Pilgrims give abundantly

It is hard to believe, but for those pilgrims who started the pre-tour in Cappadocia, today marked the 16th full day of our journey.  It has been quite the experience and from that we have many things to give and share, as we have received so much.  Our final text for study and reflection comes from Philippians 4:15-23...it is our responsibility as pilgrims to give to others the gift of community as we have learned and lived it in the small group that we have formed, as well as the larger community that we are a part of in this world.

Another full day was on tap, as we had much to see in the culturally rich and beautiful city of Rome.  We started out on the Scala Santa, then walked through central Rome to see several different sites, statues and churches.  A short ride on the coach took us to the Catacombs of Rome, where we were fascinated by the underground tour and learned that there were more than 150,000 tombs in the many levels discovered below the ground.  We saw approximately 100 of them and took the fine people at their word that there were more!

From a pilgrimage perspective, our visit to the Basilica of St. Paul (outside the walls) was an appropriate stop on our final day of the journey, for this is where the remains of Paul are said to be.  Having followed through so many of Paul's footsteps, seeing so many of the churches and ancient locations that he traveled to in his lifelong journey to bring the word of Jesus to the world, it was meaningful to sit quietly and reflect on what Paul showed us and how today it continues to give us hope and faith and joy.

The weather started to shift a bit and look stormy in the afternoon, but the pilgrims were not daunted!  We enjoyed lunch and some shopping around Trevi Fountain, then it was over to the Forum, Mamertine prison, (it is rumored but not proven that Paul and Peter were imprisoned here together), Arch of Titus, and the Coliseum!  It should be noted (and will be evident in the PICTURES when you view them) that it rained...quite a bit.  You would be proud of the pilgrims, they innovated and adapted and kept going strong. We would never let a little rain slow us down!

Tonight is the final night together before we start the long journey home.  We are ready to come home to share our experiences and of course, we have missed our family and friends.  Watch for an entry in the next day or two, encapsulating some of the feelings and emotions that the pilgrims share during our last evening prayer.

What an amazing journey, we are so glad to have had all of you to share it with!

Pilgrims overcome in Christ

The pilgrims are in Rome!  Our day started early as we said goodbye to Greece and landed in Rome at 7:45 am local time.  The text for the day was Philippians 4:8-14, in which Paul encourages us all to keep on doing the things that we have learned and received and heard and seen.  A message directly for the people of Philippi, yes, but also a message that applies to each pilgrim as we cherish our heritage.  If we didn't think so before, one thing that we have learned after this time together is the knowledge that we can overcome anything and help each other in Him.

When in Rome...go to Vatican City!  We spent several hours on 109 acres containing the smallest country in the world, but one of the most powerful.  The Sistine Chapel was first up on the docket, starting at one of the outside rooms and making our way toward the chapel itself.  Words to effectively describe the experience fail us here, as the different paintings, tapestries and carvings that we saw were spectacular, each with an impressive story to accompany it.  The excitement continued to build until we actually made it into the chapel itself - an impressive and awe-inspiring sight.  We were not allowed to take any photos inside the chapel, so while we encourage you to take the online virtual tour, know that it will give you the information that you are looking for, but not the "pinch me, I can't believe that I am here" experience that the pilgrims had the privilege of living.

The next stop in the city was St. Peter's Basilica, where we were able to witness what was aptly referred to as, "an explosion of Renaissance Art" in this, the largest church in the world.  It would take an easy 2-3 days to effectively explore and study everything found inside the impressive church.  Our 45 minutes there really only scratched the surface, but we did of course take plenty of PICTURES, some of which you can view through our link.  Of note (as if there were just 1 or 2 things to point out here) is the fact that the items that look like paintings are actually mosaics, and all were hand constructed, most taking months or even years to complete.  Also interesting to realize is the double dome design itself was created by Michelangelo (who plays a significant role throughout a few other key areas of the City, as we are all aware), although he did not get to see the finished product, as construction did not finish until after his death.

The trip to Vatican City represents only half of the day...the pilgrims are troopers!  We set back out for something of an impromptu walking tour of Rome, led by our local guides, who delighted in showing us many meaningful, but lesser known spots in the city, such as Paul's first residence in the city of Rome (it is a church today), a library that is believed to be built on the site where Paul lived and wrote many of his letters to the different churches while under house arrest, plus a lot of fascinating and interesting neighborhoods, endearing us all to the city and the many hidden surprises that wait for us at every turn.

We wrapped up a full and exciting day with promise of more to come tomorrow - our last full day in Rome.  Check in with us to learn what we learned and follow yet another great day in our journey.

Pilgrims rejoice & pray

It is hard to believe that today was the last full day for the pilgrims in Greece - there is so much to see and it seems as if we have only just started the pilgrimage!  This journey is certainly a celebration of joy for each of the pilgrims, something that we discussed and studied a bit in Philippians 4:1-7 as we set out for points north - Kavala and Philippi.

