Posted November 23, 2015 in Featured News
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This is the skyline of Jerusalem, as seen from the Mount of Olives. The golden dome is the Dome of the Rock (on the Temple Mount.) The stone rectangles that you can see in the foreground are in the Necropolis, the largest Jewish cemetery in the world.

Twenty pilgrims from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio flew to Israel on Oct. 18 to visit the land of the Bible. These pilgrims were from many walks of life: high school students, pastors, retirees, doctors, massage therapists, teachers and more. With Brian Kvasnica of Jerusalem Biblical Studies Society as their guide, they spent 11 days hiking, learning, praying and singing through sites such as the Negev, Beersheba and the wilderness of Zin before crossing the border into Jordan for a few days.

In Jordan, the group experienced Petra (some on foot, some on horseback, some on camels), the citadel in Amman, Jerash and Mt. Nebo (to name a few.) Then it was time to cross back into Israel to visit Jericho, Jerusalem, Masada, Nazareth, Galilee and many places in between. In Jerusalem, the group visited the Mount of Olives, the Necropolis (the largest Jewish cemetery in the world), the Garden of Gethsemane, the Dominus Flavit (Church of Tears), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, the City of David and the Garden Tomb. The group arrived home safe and sound on Oct. 30.

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This picture was taken alongside the Jordan River. The group from Redstone was on the side that’s in Jordan (Bethany-beyond-Jordan.) The large group of people on the other side is a group being baptized in Israel.

Words cannot fully describe this journey, but Rev. Niki Brodeur at First Presbyterian Church – Greensburg had this to say: “To see what Moses saw from Mt. Nebo, to put my feet into the same river in which my Lord was baptized, to place my hand upon the Western Wall, where so many have lifted prayers to God… there is nothing else that could have impacted my faith and ministry the way that this pilgrimage has done.”

If you would like to see more pictures of the group’s pilgrimage, check out the Facebook page for the Presbytery of Redstone by clicking here.