church of Peter Gallicantu (cock-crow), the Upper Room (Cenacle) marking the site of the Last Supper, and the Dormition of Mary. Meet with Christian leaders in Jerusalem before driving to Birzeit to meet the Living Stones –local Christians at the local Catholic Parish. Dinner and overnight with local families in Birzeit.

Day 6: Saturday June 21st 2014 – Birzeit and Ramallah
Tour in Birzeit and Jifna villages. Visit and meet with the Parish Priest of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Birzeit. Lunch at the Birzeit Senior Center (an HCEF project). Drive to Bethlehem to visit the Bethlehem Museum for Culture and Heritage where we will have our dinner with representatives and leaders from the local community. Dinner and Overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 7: Sunday June 22^nd 2014 – Jerusalem
Walk the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) through the narrow alleys and bazaars of the Old City, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Tomb of Christ where we celebrate mass. Breakfast in the Old City. Travel to the Dung Gate of the Old City to visit the Western Wall (the holiest shrine and synagogue in the world for the Jews) and the Temple Mount, the site of the Dome of Rock and El Aqsa Mosque (Islam’s third most sacred site). Visit St. Anne’s Church and the Pools of Bethesda. Lunch in the Old City. Meet with Christian leaders in Jerusalem. Our last night in Bethlehem includes a farewell dinner and cultural night at the Bethlehem Museum Restaurant with the HCEF staff and the students who were hosted by St. Mary’s Parish in July 2011 as part of HCEF’s Children’s Peace Project). Overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 8: Monday June 23^rd 2014 – Nazareth
Travel north to Nazareth and Galilee. First stop at the Basilica of Annunciation, pray the “Angelus” in the cave where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, then celebrate mass.  Lunch in Nazareth, then visit Cana where our married couples can renew their marriage vows at the Cana Wedding Church, a chapel marking the first miracle of Jesus (turning water into wine). Dinner and overnight in Nazareth.

Day 9: Tuesday June 24^th 2014 – Nazareth and Sea of Galilee
Drive through the Valley of the Doves (the Arbel Pass) approaching the Sea of Galilee, celebrate Mass at a lovely outdoor chapel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at Tabgha, pray at the site of the multiplication of the fishes and the loaves, and at the place where Jesus three times asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Visit Capernaum, which Jesus considered “home”, an ancient synagogue and the remains of Peter and Andrew’s house. Travel to the Mount of Beatitudes for a meal of “St. Peter’s fish” and pray. Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Return for dinner and overnight in Nazareth.

Day 10: Wednesday June 25^th 2014 – Mt. Tabor, Tel Aviv – Return to USA
Drive to Mt. Tabor, the most striking mountain in Galilee and the place chosen by Jesus to be the site of his transfiguration, and celebrate our last Mass in the Holy Land. From Mt. Tabor, we continue to Tel Aviv Airport.

Our flight begins our journey home. Some might say that on this day our pilgrimage ends. Not so! We have been to the places and have seen the faces – they will never leave us.  We will read the paper and watch the news in a different way.  We will hear and read the gospels in a new way. Our ears and our eyes, our minds and our hearts have been opened.

To register online, Click HERE!
To register by fax, e-mail, or mail, download our registration form HERE!
To REGISTER BY PHONE, OR FOR OTHER QUESTIONS, CALL THE PILGRIMAGE COORDINATOR, CHIARA CARDONE, AT (301)-951-9400, EXT. 219