Last Day in Israel and Palestine

Tonight we’ll conclude our pilgrimage with a celebration back on the other side of the segregation wall in the West Bank. This morning I’ll be back in East Jerusalem with the good people of Sabeel, leaders in developing a faithful Christian theology contextual to the Palestinian occupation. I was there the other day and met Keas Keasler, a fellow American who has been blogging on his experience here. You’ll see that what he’s experiencing has much in common with what our little band of pilgrims has been experiencing.
While at Sabeel, it was a pleasure and honor to finally meet Naim Ateek, whose work and writings I have long admired from a distance. Naim is a Palestinian signatory to an important statement called the Kairos Document, created by Christian leaders across denominational lines across Palestine. You can add your name to it, as I have.
One of our pilgrims is Dave Gibbons. What an energetic, smart, positive, and visionary leader he is! He’s been blogging and vlogging about our trip all along; I wish I had linked to it sooner. Here’s his window into our shared experience here. I wish you could have seen Dave and Shane Claiborne covered in Dead Sea mud from hairline to waterline … absolutely unforgettable.
Mike Todd continues to blog about our pilgrimage too. Be sure to see his photo of a stranger-than-fiction sign at the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee here. We have taken so many amazing photos, some serious, some funny. Here’s a funny one from a serious place – the church next to the Garden of Gethsemane.

I doubt I’ll have an opportunity to blog again for the next day or two. I’ll be heading straight to Phoenix, AZ, to be part of the National Urban Academy this weekend. If you’re in the area, it would be great to see you. Thanks for your interest in our journey, and for your prayers. Stay tuned for more reflections in the weeks to come.