East London Three Faiths Forum Tour of the Holy Land: Day 6 (2)

In Caesarea I read Acts 11. 1 - 18 explaining that this incident represents one of the key developments which enabled Christianity to become a world religion:

'The apostles and the other believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 When Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him, saying, 3 “You were a guest in the home of uncircumcised Gentiles, and you even ate with them!” 4 So Peter gave them a complete account of what had happened from the very beginning:

5 “While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I had a vision. I saw something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it stopped next to me. 6 I looked closely inside and saw domesticated and wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No ritually unclean or defiled food has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 The voice spoke again from heaven, ‘Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and finally the whole thing was drawn back up into heaven. 11 At that very moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six fellow believers from Joppa accompanied me to Caesarea, and we all went into the house of Cornelius. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. 14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your family will be saved.’ 15 And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, then, to try to stop God!”

18 When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, “Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!”'

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Jim White - Diamonds To Coal.

East London Three Faiths Forum trip to the Holy Land (7)

We've had another excellent day which began by going to Haifa where we travelled along Mount Carmel seeing Stella Maris (the headquarters of the Carmelites), the Baha'i botanical gardens, and the Carmelite Chapel at El-Murakah which enabled us to view the sight of Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Rabbi David Hulbert read the account of Elijah on Mount Carmel and I spoke briefly about Carmelite spirituality.

From there we went to have a delicious lunch with a Druze family and heard a little about the Druze faith and way of life. Our final stop was at Caesarea where we saw the remains of Herod's Palace including the theatre, hippodrome and aqueduct. There, I read from the account in Acts of Peter's meeting with Cornelius highlighting its significance for the growth of Christianity.

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Mendelssohn - Elijah.

East London Three Faiths Forum guided tour to Jerusalem and the Holy Land

The fifth guided tour to Jerusalem and the Holy Land organised by the East London Three Faiths Forum will be from Wednesday 22^nd October – Wednesday 29^th October 2014 and will be led by Imam Dr. Mohammed Fahim, Rabbi David Hulbert and myself.

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit places in the Holy Land (both Israel and Palestine) sacred to our three faiths:

• Jerusalem: Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock (including Friday prayers on the Muslim New Year 1436); Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus’ tomb); Western Wall; Via Dolorosa; and Yad Vashem (Memorial to Holocaust victims).
• Dead Sea: Masada; swim in the Sea.
• Bethlehem: Jesus’ birthplace.
• Hebron: Tombs of Abraham, Sarah and other Patriarchs.
• Nazareth: Jesus’ home-town; site of the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary.
• Jaffa: 16^th-century al-Bahr Mosque; St. Peter’s Church
• Golan Heights
• Caesarea
• Boat-trip across the Sea of Galilee

And many more!

COST - £1,200 per person, sharing twin room. £320 single room supplement. Fantastic value for money – price includes:

• Return coach from Woodford to Luton Airport
• Return flights
• Half-board in top-quality, modern hotels
• Travel in comfortable air-conditioned tour coach
• Qualified tour guide, with us for the whole week
• All entrance fees

If you are interested in joining us for the spiritual experience of a lifetime, please send your name, telephone number and full postal address to david.hulbert@whsmithnet.co.uk, and you will be sent the full details, itinerary and booking form, with the full terms and conditions.

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Matisyahu - Jerusalem (Out Darkness Comes Light).