Trinity Pilgrims Return Home

So, I have to say it: WE'RE BAA - ACK! Our flight actually arrived at Newark Airport this morning 40 minutes early, and our driver from Kelley Transit Services had checked the website and was there waiting for us after we picked up our baggage. We arrived home in Hartford around 8 a.m. this morning.

Our last day in the Holy Land was a very long one, starting with a walk down to the Old City at 6 a.m. to retrace Jesus steps to the stations of the cross. The early start was to be able to have some level of quiet before the merchants and "commuters" began crowding the narrow streets. Deacon Pat and I led the reflections beginning with a scripture passage at each station, and we concluded the service with a visit inside the Church of the Resurrection, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was a very moving experience for all of us.

We then walked back to St. George's guesthouse (logging, by one persons pedometer, 4900 steps before 9 a.m.!) where we enjoyed our last breakfast. While the breakfast buffet at St. George's is basically the same offering each day, there is a remarkable variety to choose from. There are typically two types of deli meat along with sliced cheese; fresh sliced cucumbers and tomatoes; yogurt; hummus; pita bread (the last three being staples at every meal in the Middle East); toast and selection of jellies and jams and honey; granola and corn flakes with milk; a cold tuna salad with celery and other vegetables mixed in; hard boiled eggs; two different blends of Middle Eastern spices; scrambled eggs and smoked sausage (which, if it was in America, would look remarkably like Hebrew National kosher hot dogs). None of us went hungry.

At 9:30 our bus picked us up for the short ride to the Trappist monastery at Latur, not far from on the Jerusalem road, one of the four possible present-day sites of the Biblical city of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). There we celebrated the Holy Eucharist in the chapel, pictured below, with a brief introduction by Fr. Kamal setting up the spiritual and historical setting for the passage from Luke. This was my second opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist on our trip, the first being at St. Matthew's church in Zababde the previous week, and both are memories I will hold in my heart as very special privileges.



We then returned to St. George's, where several of us took a ride with Fr. Kamal back to Beit Sahour to visit one of the small workshops to see houw the craftsmen make all of the olive wood religious articles that are such popular gifts from the Holy Land. There we met Ashraf Jarayseh who owns the Holy Family Factory and Shop. He showed us the production area and, while we were watching, created a tiny nativity scene using only his jig saw on a piece of raw wood.

Then it was back to St. George's for final packing (using a sort of reverse Loaves and Fishes technique wherein we tried to fit 10 times as much stuff as we had brought back into the same suitcases). Then we had a farewell barbecue put on by the staff at St. George's, featuring several Mediterranean salads, baked potatoes, and barbecued chicken and lamb kebobs, all of which were fabulous. And all washed down with some wine which we had purchased at the Trappist monastery earlier in the morning.

At 7 p.m. sharp we were boarding the bus for our trip to the Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv. Our Palestinian bus driver (with Israeli plates on his bus) for some reason drew the attention of a couple of Israeli police who were patroling the highway on this quiet Sabbath eve, and our bus was pulled over at the checkpoint for inspection. The driver's license was taken for review, and I was asked, as the leader of the group, to get off the bus and explain to the security guard the nature of our group, where we had been, what buses we had been on, did I know the driver, did I know everyone on the bus, how long had they been with me, etc., etc., etc. All ended well, and we were permitted to continue on our journey to the airport. The experience, however, highlighted the extent to which issues of security are always floating to the top in the daily life of the people who live in this area.

In the days to come, there will be opportunities to share more of our pilgrimage story and reflections, but for now, after being awake basically for 35 hours, I am going to grab a quick nap. It was a wonderful pilgrimage with a wonderful group of people, but it is always good to be home. Shabbat Shalom, Salaam, Peace, don+