SOUTH CAROLINA SYNOD HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGE AND STUDY TOUR
MEET THE LEADERS
Dr. Monte Luker is the Academic Dean of the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies. He has lived, studied, and taught in the Holy Land for the past 40 years. In addition to the Holy Land, his primary interests are in the literary and theological analysis of Scripture, and he has contributed numerous articles to Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, Anchor Bible Dictionary, New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, as well as scholarly and church-related journals. Dr. Luker’s books include Doom and Hope in Micah; Passion, Vitality, and Foment: The Dynamics of Second Temple Judaism; and An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land For Tour Groups, Students, and Pilgrims (see www.eotours.co/monteluker). Dr. Luker has been Adjunct Professor of Bible at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies since 1995. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Schools of Oriental Research, the Biblical Archaeology Society, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew.
your journey includes:
Guided Sightseeing & On-Site Lectures
Admin. Fees, Entrance Fees, Hotel Gratuities
Driver Tips & Program Fees
Breakfast, Most Lunches & Dinner Daily
Deluxe Motorcoaches
First Class Hotels
And Much, Much More!
pricing & itinerary
All Inclusive Price starting at: $4,148* from Charlotte $4,398* Columbia, Charleston or Greenville
*All prices reflect a 4% cash discount
Day 1 – Tuesday, Dec 28: Depart USA.
Day 2 – Wednesday Dec 29: The Sharon Plain
Arrive Tel Aviv and transfer to Netanya (“Gift of the LORD”) on the Mediterranean Sea. Walk the beach and meditate on the pilgrimage you are about to begin! Overnight Netanya.
Day 3 – Thursday Dec 30: The Origins of Christianity
Caesarea, where the gentile church was born (Acts 10). Nazareth. Lunch at Holy Land Restaurant. The Bascilica of the Annunciation over the house of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Tour museum beneath the church. Overnight Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
Day 4 – Friday Dec 31: Jesus’ Ministry around the Sea of Galilee
Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Ginosar with first-century fishing boat. Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum synagogue and Peter’s house (Mark 1-2). Tabgha. St. Peter’s Fish lunch on the sea at Hermitage Restaurant. Magdala with tour and Holy Communion in Encounter Chapel. Overnight Tiberias.
Day 5 – Saturday Jan 1: The Golan Heights
Old Testament Tel Hazor. Tel Dan with nature walk. Caesarea Philippi (Peter’s Confession, Matthew 16). Lunch at the Druze village of Birkat Ram. Overlook of UN peace-keeping force at Kuneitra. Overnight Tiberias.
Day 6 – Sunday Jan 2: Baptism of Jesus
Worship with Affirmation of Baptism at Yardenit. Lunch at Al Rawdah in Jericho. Tel Jericho. Palestinian glass and pottery factory outlet. Overnight Kibbutz En Gedi.
Day 7 – Monday Jan 3: Free day
A day of respite on the peaceful shores of the Dead Sea in the Judean Wilderness. Visit the spa, dip in the sea, and perhaps indulge in a massage (!). Tour of the kibbutz with founding member Daniella Cohen. Overnight En Gedi.
Day 8 – Tuesday Jan 4: Zealots and Essenes
Masada, last stand of the Zealots. Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Lunch at Sultana in Jericho. Overnight Jerusalem.
Day 9 – Wednesday Jan 5: The Birth of Jesus
Bethlehem. Church of the Nativity, built over the cave-barn where Jesus was born. Visit an olive wood factory, a major industry of the Palestinian Christians. Shepherds’ Field. Lunch at The Tent in Beit Sahour. Overnight Jerusalem.
Day 10 – Thursday Jan 6: Ancient Jerusalem
The Temple Mount with Temple Mount excavations (Davidson Center). Western (“Wailing”) Wall. Lunch on your own in the Jewish Quarter. City of David and Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Overnight Jerusalem.
Day 11 – Friday Jan 7: The Passion of Christ
Holy Sepulcher Church with Golgotha and the Tomb of Christ. The Praetorium and the historical way of the cross. The Upper Room. Lunch in the Armenian Quarter. Mount of Olives. Bethphage, Pater Noster, Dominus Flevit. Garden of Gethsemane. Overnight Jerusalem.
Day 12 – Saturday Jan 8: The Via Dolorosa
Bethesda Pools and St. Anne’s Church (Crusader). Stations of the Cross. Coffee and apple strudel at the Austrian Hospice. Lunch at Notre Dame and self-guided tour of the Shroud of Turin museum. Overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 13 – Sunday Jan 9: Taking It Home
Worship at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. Rest of the day free in Jerusalem. You may keep your rooms all day today.
Day 14 – Monday Jan 10: Arrive USA.
This is Christ’s Church. There is a place for you here.
We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person–questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God’s work in Christ’s name for the life of the world.
Contact Information
ELCA South Carolina Synod
1003 Richland Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Telephone 803-765-0590
Fax 803-252-5558
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