Dewitt Community Church Peacemaking Pilgrimage October '23

We'll arrive and check in to our hotel in Nazareth. 

The first night we will get to know each other and enjoy the best of the delicious local cuisine. 

Later in the afternoon we'll take a relaxing boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. 

We'll visit the serene Mt of Beatitudes and read the Sermon on the Mount.

We'll invite local Christian leaders from the area to meet with the group and share their experiences of living in the holy land. 

With a local guide we'll visit the ancient synagogues of Capernaum.

With our local guide we'll continue to visit the archelogical site of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee. 

Whether you're an expert on the Israel/Palestine or you're new to this topic, we'll spend some time exploring a multi-narrative history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to ground us for the upcoming experiences throughout the trip.

A local guide will take us on a tour of the sights and smells of the market - with stops at a family spice shop, ancient Synagogue and the Church of Annunciation. 

We'll visit Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial and take a guided tour with a local Israeli in order to better understand this dark period of history and the important role Holocaust trauma plays in Jewish Israeli society today.

We'll arrive in Jerusalem and check in to our hotel. 

Israeli settlements are a controversial topic in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We'll discuss the recent political history of settlements and then visit an Israeli settlement to better understand the perspectives of these communities. 

We'll visit a Palestinian brewery to hear their story and taste some delicious beer. 

We'll share a dinner with Israeli guests from different areas of civil society projects. This is a great chance to get to know locals and ask questions about their perspectives. 

We'll have a guided tour with a local Bethlehemite to the Church of Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. 

We'll meet with a Palestinian refugee who will give us a walking tour of the refugee camp. 

We'll meet with an Evangelical Palestinian Reverend at the Bethlehem Bible College and have a chance for some gift shopping.

A local Jerusalemite will guide us through the magical old city of Jerusalem, sharing the history and stories of the different people that have inhabited this holy place. On the tour we will visit many beautiful and interesting places including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian quarter. 

We'll visit the Western Wall which is the holiest site in Judaism due to it's proximity to Temple Mount. On Friday night at sunset, we'll experience groups of Jews coming to pray, sing and dance at the wall to welcome in the Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest). 

The group will be welcomed into a local Jewish family's home to share a Shabbat meal. 

We'll have the opportunity to meet a Muslim Palestinian to discuss their faith and perspectives on the Holy Land.  

We'll walk down the Mt of Olives stopping along the way for teachings and bible readings, and will finish at the garden of Gethsemane.

We'll visit a Palestinian sustainable farm and hear from the family about their approach to peacemaking despite facing a difficult political situation.

We'll arrive at our final hotel in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and check in.

Our last meeting of the trip will be with a joint organization of Israeli and Palestinian bereaved parents who have lost a direct family member to the violence of the conflict and have chosen another path, one of reconciliation and forgiveness as opposed to revenge and violence. 

We'll take some time as a group to reflect on our experiences and wrap up the trip. 

We'll share a final farewell dinner together on our last evening.