This fall you are invited to join George and Nancy for an Interfaith tour of the places and events that shape our historic religious attachment to the Holy Land. We will meet with and learn from Israelis and Palestinians, some Jewish, some Christian, and some Muslim, who are thinking about a future in which the Holy Land can be a hospitable and sacred place to all of God’s people.
We will explore the ways in which current social and political realities challenge our understanding of our faith. We will probe beyond the headlines and challenge assumptions about what the Holy Land was, what it is, and what it can be. The deep spiritual and social currents that go back millennia are surfacing like never before and are ready to be explored. People are talking and listening, protesting and seeking change.
If you look at the websites of most Christian and Jewish tour companies, no mention is made of the weekly protests in which hundreds of thousands of Israelis have demonstrated their opposition to the Netanyahu administration since March of this year. And if you elect to participate in one of those tours, the itinerary will likely include the same sites and experiences that were included before these demonstrations began, with the same stories told about those places that have been repeated for generations.
We mention these things because we see them as unprecedented opportunities for learning about ourselves and participating in hopeful movements on many fronts. The demonstrations indicate that the two questions at the heart of a religious pilgrimage do not have simple answers—namely, whom does this land belong to? And what makes it sacred?
These are the questions Faith Commons will explore when we lead our tour of the Holy Land this October. We hope you will join us for this unique and exciting opportunity.
Space is limited, so we encourage you to sign up soon. You can do that here.
In Peace and Hope,
George and Nancy