A memorial for Wendy

While on the Sea of Galilee, we remembered one of our Pasadena Community Church members Wendy Johnson.  Rev. Sidney Tompkins spread a portion of Wendy’s ashes on the sea. Wendy was beloved in the community for her work raising money for charities. Click here for the memorial service.

Floating on the Dead Sea

Yes it is true, you can read the newspaper floating on the Dead Sea. Find out why and see more.

MeiLin Tompkins touching the Sea of Galilee

You know, on a trip like this one, there are photos and stories that just don’t fit cleanly under a tab.  Where do you put pictures of a teenaged girl gently touching the Sea of Galilee or of Audrey Lampe riding a camel?  So we put the collection here, on a tab we are calling Faces/Favorites. Click to go there.

This is the site that many Christians believe Christ was crucified. It is enshrined at the Church of the Holy Sepluchure.

The story starts with a healing and ends with Christ healing us all.  Take the daylong journey through Jerusalem as we walk the steps of the Crucifixion.  Click here to see the pictures and read the story.

You can follow our group through the full day in Jerusalem by clicking here.

The ancient walled city has three sections, a Muslim section where you find the Dome of the Rock, the Jewish section and the small Christian section.

The Wailing Wall

The Western Wall, sometimes called the “Wailing Wall” is the holy of holies for Jews. The “wailing wall” got it’s name from the Jews who gathered to mourn the destruction of two of their temples.

Much of the wall, especially the wall from Jesus’ day are now underground.  That is fairly common in the Holy Land, buildings are constructed one over the other.

We spent much of the day perched above the ancient city, at the Mt of Olives, mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament. This is where Jesus prayed the night before his arrest.  This is where Jesus wept. This is where Jesus appeared before his Disciples before he ascended into Heaven. Click here to follow our trip down the Mount to Gethsemane and to the prison cell where Jesus spent the night before his “trial” before Pilate.

Oh…and you will see some surprising pictures of some of our group on camels..you just have to see it to understand.

Church of the Ascention

After he was crucified, Jesus told his followers that they should go to the Mount of Olives, which is high on a hill overlooking Jerusalem and that he would see them again, there.

Christians have no doubt He appeared to the Disciples three times. This was one of those places, the final place. From this location, marked by a small domed building, which is barely large enough to hold our group of 31 people, Jesus is believed to have ascended into Heaven.

The Church of the Anunciation

This huge church covers much of what was the ancient town of Nazareth.  The PCC pilgrims saw where the Angel Gabriel visited the Virgin Mary and told her she was about to become the mother of the Christ child. Click here to take the tour including Mary’s cave, the entrance to Mary’s home.