An invitation of join May pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Friday July 27th 2018

The Rev Canon David Humphries prepares for Eucharist at one of the sites in the Holy Land.

The Rev Canon David Humphries, rector of Kilbride Parish since 2016, has been leading pilgrimages to the Holy Land for more than 20 years.

His next pilgrimage, based in Jerusalem and Galilee, runs from May 14-24 2019, and he invites you to consider joining him on this spiritual journey.

The tour is organised under the auspices of McCabe Pilgrimages, a company David has been travelling with since 2006.

All David’s pilgrimages take in the main Holy Land places, Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, Via Dolorosa, Jericho, Mount Carmel, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi and Nazareth. Last year, the tour included Samaria and Jacob’s Well. Varying the itinerary means that if people chose to come on more than one pilgrimage, they will see a lot more.

David said it is the land that draws him back year after year. “For me it is God’s land. Many times He says in the Old Testament, ‘this is My Land.’ That’s what I feel,” he said.

On the pilgrimage there are opportunities to meet local people, and the itinerary includes a visit to the Jeel al-Amal School and Boys Home in Bethany, home to 100 boys from Jerusalem and from towns and villages in the Palestinian territories. Many are orphans or have endured terrible domestic problems.

“Here we have Christian and Muslim boys being taught about their faith,” said David. “They are protected from things going on outside and are being brought up together which is a miracle. There are very few places in Israel where that happens.”

The cost of David’s next pilgrimage in May is £2,175 per person, sharing a twin bedded room. “This covers flights, transfers, accommodation, food, entry to all the sites on the itinerary and even tips. “When people return home afterwards they say that it is definitely worth the money,” said David.

Anyone interested in learning more about this pilgrimage should visit David’s Holy Land website or email David at wdhumphries@hotmail.com.

In the next issue of the diocesan magazine Connor Connections, to be published in October, David talks about his first Holy Land pilgrimage, and what keeps him returning, year after year.