Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Early in May, 20 parishioners, from across all congregations of St Giles' and St George’s churches, made a wonderful trip to the Holy Land. We spent 4 nights in Jerusalem, 1 night at the Dead Sea and 3 nights by the Sea of Galilee.

It felt amazing to be in places from the Bible which we had learnt about since early childhood. Nazareth, Capernaum, Jericho etc. suddenly became real. There have been 2,000 years of changes since the life of Jesus, and commercialisation has flourished in Jerusalem. Despite this, there were many very special places with strong links to the Bible, where there was a powerful spiritual presence.

We loved standing on the Mount of Olives looking out over the walls of Jerusalem, before walking down to the peaceful Garden of Gethsemane, with its 800-year-old olive trees. We were moved by the prayer and devotion at the Western Wall. We celebrated Holy Communion in the sunshine, with birds singing, close to the Garden Tomb.

A favourite place was the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The walls of the cloister were hung with pictures of Madonna and Child from many different countries, each reflecting their own culture in their representation of Mary and Jesus. In many of the churches we enjoyed wonderful singing by a professional musician, a member of our group. The singing sounded magnificent as it resonated in the excellent acoustics.

Three members of the group were baptised in the River Jordan and we had an open prayer session, sailing on a tranquil Sea of Galilee. We all have many lasting memories of the trip. We felt very privileged to be there and to be in the company of such a very supportive, kind and caring group.

Dee Peck