Almost a decade ago, I was given the opportunity to travel to Israel for a spiritual pilgrimage. We explored the sites and cities central to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The experience was so profound, I’ve organized and led return trips almost every other year since.
While they’ve all been amazing, I feel like this next trip is going to be something truly special. I say that because I’ve teamed up with a dear friend and fellow military chaplain (recently retired) to design a pilgrimage that leaves you with more than just good pictures and fond memories.
It’s based on a simple idea: help people align their faith with their thoughts and their emotions.
Let me explain by answering the 3 basic “Who, What, Where” questions:
Who Is This Trip For?
As an Air Force chaplain, I spend most of my time with military members and their dependents. I walk with them through their highest highs and their lowest lows. We discuss things like faith, stress, joy, anxiety, depression, career goals, and life transitions. In many ways, I designed this trip for them.
However, our military is simply a slice of the American people at large. The men and women who serve (myself included) come from the same towns as everyone else, and we experience the same range of thoughts and emotions as your average butcher, baker, or candlestick maker.
That said, this trip can add value to anyone interested in exploring the relationship between faith and feelings, thoughts and emotions. We will experience first-hand the roots of Judeo-Christian faith to learn what these places can teach us about our head and our heart.
Please consider coming along if you’re a:
- Leader wanting to leverage “facts and feelings” for success at work and at home
- Anxious heart ready to stop being so controlled by your emotions
- Rationalist seeking the peace that can only come from “childlike faith”
- Skeptic sincerely wondering, “What if there’s more?”
- Believer ready to walk where Jesus walked and see what Jesus saw
What Are We Going to Do?
This trip is a spiritual pilgrimage designed to Find your Heart, Strengthen your Soul, and Challenge your Mind. Every aspect of the trip has been planned intentionally around those goals.
We will explore multiple sites throughout Israel and Palestine[1], pausing to reflect on their historical, archaeological, spiritual, and emotional significance:
- Our tour guide, George, will speak to the former—challenging you to engage your Mind.
- I will address the latter—providing application for your Heart and your Soul.
There will be plenty of time to soak in everything Israel has to offer—appreciating the culture, photographing the countryside, and enjoying the cuisine. Our days do have structure, but time is also reserved for rest and relaxation. (No: I promise this trip is NOT just one long lecture.)
Where Are We Going to Go?
Lots of places! You can read a detailed itinerary here.
Brief overview of a few sites we’ll visit:
- Mount of Beatitudes: How Can Jesus’ teaching on this mountain help calm our anxieties and increase our peace?
- Sea of Galilee: What does it mean to have faith that calms storms? How can you develop that kind of faith? We’ll discuss it while floating across this iconic body of water.
- Jerusalem: Religion without love brings out the worst in mankind. The world’s three largest religions claim this city as theirs. Here we’ll explore the difference between “saving faith” and “bad religion.”
- Bethlehem: Jesus’ birth was prophesied to be “Good news of great joy.” We’ll go to the cave where it all began to discuss exactly how “goodwill toward man” is still possible today.
- Masada: A rock fortress overlooking the Dead Sea where 960 Jewish rebels defied 8,000 Roman soldiers. Here we’ll explore the power of conviction and personal resolve.
- Garden of Gethsemane: Loneliness and depression go hand in hand. In this place, Jesus experienced both (Matt 26.36-46). Find out how to endure the darkness in a way that leads to hope and light.
- Via Dolorosa: Literally, “the way of suffering”—this is the path Jesus walked to The Cross. What role does suffering play in our lives? How can we leverage pain to become unbreakable?
We’ll also go to Caesarea, Nazareth, Armageddon, the Jordan River, Capernaum (my favorite place in the world), Jericho, the Mt. of Olives, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial), a Crusader era church, the Temple Mount, and many other places.
When and How Much?
The entire business end of the trip is handled by Biblical Journeys. They’ll make our reservations and personally manage the details. Our tour guide, George, is experienced, deeply knowledgeable, and well-connected throughout Israel. He’ll greet us in Tel Aviv and guide our group every step of the way.
Here are the specifics:
- January 13 – 22, 2023
- $3,990 from Chicago
- Our trip begins and ends at the Chicago Airport (ORD)
- Travelers must arrange their own transportation to/from ORD prior to and at the conclusion of the trip
- Cost includes “everything but lunch”
- Flight and associated fees
- Hotel accommodations
- Breakfast and Dinner each day
- Climate-controlled motor coach, site entrance fees, and guiding services
- Trip must be paid in full no later than October 13, 2022
- Travelers must have a US Passport (traveler’s passport, not military/gov’t employee passport) valid for at least 6 months beyond the duration of the trip (i.e.: cannot expire prior to July 2023)
- Full Details and Online Registration available here
Every day we think ourselves into bad moods and feel ourselves into poor decisions. If we’re not careful, we’ll reach the end of our lives with a bunch of guilt-ridden “should haves.” To get a better handle on our thoughts and our emotions, we need to understand how they’re connected to our faith.
Please consider coming along. This trip is designed to help us sort all of that out.
At your side,
-bill
Note: The Air Force views this trip as an official duty in my role as a military chaplain. This trip does not generate any income for me. The full amount you pay goes directly to funding the trip. Any group subsidies and/or discounts (if applicable) would go directly back to the Travel Agency, creating the possibility for a modest refund to the individual traveler.
[1] Bethlehem has been under the Palestinian National Authority since 1995. Click here for travel concerns.