Holy Land Living Stones Pilgrimage

The HCEF Living Stones Pilgrimage Program brings Christians to the Holy Land to live out an extraordinary experience. These journeys are full of spiritual enrichment, grace, and excitement - they are experiences that truly change the way people see the world. The pilgrims get to know the Holy Land Christians (the Living Stones) by sharing their daily lives, culture, obstacles, and faith. Meeting and connecting with the Living Stones of the Holy Land can educate pastors and the faithful about their Mother Church in a personal way. All pilgrimages are coordinated with the local churches. As pilgrims, American Christians form a new relationship with the Holy Land Christian community and also follow the steps of our Lord - a spiritual experience that brings the Bible alive. Living Stones Pilgrimages are opportunities to see and experience the places of Jesus' birth, ministry, death and resurrection.

They are not commercial tours.

They are spiritual in orientation with three primary emphases:

Visiting with the Living Stones
Visitors will enjoy time spent sharing stories, in worship, fellowship, eating traditional meals, while being welcomed with warm Arab hospitality. Care is taken to have pilgrims participate in workshops in local churches and meet with local people. This establishes means for dialog and fellowship and is an opportunity to bridge the gap of understanding between Arab and American Christians.

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Excerpt from a recent pilgrimage itinerary:

"A dinner reception will provide an opportunity to meet and talk with the priest of a local church, his staff, and parishioners. We will be introduced to our respective host families from his parish and proceed to their homes for dinner and an overnight stay".

Seeing the Holy Land

Pilgrimages include trips to holy cities in Palestine, Israel, and Jordan. While Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth and other famous biblical sites are of course included in the pilgrimage, care is taken to also visit other Christian towns that reflect the vibrant Christian heritage of the Holy Land. The program is tailored to meet the needs of each visiting group.

Example of a day in the pilgrimage:

"Today we will travel the path of Christ from the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane, into Jerusalem's old city. We will travel the Via Dolorosa (the "Way of Pain") to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead."

Pilgrims at the birth place of our Lord in Bethlehem

Supporting the Local Christian Community
In keeping with the foundation's mission to utilize its resources for the benefit of the Christian community in the Holy Land, HCEF pilgrimages attempt to bring maximum economic benefit to local Christian Palestinian shopkeepers, travel agents, guides, and hotel operators
Learn more about individual pilgrim experiences as well as how the Living Stones Pilgrimage Program continues to build bridges between Christians in the West and the Living Stones.

Learn more about individual pilgrim experiences as well as how the Living Stones Pilgrimage Program continues to build bridges between Christians in the West and the Living Stones.

What Pilgrims Had To Say

Christ Weeps for Palestine
Pilgrim Reflection
Holy Land Pilgrimage Ignites Imagination, Faith
Land Pilgrimage Testimony
Christian Unity & Solidarity in the Holy Land
American Christian Witness in the Holy Land
A Personal Story about a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Another Pilgrim Reflection

Press Releases