The Holy Land, vital to three of the
world's major religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, is a
rich and challenging place to visit. "Visiting
the Holy Land and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and
the Holy Land"
 offers some basic information for planning a
visit to Israel and Palestine and especially Jerusalem, a visit
that, besides letting you experience the sites of Jesus' life
and ministry, will help you encounter present-day Palestinian
Lutheran ministries and Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land.
In addition, experiencing the Holy Land for yourself will enable
you to return home to participate in the ELCA Middle East
strategy through awareness-building, accompaniment, and
advocacy.
Why Visit the Holy Land?
- For an unforgettable,
faith-deepening pilgrimage to the setting of Jesus' life and
ministry
- To meet, worship with, and get to
know the descendants of the first Christians
- To build a relationship with the
members and leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Jordan and the Holy Land and see how the world's only
Arabic speaking Lutheran church ministers to its context
- To experience the daily lives and
challenges of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Holy Land
- To go behind the headlines and
inform yourself about a political situation of significance
to the world
- To learn about efforts toward a
permanent and just peace.
Resources for Visiting the Holy Land
"Visiting the
Holy Land and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and
the Holy Land"
[August 2007] is a new travel guide for Holy Land trips
that includes ways to plan a balanced trip, sample
itineraries, places to stay and other logistics, cultural
insights, books, and websites for learning about the region.
The guide is produced by ELCA Global Mission staff in
Jerusalem and Chicago.
Upcoming
Trips: Join already planned and scheduled trips.
"What
Makes for Peace": Read Kate Sprutta Elliot's
feature article from Lutheran Woman Today. This article
provides an insightful glimpse into visiting the Holy Land
as well as an insightful glimpse into the pressing issues in
the Holy Land today.
Sharing
Your Experiences after Your Visit: Check out these ideas for what you can
do once you return from the Holy Land to become an advocate
of peace with justice.
Traveling in the Middle East: This is an article
that appeared in the September-October 2007 issue of Seeds for the Parish.
Holy Land Travel Reflections: Read about past experiences of travel,
study, and religious pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
Archived Trip Reports
Welcome Visitors from the Holy Land : Read Marcia
Wright's reflection after her family hosted two Palestinian
teenagers.
"
Welcome Forward: a
Field Guide for Global Travelers" is an education resource that will help you
experience travel that will forever change your ways of seeing, eating,
"helping," and conversing. Welcome Forward thus is a book and accompanying CD
that will guide your learning into a future that only God knows at this moment. The book
includes sections that help you prepare and plan your international trip, guides and tips
for your journey, and reentry assistance. Sidebars offer leader tips, scriptural quotes,
thought starters, and imagined "journal entries," each the source for further
thought, discussion, or conversation.
Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine and Israel Resources: These are resources dealing with the World
Council of Churches' EAPPI program and some of its participants.
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