First Steps

Not the most "spiritual" first step along the pilgrimage path but a necessary one. All of us must take a COVID test before we can board a plane and then test again when we land in Israel before being allowed to be out in public.  

In addition, there are entrance forms to fill out, health declarations to make, and masks to wear (even though the US dropped its mask mandate yesterday). 

Being on a group pilgrimage means honoring the goals and needs of the group above your own. On pilgrimage, the "I" is not as important as the "we."

The pilgrimage way is communal, and in the shared journey, the "I" finds its true identity.  Our fellowship becomes the lens where we discover God anew.  

So perhaps all the paperwork and testing for COVID is part of the spiritual discipline that recognizes that public management of the virus is more important than one's individual freedom. 

So the journey begins.


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