Fall Program Highlights
We have an excellent array of programs scheduled during the last third of the year, so please make them widely known—or come and join us for the program that most touches your heart. You will be most welcome as a pilgrim student in our community of hospitality and reconciliation.
Palestine of Jesus (Year of Matthew) | Sep 6–15
Palestine of Jesus (Year of Matthew) | Sep 19–30
Palestine of Jesus (Year of Matthew) | Nov 15–24
Palestine of Jesus (Christmas & Epiphany) | Dec 28–Jan 6
Palestine of Jesus is the most popular course offered by St George’s College and is offered several times each year. The program combines biblical and historical studies with pilgrimage to selected sites connected with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. This course will include days in Galilee, based in Nazareth so there are opportunities to engage with the ‘living stones’ of the Palestinian Christian community. There will also be visits to Bethlehem, Jericho, Masada and Qumran, as well as pilgrimage sites in Jerusalem and a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
Each offering of this program is adapted to reflect the church’s liturgical year, or the special needs of particular pilgrimage groups. These programs will be the first time we focus on Matthew as part of this rotation.
The Gospel of Matthew—which is really a revised and enlarged edition of the Gospel of Mark—offers a unique perspective on Jesus. The author of this gospel pays special attention to Jewish traditions to communicate the significance of Jesus for mixed communities of Jews and Gentiles living outside of Palestine. This gospel preserves many unique traditions about Jesus, as well as having a special interest in issues to do with the Jewish Torah, the inclusion of gentiles, and the dynamics of sustaining our community life as disciples. This makes the Palestine of Jesus–Year of Matthew a course with special relevance for today’s multi-faith world.
Introduction to the Bible Lands | Oct 4–11
Introduction to the Bible Lands | Nov 27–Dec 4
Introduction to the Bible Lands is the entry-level course offered by St George’s College. It is ideal for a parish pilgrimage, as well as intentional shared pilgrimage programs for dioceses or special interest groups.
In biblical times the land of greater Palestine included several distinct societies: Ammonites, Arameans, Canaanites, Edomites, Greeks, Israelites, Judeans, Moabites, Philistines, and Samaritans. The Bible mentions many more varieties, including Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Perizzites. What they all had in common was their presence in this land.
The land sustained them and shaped their lives. Their stories which have become our sacred texts are grounded in the hills and plains, the rivers and the wadis, the seas and the deserts of this land between three continents.
In this short course you will experience selected highlights from the so-called ‘Fifth Gospel’—the land of the Bible. It will change the way you read the Bible, and reshape the way you live your life.
The Living Stones: Peace, Reconciliation and the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem | 14–23 October
The Living Stones course provides an in depth overview of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem set within the larger context of indigenous Christianity in the Holy Land. The course visits the local parishes, educational institutions and medical centers of the Episcopal Diocese located in Israel and Palestine. The Living Stones course emphasizes opportunities for engagement with local Christians through worship, hospitality, group discussions and individual conversations. Course participants will experience the blessings of local Christians, while learning of the acute challenges facing todays Holy Land Christian. Opportunities for partnership will be presented.
Our ministries serve to sustain and strengthen our Christian presence as we teach respect and concern for all people, bringing hope to many, regardless of faith, where the light of hope is often dim. With a dwindling church membership due to emigration caused by local strife and economic hardship, the ministry here has moren than the usual challenges. The maintenance of the historic Arab Christian prensece, the ‘living Stones’, is vital therefore to the future stability of the region as we put our faith into action, “loving our neighbors as ourselves.”
Division and Hope in the Holy Land: Learnings from Rome and Jerusalem | 25 Oct–Nov 1
This course will focus on Christian diversity and ecumenism, within the unique context of Jerusalem with its rich mixture of Christian communities. The program will combine sessions that explore the ecumenical councils and the historical divisions of the church, with visits to several of the 13 official churches in Jerusalem, opportunities to participate in varied liturgies, as well as visits holy sites and charitable institutions. The course will address the main issues in the ecumenical dialogue, the challenges shared by Christian churches today, the differences that divide, and the hope for greater strength in unity. The program includes two nights in Jordan, which is an integral part of the Holy Land. Numbers are restricted to 20 persons.
The course falls within and celebrates the 50th anniversary year of the foundation of the ACR in 1966. It will be led by Archbishop David Moxon, Director of the ACR, and Canon Gregory Jenks, Dean of St George’s College. The course team will include Dom Henry Wansbrough and Bishop Jonathan Goodall, with input from other staff of the College and local scholars.