Although the program is full, certain worship opportunities are optional, and short periods of free time are built into the program. The program includes:

• Holy Week worship. Participation in Western Christian liturgies with Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics, including the Palm Sunday procession down the Mount of Olives, an evening vigil in Gethsemane on Holy Thursday following cathedral worship, and a Protestant/Anglican Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) on Good Friday morning. Throughout the week, attention will be given the worship schedule at St George’s (Anglican) Cathedral.
• Easter celebrations. An optional sunrise Easter service on the Mount of Olives, cathedral worship, and a concluding Emmaus Eucharist on Easter Monday marking the culmination of the pilgrimage.
• Jerusalem sites. In‑depth visits to Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, Mount Sion, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Galilee excursion. A 3‑day/2‑night journey exploring key sites of Jesus’ ministry, including Capernaum and Nazareth. A boat ride on the lake.
• Contemporary engagement. Encounters with the “Living Stones” of Israel and Palestine, engaging the present‑day Christian communities and wider social context of the land.
• Ecumenical and liturgical focus. Opportunities for those drawn to liturgy, ecumenical relations, and shared worship with others Christians during the holiest days of the Christian year.
• Transformational spiritual experience. A pilgrimage designed to offer deep spiritual renewal for both returning pilgrims and first‑time visitors to the Holy Land.

The Easter program integrates worship experiences, site visits, interaction with other Christians, critical learning, and spiritual renewal. Participants will:

• Enter the liturgies of Holy Week. Participate in the principal worship services of Holy Week and Easter in Jerusalem, deepening understanding of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection through liturgical experience.
• Study Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Strengthen biblical understanding through a 3‑day excursion to Galilee, exploring key sites associated with Jesus’ ministry.
• Encounter the places of Jesus’ passion. Engage biblical narratives in place through visits to Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, Mount Sion, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Explore resurrection faith. Reflect on the meaning of resurrection through Scripture, prayer, and worship in the city where the events of salvation occurred.
• Engage the Holy Land as Christian pilgrims. Integrate biblical, historical, and contextual learning with spiritual reflection, prayer, and community life.
• Encounter the Living Stones. Meet and worship with local Christian communities.
• Grow in ecumenical and liturgical understanding. Appreciate the unity and diversity of global Christianity through shared worship with Christians of other Western traditions.
• Reflect on contemporary realities. Consider the challenges, hopes, and complexities of Israel and Palestine.
• Return renewed in faith. Experience spiritual renewal for life and work back home.
• Share the experience of the Holy Land. Carry home the stories, insights, and encounters of the pilgrimage, sharing the hopes and struggles of the Holy Land with others.

Easter in Jerusalem will be led by course director, Rodney Aist. The program team will also include Dean Richard Sewell and a course chaplain. Additional speakers contribute to the course.

A recommended list of optional readings will be provided upon registering for the course. In particular, see Rodney Aist, Jerusalem Bound: How to be a Pilgrim in the Holy Land (Cascade, 2020).

Contact

For questions about the program, contact Course Director Rodney Aist at coursedirector@sgcjerusalem.org.