Not a tour. Not a vacation. Not sight seeing. Pilgrimage is something different. It bears all the hallmarks of those other things, but it’s more.
Pope Benedict XVI said, “To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. Above all, Christians go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to the places associated with the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection.”
Former Archbishop Rowan Williams said of his own pilgrimage as Archbishop of Canterbury, “When I choose to make a pilgrimage it’s not just to make a trip, it’s not just to do some sight-seeing. With a pilgrimage you let things go so that there is enough room for the place and the story to settle in and make an impact. It’s the company, it’s the sharing, and it’s also that sense of stripping down.”
As I prepare to journey with more than 30 other people to the Holy land on pilgrimage, I am both excited and trepidatious about what that encounter will mean. Heres a brief synopsis of where we will be:
We start in Galilee for 3 days. We will visit the sites where Jesus began his ministry—Nazareth, Sepphoris, the Jezreel valley, the sea of Galilee, and Capernaum. We will spend a few days in Bethlehem, while journeying to Bethany, and spend time at the sight where Jesus’s birth is commemorated. Then we will travel to Jerusalem by way of Hebron and the Mount of Olives, as well as the Garden of Gethsemane. We will walk along that road Jesus is supposed to have walked on the way to his crucifixion and travel the road to what is thought to be Emmaus. Periodically through the trip we will meet with people doing the work of Christ here and now amidst these ancient places and we will learn more about the extremely complex day to day life of our brothers and sisters who still live in these places.
Many of you have asked if I will be at church the Sunday after we get back. I’m so grateful for that concern. Yes, I will be back. I will undoubtedly be jet lagged and awake only because of the Holy Spirit and coffee, but I feel certain I will have something to share.
—Fr. Jed Fox, Rector
rector@redeemer-kenmore.org
The Rev. Jedediah (Jed) Fox
The Rev. Jedediah (Jed) Fox has been the rector of Church of the Redeemer since January 2015. Prior to being called to Redeemer, Fr. Jed served as curate and assistant at The Church of St. Michael and St. George in St. Louis, Missouri, and was a seminarian at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin while attending the General Theological Seminary. Fr. Jed was raised at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Helena, Montana.
Jed, along with his family, enjoy being outdoors, reading, and travel. He has also tried his hand at woodworking, various musical instruments, and triathlon.
Church of the Redeemer
Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