The northern coast as it looks out over the Aegean Sea is stunning and was quite enjoyable to drive through, viewing the almond trees and grapevines.  Besides being dubbed Greece's prettiest mainland port and harbor, Kavala also serves as a very significant point on this pilgrimage, as it is where Paul landed with his disciples, Timothy and Silas.  In fact, it is the first point in Europe that Paul visited.

Our trek north continued until we made it...Phillipi.  There was SO much to see and do, and we are active pilgrims who don't want to let an experience pass us by!  This chronicle of events will not do the experience any justice, so when your favorite pilgrim returns, you will have to ask them about their time in Philippi.  Here is a feeble attempt to capture the highlights of our time today:

1. Communion at the site where Lydia was baptized.  We had a reading from Acts 16:11-15, shared in the liturgy of communion, remembered our baptism and experienced a great time in some beautiful scenery, set amongst shady trees and a flowing stream
2. Agora at Philippi where Paul and Silas were flogged and imprisoned (without a trial - a serious violation of rights to a Roman citizen). We read Acts 16:16-24 here
3. Jail at Philippi where Paul and Silas blessed and baptized the jailer (and his family) who asked how he could be saved after an earthquake freed all of the prisoners.  We read the whole story in Acts 16:25-40

These are the 'things" that we did.  The experiences are much richer and mean so much more to us, collectively and individually.  We found many opportunities to rejoice today, for this is a pilgrimage that is fun, but more importantly, it is joyous because it is about how we find and see God in what we do together.

Speaking of fun and joyous, check out a few of our best PHOTOS here, we are a good looking (and it would seem, humble) bunch!

Tomorrow we are off to Rome.  The 4 am wake-up call is not exciting everyone, but we will persevere!!

Pilgrims are expectant

Pilgrim life definitely has a rhythm to it, and in that, we continue to expect great things from our journeys together, immersing ourselves in our experiences.  We had some good perspective on this approach in our text for the day - Philippians 3:17-21 - and all agree that we grow so much more individually and collectively when we embrace these experiences, no matter how foreign or different they might seem.

Our journey continued north, through the countryside of Greece (which looks a lot like wine country in the Central coast or Northern part of California), making a stop first at Beroea to visit the area that Paul fled to when escaping his looming arrest by the Thessalonians.  Noteworthy for the group was a quick trip to a memorial on the street, then a walk down to the Jewish quarter, where we saw the synagogue that Paul visited.  We read from Acts 17:10-15 for some context to our location, and enjoyed mention of the specific synagogue that we were standing in front of!  We wrapped up our time in Beroea by discovering a wonderful river flowing through the neighborhood and quiet, meandering streets that eventually led us back to the downtown area.

Vergina was our next stop, taking us to an underground museum that houses the impressive remains and tombs of King Phillip, Prince Alexander IV, plus an impressive assortment of antiquities and ancient relics that date all the way back to 4th century B.C.  The use of the natural space (underground), combined with the modern technology of temperature and humidity controlled cabinets made for a very interesting display, with a lot of information for those who really "dig" archaeological ruins (poor pun intended).

We rolled into Thessaloniki in the early evening to get oriented to the city...the big tour will begin tomorrow.  We visited an active Greek Orthodox church, then walked down to see the ruins of a roman agora where Paul addressed the Thessalonians.

We took PHOTOS, naturally.  You will view (and enjoy) them, of course!

Pilgrims are persistent

The pilgrims started the day early, as we left the city of Athens at 7:30 am...glad to have had our time there, exploring many fascinating areas, but also glad to leave as planned protests were scheduled to begin in the afternoon.  Judging from the news we have seen, there were some fairly rowdy hotspots, so praise and blessings that we were well on the road north, away from the crowds and demonstrations.

Our theme today comes from the text Philippians 3:12-16.  There are many examples of persistence in the stories and travels of Paul, John, all of the towns and churches that they visited or wrote to in their day and the generations that have followed since.  For us as a pilgrim group, we recognize that it is all about how we approach this time together - as pilgrims on a journey - not only as tourists.  We grow and learn in the experiences of our time, not just the events.

Our first experience of the day was a rather long but enjoyable journey on the coach.  We made a few stops along the way on the trip that would eventually take us to Meteroa (more details on this to come in a moment).  Most notable of our stops before lunch was Thermopylae, site of a battle known as the battle of Thermopylae with the Spartan 300 (We all have a desire to see the movie "300" for varying reasons, the predominant abs on all of the Spartan warriors have nothing to do with it!).  After a few pictures and rallying cries of, "We are Sparta" and, "Come and get it", we jumped back on the coach and continued north.

The long road trip was totally worth it.  As we rolled into Meteroa, our mouths dropped at the sight of the rock pinnacles, especially those with beautiful Byzantine monasteries perched on top, and especially when you do the math and realize that these were first built back in the 14th century. Neither the steps nor the original monasteries themselves were easily visible, constructed by hand using primitive lifts (translation = ropes and nets) to move everything up the mountain.  The monks built in this location because they were persistent (recognize that theme?) in having a place to practice and worship where they would not be easily spotted and persecuted.

