I see this site as an interactive on-line community in the making. A place where you can tell us and eachother about your views and experiences. We welcome news features, articles or letters whether it be on theology and Biblical History or just a personal account from your travels. We would warmly encourage prayers to be shared that are pertinent to our pilgrimages and or book reviews and recommendations. If it can be e-mailed we will be happy to give it our best attention and will endeavour to publish whatever we feel will further enrich the value of this page.

Furthermore, our Christian Church and Charity links page is also a vital part of the community approach. Perhaps you have a site that ought to be connected to ours, let us know. If you haven't got a site but feel it is time to put that right we would be happy to recommend our designer to you.

All of us here at Highway look forward to hearing from you.

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Tour of the Bible Lands departs Monday February 28th 1938.

Appreciative travellers in 1938 wrote in to say what a wonderful time they had experienced on their journeys with Rev. Pearson. We too are glad to say that we also receive letters from our travellers a few are quoted below.

 "… the holiday was superb, your arrangements relating to Hotels, food, could not have been bettered in any way. Both the guides in Jordan and Israel were of the best, most informative, polite and kind. All the accommodation was excellent. The holiday was wonderful value for the cost. It will always hold a very special place in my heart. Thank you 'Highway'. (Perhaps India next time!)"

 "..Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it seemed to be a very special and memorable trip. Comments I have heard from them have been that they have come back a changed person, both spiritually and in other ways. The group have a reunion planned and another visit is being talked about already…. Thanks again, it has been a pleasure working with you and your company."

 "Thank you very much in deed for an excellent holiday at Hotel Traunsee, Austria recently. The travel arrangements went very smoothly and I particularly appreciated the timing of the flights both ways. The situation beside the lake, with good transport facilities was ideal. The hotel was very well run by friendly helpful staff who did everything they could to meet our needs and ensure an enjoyable holiday."

 "The holiday come-Pilgrimage was something that will be for ever in our memory for the rest of our lives. This was brought about by the splendid organisation of Highway Holidays, everything was spot on, hotels, guides, food, everything…."

 "I did indeed have a really excellent holiday in Turkey - it was a privilege to work in the 'steps of St. Paul' - quite an experience - and Turkey is a beautiful country. I returned renewed both physically and spiritually."

 " We are immensely grateful to you all at Highway Holidays for an excellent pilgrimage - quite the best I've led."

 " Our party was happy and friendly. I came alone but made friends at once"

"Thank you so much for a wonderful experience in the Land of the Lord. We hope to travel again with Highway"

 " We enjoyed the trip very much. We have made some new and wonderful friends"

 " Our pilgrimage to St. Petersburg was and is most memorable. I found your information helpful re our holiday. You must have worked hard"

 " I am grateful for all the work you put in on our behalf. It was a splendid holiday and all the party enjoyed it immensely"

 " How amazing that such a 'motley' crew grew into such a 'happy party. Praise the Lord"

A Panorama of the Holy Land by Stephen Sizer and Jon Arnold - Eagle publication, astounding photographs and insightful text.
ISBN 0 86347 171 4 . £17.99

In Between by Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem - SPCK Publication of long awaited and very readable autobiography. £7.99

A Candle of Hope by Garth Hewitt - the new BRF Advent title for 1999
ISBN 1 84101 041 3 . £6.99 24/9/99

Ariadne's Thread by Eleanor Aitken - a personal memoir of her involvement with and work for Palestinians published by Cornelian.
ISBN 0 9535525 0 0. £14.95 or £12.00 direct from Publisher.

Reflections in the Land of Jesus by Albert Mosedale - New Wine Press pilgrims companion book.
ISBN 1 874367 84 1. £5.99

For me, the first journey I made was the fulfilment of a desire that had grown over a number of years. One cannot help being curious about the little strip of land where all the great events that have so shaped my life took place. I suppose really it was a kind of St. Thomas curiosity, the desire to actually see the place and be reassured by its tangibility rather than depending on the accounts of others. The media portrays the place for obvious reasons, from a very particular angle, but that is not essentially what attracted me and I was not disappointed. I can honestly say that it was wonderful simply to put my foot on Terra Firma again after the flight. To acknowledge that I now stood in the place where the Bible in the main happened and was as it were, continuing to happen in my personal life. This was a great moment of 'coming together' of the deeply spiritual and startling 'earthiness' in its truest form. Somehow the Testament I carried in my bag, the one I carried in my heart and the place that has witnessed it all, leapt a little.

