St. Bart's parishioners share their thoughts and experiences from their Holy Land Pilgrimage.

On February 11, 2019, we embarked on an unforgettable journey to the Holy Land and Israel with 18 others including Father Mark McKone-Sweet and Jill Henderson (our leader). Most of the travelers are parishioners of St. Bart’s. It was a pilgrimage to be sure, a chance of a lifetime to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and to gain a more comprehensive and better understanding of the Bible. It also provided us an opportunity to see the good works of our Church at the Episcopal Technological and Vocation Training Center in Ramallah. A highlight for us was in Cana of Galilee where we renewed our wedding vows just barely one month short of our 50th anniversary. We also gained a different and broader perspective and understanding of the incredibly complex Palestinian issue in the region.

~Dennis & Jan Rethmeier

The pilgrimage was wonderful (as in wonder-filled). I'm left with memories, impressions, and thoughts that will be churning through my mind for months to come. Two thoughts are dominant at this moment:

First, my going-in expectation was that the St. Bart's pilgrim band would be an isolated, perhaps lonely, group. Instead, we were part of a great host of pilgrims from all around the world, including from South Korea, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Jamaica. At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the throng of pilgrims resulted in a two-hour wait to enter the tomb space and in a bustling crowd of group and selfie photographers of all nationalities and ethnicities at the exit from the tomb. This I found to be distracting, even irritating, at "the holiest shrine in Christendom, the Tomb of our Lord". Gradually I recognized, however, that the Tomb was also the site of the Resurrection. And the good news of the empty tomb has spread throughout the world, drawing excited pilgrims to Jerusalem to celebrate the Resurrection.

Second, I'm already receiving "dividends" from the pilgrimage. Yesterday, at the Eucharist service at All Saints Episcopal, Hilton Head Island, two musical experiences transported me back mentally to the Holy Land. The organ prelude was based on "Ubi Caritas" and I was back in the Church of the Beatitudes where a pilgrim group chanted this hymn. Then the processional hymn was "Love Divine All Loves Excelling" and I was back in St. George's Cathedral where our pilgrim band sang that hymn during the English/Arabic Eucharist service. With Lent and Holy Week imminent, the mental transportation moments are going to be many and enriching.

~Noel Horne

Before the Pilgrimage, I had thought I would be an observer of these Sacred Places fulfilling a long time dream to visit the Holy Land. From the first experience of looking towards Jerusalem from the top of the Mount of Olives, I was completely immersed and intensely involved as a participant. Each day included many extraordinary events which touched my heart - renewing my Baptismal vows in the River Jordan, renewing our marriage vows in Cana, visiting a Palestinian refugee camp in Ramallah, listening to Father Mark reading the scriptures, riding on a boat on the Sea of Galilee are some of these. This Pilgrimage will stay with me forever as I continue my faith journey.

~Angela Horne

As we returned back from the hills near the city of Cana on the bus one day, there in the distance, in the sunshine, we could see a vast sweeping view of the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, all the green hills, gentle valleys, and lush pastures. This was the region where Jesus performed many of his miracles.

Right then, like the pages of a book falling open, my childhood bible stories came to life.

I could see Jesus speaking to the multitudes that had gathered there on those hills, delivering his sermon on the mount. I could see him walking in the streets in his home village of Capernaum where he healed the servant of a Roman centurion and also a man who was paralyzed.

I could see him turning 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread into enough food to feed a crowd of 5,000 people who came to hear him speak.

I could see him walking on the water towards his disciples to calm the waves when a fierce storm came upon the water, frightening them.

I could see him telling Peter to walk to him on the water but when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink, Jesus was there to offer him his hand to save him.

The stories were there, spread out in front of me like a velvety green carpet. Those stories in the scriptures and many others will come alive whenever I close my eyes and recall my pilgrimage to Israel.

~Holly Gray

We rounded the Tomb of the Holy Sepulchre in two hours, bonding, part of a global community of pilgrims.

Entrance to the Tomb altered from many to single file, from conversation to contemplation. We solemnly stepped inside, bright light dimming.

Lowering myself into the hallowed sepulchre, I noted the sacredness of the diminutive room. A pilgrim kneeling at the treasured stone slab made my heart quicken and all but the stone to disappear.  Awe enveloped me.

Heartfully, instinctively I knelt.  Falling into greater Love became my Pilgrimage touchstone; Love of the sites, the sounds, the people of the Holy Land.

~Parth Domke