About the Project

The Jerusalem Mile is another name for the labyrinth. Christians have been making pilgrimages to Jerusalem for centuries. But when they couldn’t travel there in person, they would prayerfully walk “the Jerusalem mile” instead.

We are a community of Episcopalians in Virginia seeking to be effective partners for peace with the church in Israel-Palestine. Through pilgrimage, mission, and education we are walking a new kind of Jerusalem Mile.

PILGRIMAGE

In our time, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is a chance to do three things:  It is the chance to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. It is the chance to see the face of Christ in the current residents of Jesus’ homeland. And it is the chance to imagine how the Holy Spirit may use us to bring God’s peace and do God’s justice in that place.

This is the kind of pilgrimage the Project supports and organizes. We do this by collaborating with St. George’s College.

MISSION

The churches in Israel-Palestine need us and we need them. They are the living communities that keep the sacred sites of our tradition vital. They persevere under enormous pressure to provide basic needs to the region’s most distressed residents. They are also a resource for peace and reconciliation in their own land.

The Project connects churches with  ministries in the region that strengthen the church in Israel-Palestine so that it can thrive as a source of peace in a place of conflict.

EDUCATION

Conflict breeds confusion, which can make trying to understand the current situation in Israel-Palestine very difficult. Because of this, education about the conflict in Israel-Palestine should bring clarity, transform our hearts, and prompt a compassionate response in us.

The Project connects individuals and congregations to resources that can be used to prepare for a pilgrimage, begin a new outreach ministry, or to advocate for public policy that contributes meaningfully to the causes of peace and stability in the Middle East.

A NEW JERUSALEM MILE

Whether we go to the Holy Land ourselves or work prayerfully for its peace from home, the Project supports a new way of being pilgrims in this world.