Perhaps the most striking thing one confronts almost immediately is the total lack of the peace in the place, but don't let that put you off, this is utterly fascinating. Everywhere there are people of every creed, colour and tongue consumed in frenetic activity and an army of various tired looking officials administering this plethora. You simply cannot avoid the passion with which people are living their very different lives. There are Sephardim from Morocco, Nuns from The Ukraine, Ashkenazi from New York, Romanian relief workers, Chinese restaurateurs, Jamaican Choristers, Israeli sabras, Aramaen priests, Amish homesteaders, and of course, me! The diversity is extraordinary and at once quite wonderful and desperately sad because of the deep rifts between many of these exclusive groups. Pharisees, Essenes, Saducees, Zealots, Samaritans, Romans, it all sounds very familiar.

Personally I am not one for traipsing around the churches and shrines that are all over the place. As places to worship and pray or to find out more about how others express their faiths, I value them but I find the tourism aspect a bit hard. For example, one goes off to find the place where Jesus prayed 'not my will, but Thine'. Instead of a secluded garden spot you find a busy Church building. It is understandable, people have been coming here for nearly two thousand years and whole migratory congregations are established at these spots if indeed they are the actual spots. The truck and trade of spiritual tourism is nothing new but one need not be discouraged, on the contrary in fact. I realised that all that was being disturbed was my own preconceptions and that is no bad thing, this was still the place to pray, 'not my will, but Thine.'

Many people find that the Sea of Galilee is an especially intimate experience for them. One is less aware of the hustle and bustle down by the water, The place where so much of the passion was played out. I too found that as the wind got up in the afternoon and the waters would grow choppy and even rough in such a short space of time, that the continuity of nature wafted me with ease back in time. The fish that team in the waters are distant descendants of those that graced that famous last prayer breakfast, they taste great!

The whole experience is one of altering perspectives. Being abroad itself has this effect since we are exposed to changes in language, diet, weather and culture. Here we realise that our faith is essentially foreign and that rather than feeling comfortably central I for one felt remarkably peripheral. Uncomfortable as that might be, the effect is tremendously broadening and one becomes pleasantly aware of the greatness and scope of The passion that affects people from all over the world down through the ages. Everybody is trying to persuade everyone of their rights to The place and to The passion but my little Gideons gave me all the answers I needed. Reading the scriptures is something we could expect to be richer and deeper than ever and it is undeniable that you will never read them in same way again. I had to go back home and read them all over again and throw out all the assumptions I had made and replace them with some fresh facts.

The Holy Land attracts all kinds of people and for all sorts of reasons but it is inevitable that you will meet with fellow pilgrims. I spotted a couple reading their Bible under the palm trees so I greeted them. It turned out that they were East German. We ate together and picked our way through a conversation in pidgin English and German I learnt about their experiences as Christians in the former Soviet Block. These lovely people were also headed to the Dead Sea so we met up again. In no time at all we were sharing the peace in The place where John baptised The Christ and David wrote the Psalms. There in the arid desert, where the ancient Mountains fiercely guard secret waterfalls and the eagles fly from their clefts in the rock, the gateway to the Wilderness stands open. A narrow and winding road leads up through the inhospitable terrain to Jerusalem. You climb from the saline heat to the heady heights and as you go the slopes become increasingly verdant. The comparative desertion of the lowest place on earth gives way to the thronging metropolis at the summit. As I came through the eastern access to my hotel the streets filled with smelly traffic, pushy pedestrians, and market style shops. I climbed The Brook Kidron and ascended The Mount of Olives, traversed the sprawling graves of the faithful buried facing Moriah and came to the magnificent vista of The Old City.

The streets of the place where The Temple stood are not the ones that existed then. There are some quite ancient parts but in the main the Old City as it is known is fairly modern and by that I mean several hundred years old. The Ottomans are responsible for most of its present form. The narrow and winding streets are the products of a culture that favoured preservation of an ancient way of life to progress so the feeling is older than the actual stones. I never for a moment felt threatened in the crowded alleys (certainly less so than one would in the main thoroughfares of any of our western cities). The walk through left me invigorated by the sheer presence of The place. The volume of knickknacks in the shops is impressive in itself but you can actually buy some excellent stuff quite reasonably. The shops in the new city have a lot to offer too, including some very original jewellery. At its heart however a single fact remains, Jerusalem is the most hotly contested city on earth. This may well be because it functions somehow as the Worlds spiritual capital. It is the axis, and the crossroad, it is the place of the cross, the burial and the resurrection. One day while I was there I found myself weeping tears of sadness, tears of gratitude and tears of joy." B.M.

