PILGRIMAGE
June 10-20, 2025
Bishop Egensteiner
Recently, a number of us from our synod, both pastors and lay people, took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. If you were following on Facebook or Instagram, you know it was…well, an adventure! Unfortunately, no one consulted with me before starting a war. Let me say from the outset that what you heard here in the States made it sound much worse than what we experienced actually being there as we were never in any danger (and, if we felt we were, we would have taken appropriate action to be safe).
Since October of 2023, because of the horrendous attacks by Hammas and the subsequent retaliation by the State of Israel, the Palestinian Christian population has declined dramatically (mostly through migration), as has tourism in Palestine and the Holy Land. We knew it was an important time to go, both for reasons of pilgrimage and in solidarity with our Palestinian Christian siblings, especially those in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and The Holy Land (ELCJHL).
We heard two consistent messages from them:
1. We feel like the world has abandoned us.
2. Thank you for coming to journey with us.
Pastor Ashraf Tannous of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, sharing his thoughts with us.
Our presence there as a small but dedicated contingent from MNYS, the first visitors in a long time, sent a clear message that they were neither forgotten nor abandoned. We worshipped at Christmas Lutheran on our first Sunday. Pastor Khader Khalilia of Redeemer St. John in Brooklyn, co-leader of our trip, and I assisted in worship. Also present was the former bishop of the ELCJHL, +Bishop Mitri Raheb (pictured to my right below).
While some of the holy sites in and around Jerusalem were closed (for lack of pilgrims, e.g. The Garden of Gethsemane, or because we could not enter the Old City and see the Wailing Wall or visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher), we did get to visit Shepherds’ Field in Bethlehem (on the third attempt) and sing some carols in the beautiful chapel. We read the Christmas story. It was a bit strange but reassuring to hear the angels’ message to the shepherds of “Peace on earth, goodwill to all people.” in the midst of an ongoing war. It sounded like a prayer. We also walked the path Jesus traveled on Palm Sunday down from the Mount of Olives
and saw the Mercy Gate in the wall of the Old City, the gate where the Jewish people believe the messiah will enter Jerusalem when he comes.
Most of the sites associated with Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee were open to us, including the Mountain of the Transfiguration,
the Mount of the Beatitudes (where we celebrated Holy Communion),
the Church of the Annunciation, the Church of the Nativity (with a low doorway so visitors have to humble themselves to enter), and others. The second picture is of Sophie Jonah, one of our pilgrims, kneeling to touch the star that marks the traditional place of the birth of Jesus.
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We stayed in the Lutheran Guest House in Bethlehem, where many from the ELCA have stayed before, and enjoyed the gracious hospitality of our Palestinian siblings. Pictured here are Basma and Muhammed, two of the workers at the guest house.
(Muhammed knew I like strong Arabic coffee so he always had a cup ready for me at breakfast!) Both of them had powerful stories to tell about their lives in Palestine. Muhammed lives in a refugee camp, where he first settled as a child with his father, and now raises his own family there.
We then crossed the Jordan River into the country of Jordan, stopping for a camel ride with some Bedouin on the way.
We visited the Lutheran Center at the Baptismal Site of Jesus on the Jordan and renewed our own baptismal vows, some of us getting a bit wetter than others!
We visited Wadi Rum and Petra, not biblical sites but fascinating areas in Jordan, Petra being designated one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
One of the best discoveries in Jordan was that it, too, is the Holy Land (as a local corrected me when I said I had come from the Holy Land!). There is a church on the top of Mount Nebo, the mountain from which Moses gets to see the Promised Land, though he cannot enter. (Read the story in Deuteronomy.) Pictured here is a literal tomb stone such as would have been rolled across the door of the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. You can see why the women visiting the tomb on that first Easter morning were wondering who would help them roll it away!
This is just a brief glimpse at the inspiring journey of pilgrimage and solidarity we experienced. We learned a number of important things:
Pastor Khader Khalilia is related to just about
everybody in Palestine!
Tony Abuaita, owner of Good Shepherd Travel (
https://www.tourtheholylands.com/) and his wife Rawan were really good guardian angels!
A visit to the Holy Land, on both sides of the Jordan, deepens our faith and sense of community with our Christian siblings in the Middle East. We soaked up the environment, both cultural and spiritual, and were changed by it.
We would LOVE to share more about our experiences with you. Please reach out to me to schedule a time for a presentation (
p[email protected]) with either myself or any of our pilgrims. Also, while in Bethlehem, we met an olivewood craftsman who is looking for churches here who would be willing to sell his products so he can provide for his family. He is a Palestinian Christian deeply affected by the terrible economy and lack of tourism. Reach out to me if you think you would like to learn more.
Finally, let me encourage you to consider a pilgrimage, when the time is right. Reach out to Tony at the website above. And thank you all for your concern and prayers during our journey. As my wife, Marianne, said, those prayers were our “Iron Dome” of protection and we are grateful.
