Stations of the Resurrection Pilgrimage
Travelogue

| 4/23 | 4/25 | 4/26 | 4/27 | 4/28 | 4/29 | 4/30 | 5/1 | 5/2 | 5/3 | 5/4 | 5/5 | 5/6 | 5/7 |
| Travelogue Home |

April 25, 2007
Wednesday
Day One

Our group landed down at Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv after a 10-hour direct flight from Newark.

All the luggage arrived. All got through customs without incident.

We met our tour guide for the next two weeks, Naim Khoury who works on behalf of the International Christian Center and Group Travel.

First stop was at Latrun, just east of Tel Aviv, where we met Brother Stephan, a German who has been here since 1973. He is part of a Protestant "Community of Friends" who use land provided by the Trappist monastery. Out of Crusader ruins, they have built simply but stunning buildings, including a refectory, where we were served lemon water, and a chapel, where we prayed midday prayer (in German).

The Community of Friends' site is at a place where many Jews were killed during 1948. The group is now committed to reconciliation in prayer and retreat.

Bishop Payne and Susan Thomas led a series of resurrection readings to start our common group devotion.

Then we had a lovely box lunch in a grove of pine trees before proceeding to Jerusalem.

We arrived at the city in the early afternoon, marveling at the heightened security, the magnificence of the stone structures, and eager to see the Lutheran Guest House.

A small tractor pulling a trailer served as our luggage cart, and we were walked through Jaffa Gate to the Probst (German at its inception) Lutheran Guesthouse within view of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

There we were served the customary "welcome" drink of fruit juice and were given our keys.

After freshening up, we made our way to the Church of the Redeemer, one of three sites given to Kaiser Wilhelm in the early twentieth century.

In the refectory of the church, we were greeted by Bishop Younan, who thoroughly and passionately interpreted what he proposed to be a relationship of accompaniment with moderate Palestinian Christians, who though a minority, have a real gift for bringing Jews and Moslems into dialog, and who through martyria continue to give witness through the worship, schools, and seeking justice then peace.

We ended our evening with our first dinner at the guesthouse and Evening Prayer.

Tim Keyl
Christ the King Lutheran Church
Nashua, New Hampshire


Click here to see Pastor Tim's photos of the Pilgrimage on Flickr.
| CtK Home | Travelogue Home |

Christ the King Lutheran Church, 3 Lutheran Drive, Nashua, NH 03063 (603) 882-6142
If you have problems with this web page contact: webmaster@ctknashua.org