"The programme more than fulfilled my expectations. The scheduled agenda was followed in all important respects - and so much more. My hosts could not have been more hospitable. The week was perfection." C.F. Chicago

"They say the English are reserved - not so the ones we met, they opened their homes and their hearts to us in the most wonderful vacation of a lifetime." J.J. Kansas

"Our visit was so far exceeded our expectations, was so perfectly wonderful, that I can't find words to express our delight." K&B.B. Maine

"The food, the visits, the theatres were all out of this world - we were all full of admiration for the planning and efficiency of everyone in the Parish team - we just lived like kings while we were with them." J.N. Atlanta

"Parish Holidays was something really different. We've been most places in the World, but this was the first vacation we ever got to meet people. And for value for money, they couldn't be beat." H.A. New York

"Parish Holidays has been a loving, caring experience which I will always treasure." H.W. San Diego

"We took our first Parish Holiday years ago, in Cornwall - and since then they just can't keep us out of England: there are so many wonderful locations, and marvellous people, and they really make you feel like one of the family." B.C. Seattle

"These Parish Holidays have just the right balance of sightseeing, shopping, resting between events, and visiting and dining. The concept of vacationing proves to be a most desirable way of seeing different areas of the beautiful, countryside, while at the same time truly getting to know the people and their customs." S.J. Alvin, Texas.

Dear Friends,
A quick email to thankyou for all your prayers and thoughts as Highway Projects completed the first part of its summer activities in Israel/Palestine.

All went well, with no major sickness, or loss of passport (!), and most importantly, the project teams under the leadership of Anne Salway, Brenda Noble and Matt Rogers worked very hard indeed.

The 5th Knights youth camp was successful - our team of 12 again leading language lessons, playing sport and preparing the young people for the very stretching Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. (edited version!). We are invited back for 2001.

In Bethany and Jerusalem a combined team of 9 spent 4 days working extremely hard painting 2 wards at the 4 Homes of Mercy, and 4 days making good a children's playground at the Princess Basma Hospital. They all deserve a medal. We are invited back to work at both projects in 2001.

Meanwhile, whilst in the country I was able to travel with Nancy Dinsmore, Diocesan Development worker and view some potential future Highway Projects. Our visits took us to the Gaza strip, Jordan, Ramle and Nazareth. I am left with a variety of possibilities - and potentially another 4 projects for 2001 to add to the ones above. It seems that God is certainly opening doors for the work of Highway Projects, and now our prayer is to have the discernment to know which projects God wishes us to pursue next year. It could be the year that Highway Projects moves onto another level of activity - we might need 50 volunteers - so get sharing this message around your friends, churches etc!

However, before we leap to 20001, we still have another very exciting project ahead of us this year - UK2000 is nearly with us (10th-24th August). We are so looking forward to a group of 20 young people and leaders coming from Ibillin, Galilee, and Ali & Pete have been working hard to arrange all the programme. Your prayers for the nitty-gritty issues still to be arranged. Good news is that we are in reach of our financial target, and again my thanks to all those who have given to the 'Highway Projects (UK2000)' pot.

A reminder that past team, Highway trust members and donors (sadly not those overseas) have been invited to the Open Day on 19th August at Whirlow Grange Farm, Sheffield to meet the young people, and see how their trip has been going. If you are planning to come please contact Ali Wilshaw (alison@wilshaw99.freeserve.co.uk) by 9th August. She will be able to give directions. This will help with our barbeque catering.

God Bless
Ian

…It is vital for Israeli Arabs, and especially Christians, to find their personal identity and place within the State of Israel….so writes Gill Dye of the Elijah Trust. The following letter is reproduced with her kind permission.