Peace in Christ,
+Bishop Egensteiner
Marianne Dietrich
“Thank you for not abandoning us!” “Thank you for being here."
Those were statements we heard many times during our trip to the Holy Land.
Tourism has been decimated since October 7, 2023 and the families and businesses in the West Bank, which includes Bethlehem and the surrounding towns, have been struggling. Christian Palestinians who have the resources continue to leave the area.
People were so friendly and very willing to tell us the stories of their families and their experiences. The Christian Palestinians seem to be a close-knit group. So many people we met were either family or friends of Pastor Khalilia or our tour operator Tony Abuaita and his wife who were with us on the trip. It started to become a joke, “of course they’re family”. 😆
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The sites were beautiful. I was particularly awestruck by the beauty of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee and the Lutheran church in Jordan near the site where Jesus was baptized. It was pretty awesome walking where Jesus and his followers walked.
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The food was great and I was so thankful for my traveling companions who have become friends. We were never in any danger thanks to our guides but it was an eye opener for those of us who don’t live with the threat of war and displacement.
If you ever get the opportunity to go, please do so.
The Rev. Arden Strasser
Jordan/Israel/Palestine June 10-20, 2025
Thank you for praying for us. Sisters & Brothers, I was part of a small group with our Bishop Egensteiner and Pastor Khalilia visiting Israel and Palestine. Part of our trip's purpose was to visit Holy sites and the other purpose was to encourage Palestinian Christians. Some of you prayed for us during this trip, for which we are grateful.
The first half of our trip was to visit holy sites in the north, in Galilee. This includes the site of the Transfiguration, the ruins of Capernaum where Jesus preached, the sea of Galilee, the site where the Beatitudes were preached, the town of Nazareth, etc. The Holy sites often have archeological digs and lovely churches associated with them. We had excellent guides and these visits were quite meaningful. Such visits are something everyone should try to undertake once in their lives. Walking the paths of Jesus and his followers is devotional.
As you may know, on June 13 we learned that the war between Israel and Iran had begun. What should we do? Will the war finish quickly or go on for a long time? Airports in Israel and Jordan were closed. There was no guidance from the US embassy except to follow shelter protocols, which stipulated that when we heard the Iranian missile alert sirens at night or in the daytime, we were to find shelter, sometimes in the hotel basement.
The war was naturally disturbing and worrying. Since we could not easily leave Israel, we decided to continue our trip, albeit with changes, as some holy sites were closed, including all of the old city of Jerusalem. Given the planning and expense that went into the trip, we really wanted, at a minimum, to be able to greet the beleaguered Lutherans in the West Bank, who have had very few visitors since October 2023.
On June 14, we left Israel and entered the West Bank. These Holy Sites were also moving and spiritually poignant. We walked the streets of Bethlehem's old city, the paths where Mary and Joseph walked. We visited the Church of the Nativity/Jesus birthplace and the Shepherd’s field. The Shepherd's field will stay with me because it was there we saw missiles overhead during the day time.
Outside the old city of Jerusalem we walked the Palm Sunday path of Jesus. We could still behold the Kidron Valley. We visited the remains of the high priest Caiphas's house where Jesus was tied and held overnight and where Peter betrayed Jesus. The archaeological work is remarkable. Our group stood in silence below the site of this house where Jesus was probably kept overnight from Maundy Thursday to holy Friday.
As I noted, another objective of our pilgrimage was to visit Lutherans in the Holy Land. We were all excited to meet fellow Lutherans and receive their hospitality, sharing meals and conversation. We even learned Palestinian dance! We toured the impressive Dar al-Kalima Evangelical Lutheran School and met with the principal. We joined in Sunday worship at Christmas Lutheran church in Bethlehem. We also met with regional ELCA staff.
The most important learning of this trip was from this portion of our trip. That is, the lived experience of fellow Christians, who, because they are Palestinian, do not enjoy the freedoms that Israelis do. Being Christian affords them no exemptions from the strict identification system the Israeli government enforces. Up close we walked along the tall concrete wall separating Israel from the West Bank. Up close we saw the numerous checkpoints and hassles that Palestinians pass through to go to work or school or to visit relatives. A Lutheran family hosted us at their hilltop farm, which they have owned for over eighty years. They told us the pressures they endure in keeping their land from being taken by the Israeli government for sale to Israeli settlers. We could see the Jewish towns being built up and surrounding them on all sides. This was personally difficult and troubling to consider.
The ELCJHL (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land) has an arabic phrase,“Sumud" as their watchword. It means to stay in their country and continue bearing witness as the indigenous Christians of this land. I am grateful, humbled and inspired by their witness.
By June 16, the US embassy had closed. The war had no indication of winding down, so we decided to cross back over to Jordan a day ahead to ensure we’d make our flights home. Expatriates in Israel had to leave over land since there were still no flights. The southern border crossing into Jordan took three hours for us and the next day it took eight hours. We had a safe flight home from Amman, thinking about all we had learned and grateful for your prayers.