Arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv.

Let the adventures begin!

The Living Stones Pilgrimage of the Spirit of St. Stephen’s Community starts this weekend: Saturday afternoon, March 3rd, the 16 Minneapolis area friends who are making this journey together will walk this hallway in Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, and enter a space that’s holy, historic, welcoming, and challenging, all at once. Come look over our shoulders: bookmark this page and return to it often between now and March 18th to see what we’re doing and read our reflections!

We will visit key biblical sites in and near Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the Galilee region, and learn why the Holy Land is known as the Fifth Gospel. Follow us as we also meet Pilgrims of Ibillin’s partners in Ibillin, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramle, Ramallah, and Zababdeh — learning about the people and  organizations in Israel and the West Bank who seek a nonviolent path to peace and justice.

Experience Palestinian hospitality through our eyes and writings, including a home-stay in Zababdeh, in the upper West Bank.

In the ruins of a house in Biram

Get to know students and leaders at the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin as we meet them. Join us from afar as we visit with MEEI founder and peace activist Archbishop Elias Chacour.

Visit the destroyed village of Biram where Fr. Chacour was born and lived until 1948.

We will return home equipped to give presentations, so do invite us to share with you when we return! But for now, we invite you to follow us as this pilgrimage unfolds. We will be sharing a story of new friends – Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Jews – who live with hope and work for peace despite great challenges.