Grateful for the Footsteps of Jesus and Jordan Pilgrimages

As I look back on our time in Palestine-Israel and Jordan with St Georges Colleges I am grateful. I am grateful it even happened. I had tried twice before and the Intifada and Covid-19 had prevented both courses from happening. This time Hamas nearly did. We left on Tuesday October 3, and the Hamas attack happened on Saturday October 7. It is hard to fathom the brutality of either side. I am grateful we were able to do the courses, spend time in this troubled land and to experience something of the anxiety, despair, frustration that even Palestinians in Israel feel.

I am so grateful for Rodney, his care, his knowledge, his lectures at the College and his briefings as we bussed to our various pilgrimage sites, his wisdom, and his careful time keeping and leadership. He herded us cats really well, no mean task. And I am grateful for his book on pilgrimage. I listened to it as I waited for and sat on trains, and as I drove around Cornwall. it was my companion which invited me to reframe all of those first 8 weeks to a pilgrimage. That allowed me to experience so much more. Thank you, Rodney!

Thank you, Dean Richard, and his joyful yet inviting leadership. He gently and carefully helped us engage with the recent history, the “Liberation War” and the Nakba – the displacement of millions of Palestinians out if Israel and within Israel, the loss of land and place, loss of identity, the longing to return home, and the shock of some of those refugees in 1967 finding themselves now subject to armies of occupation. It was sobering to engage with that once again. And it made the events of October 7 more understandable.

And thank you to Andrew our chaplain and fellow Franciscan. I appreciated his reflections at the pilgrimage sites, and his carefully put together liturgies. Coming from Aotearoa-New Zealand with our more inclusive language prayer book I struggled at times with our constant praying to “The Father”. But then I can just appreciate the language of our own prayer book and be grateful for all that has done to me over the last many years. I loved Andrew’s deep spirituality and knowledge and his care for us, even when he was struggling at times. It was a joy to pray the daily obedience with him on the last night before dinner and drinks.

Lastly, for now the people we met on the course. Hearing their stories on the bus and over meals. I could have done more of that – the ongoing story of my life.But it was a joy to share that time with them. Thank you to you all.

So now I want to go back, re-read everything I have written and pull together some threads which will take a while. And then I can look ahead to what might be next in light of this time of preparation.

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