Ibillin 2/8/99
Dear Beloved Friends,

Since I was ordained priest in 1965, I have been ministering in the village of Ibillin, not far from Nazareth. Since then I learned a lot. I am still learning so much. We are so far away from where we started. My small VW is no more there. The village is presently a small town with 8,500 inhabitants. It had around 4,000 when I first arrived. There was my small VW and two or three other cars. Now almost every family has one if not two or more cars.... When I came to Ibillin there was no electricity, no telephones, hardly any water. We used to draw water from the well of the church. This is now closed. We have electricity and water. At Mar Elias College, we have twelve phone lines. We hardly had a second hand type-writing machine, nowadays our computers are all linked with internet. We have come from far away. The evolution was not gradual, but made with gigantic jumps forward. Can you imagine that within two months we shall start teaching from distance with video active methods? Had we all the same equipment, you could see us, we could see you, and interact in the same way as if we were physically present to each other. This is becoming an amazing world.

After 33 years in Ibillin, here I am the president of the biggest Christian and private school in Israel. I was fortunate and privileged to build the school with your help. You probably do not know that it is because of your friendship and your solidarity, that I am still standing on my feet, and was able with local and international friends to build this campus. It is the first and the only Arab campus that exists in all of Israel. You have to believe me when I say the Lord has made for us great things. Holy is His name.

In the past, I did apply for some small grants from different organisations. I was always happy to receive any help from you. I give you tribute for everything I have been doing to serve better my people. In order to help our community to stand on its feet, self-reliant and economically independent through self-help. Our major goal is to continue and intensify our active undertaking in the building up of this country for everybody: Jew, Palestinian Christian, Moslem, Druze or others. We were all created babies on the image with the likeness of God.

I have written a five years' plan ( 2001-2005 ). We need to develop and expand the campus. We want to become self-reliant, as soon as possible. This application is the tool needed to implement the vision that started 17 years ago on the former mount of the Ogre, which is the present day Mount of Light. I know that no one single person or church would be able to provide us with this big amount: over ten million US$. Nonetheless, we invite you to contribute with whatever amount you can afford to donate. The result will be as when small seeds, which are put together, can produce a life-giving loaf of bread. Some one has donated every stone on campus. To all of you, we are deeply grateful and sincerely appreciative. We do not want to see you left aside in the implementation of this long awaited dream in Galilee.

I am still careful to listen to the expectations of our community. That is the reason the community was always deeply involved in what ever we undertook. I feel so proud to tell you that we have 250 faculty members working at Mar Elias Educational Institutions. Had MEEI not existed, where would these 250 scholars be today? In which country would they be dispersed? The brain drain among the Arab community inside Israel very specially among the Christian minority is very seriously alarming. It is essential to do whatever possible to slow down this dangerous emigration of Christians abroad.

Nowadays with the prospects for peace in the Middle East the unique opportunity for the Christian minority is to affirm itself among both Judaism and Islam. Only with the help of educational institutions, might we be able to instil hope in the hearts; to build peace among human beings; and to accept each other as different, but complementary. The otherness is considered as an enrichment, never as a danger or a threat. Our college is one among the rare sources of hope in Israel. Our students are Muslim, Christians, Druze and Jews. It is possible to live together. Not without some problems. These are to be overcome and solved. This is how we believe peace can be built. I tell you- we need your help! We need your generosity. We need your commitment. We need your friendship and are ready to share with you. We might be too ambitious......but we want to help our people. We cannot stay staggering like we were thirty and forty years ago. We have to move, to go ahead, and to sometimes get our hands dirty with building the real peace that is forged in the hearts, before it is signed on paper anywhere on this planet.

The need to develop the campus of MEEI is real and urgent. We need either to do it or disappear. We shall do it. I am calling on you to contribute generously in the development of the campus.

Once this five years' plan is realised and runs, we would become self-reliant. Many generations would profit from the facilities. With an endowment fund for scholarships, no students would be left aside because of financial problems.

Yes, my Dear Friends, we have already started and would intensify the building of peace in the hearts of the younger generation.

Once this expansion of MEEI is finished and running to its full capacity, we would provide jobs directly for about 500 families. The majority of these would otherwise become self-exiled in Europe, USA, Canada or Australia.....

The Jubilee Year 2000 is approaching very fast. What are we ready to do together? Why not join hands and efforts to create this project, and develop the Mar Elias Educational Institutions? It is possible despite the immensity of the project.

Together, and only together, we are stronger than the storm.

Abuna Elias Chacour,
President of MEEI