Today was a great day for the pilgrims, and the pictures, much like our experiences, are AMAZING.  Hope you enjoy them!

Pilgrims value Christ above all

What a day! We started in Philippians 3:7-11, considering for ourselves in modern times what it means to shift from what we are accustomed to or think that we want for ourselves to realizing that we have all we need and with Christ, we are missing nothing.  In the true spirit of missing nothing, we set out for several big sites today and were able to experience with awe and wonder the incredible discoveries that Greece has to offer us.

We drove outside of Athens a bit, on our way to ancient Corinth.  We made a stop at the Corinth Canal and, admittedly thought that it was going to be just some bridge over a river.  It was more like a jaw-dropping view of a gorge that in ancient times connected the Aegean and Ionic seas, creating an important east-west trade route that centered in Corinth.  It is WAY too narrow for modern ships now, but was still fascinating to imagine what it was like in its hey-day some 2000 years ago.

We then rolled into Ancient Corinth - or of course, what remains of it - and were able to view some impressive remains of the Temple of Apollo and wander the grounds, just as Paul did when he visited and lived in this city.  Corinth was a strategic and interesting stop for Paul.  Known to be a city of luxury and corruption because of it's great wealth, this was a skeptical audience, one not easily swayed or ready to accept Paul's teachings and words of Jesus Christ.  Paul has his troubles in Corinth, yet he visited and wrote them several times, resulting in what we know in the new Testament as 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.

A few fun facts for you - 1 Corinthians is considered to be the best preserved of all the writings in the New Testament, for it was translated and recorded in such a way that it was carried forward in as close to a "pure" and authentic form as possible.  Also, 2 Corinthians is widely believed to actually be two separate letters to the people of Corinth, but somewhere along the translation they were pushed together as one.  All of the bible study info aside, 1 and 2 Corinthians are often on the "favorite" lists when listing popular and meaningful scripture. We heard a bit from 1 Cor 11:23-34...a very familiar text and connection to the Christian theology around the Eucharist.

The afternoon was spent in Mycenae, visiting both the Acropolis and Tomb of Agamemnon. Dating all the way back to the ancient conflict between the Greeks and Trojans, this was a beautiful valley with a fascinating story, and lots of sights to see.  The pilgrims hiked and sweated it out in the hot Greek sun, but it was a journey fully worth it, as you can see from our amazing PHOTOS here.

Tomorrow we will depart Athens and travel north for more pilgrimage journeys.  As a side note to those of you wondering about the news of riots in Greece...they are not riots, they are demonstrations and they are not aimed at Americans, but rather at their own government as the issue of work week, pay for government employees and a few other austerity measures are under debate to get their economy back on track.  We have experienced no issues of hostility and have at no time been at any risk of violence or had issues with safety.  Things are great and we are enjoying ourselves - and these experiences - immensely.

Pilgrims belong to Christ

The pilgrims are on the move again, having landed at the port outside of Athens bright and early, we headed straight for the Acropolis and Parthenon to begin our education of Greek history and how it relates to our Christian history through Paul and John.

The text for the day was Philippians 3:1-6.  The most basic lesson is simply, we don't boast of our faith or worship other things...we live our lives by example as servants.

This lesson and theme was very appropriate for the day (as is always the case), as we learn of Paul's time in Athens, addressing the Athenians from what looks like a large rock located above the Agora and below the entrance to the Parthenon.  It is today called Mars Hill, notable to us, for it is here that Paul addressed the Athenians (check it out in Acts 17) about a life with Christ versus an unknown God, and in that converted several people to Christianity through a personal relationship, helping them to require nothing in return.  This was a dramatically different approach for the Athenians, all of whom were very invested in their pagan lives and expected to have to sacrifice something to any of the Gods they worshiped.

The lesson for us in this story is that Paul was not bringing God to the Athenians, but rather was putting a name to what was already inside of them.  The same is true for us as pilgrims and in our daily lives; we witness and live a life that demonstrates grace, love, joy and peace.  Each person finds God in their own way and in that, we belong together.

Tired of our PICTURES yet?  We didn't think so.

Pilgrims share their burdens

Yo ho, yo ho, a pilgrim's life for us!  Day 2 of our cruise brings us to Philippians 2:19-30 and the theme of sharing our burdens.  The life of a pilgrim can at times be difficult; the load is lightened significantly when we take the time to share with and help one another, for in these experiences, we can grow together and make our experiences that much richer.

We the pilgrims will concur.  Pick a place, any place in the world to offer up and take on some burdens...Santorini is the place.  It is stunning, beautiful, serene, gorgeous...any adjective used here will fail to fully convey just how incredible it is...visually stunning, to say the least.

The day was a peaceful, relaxing and wonderful one for each of the pilgrims.  Some opted to start early with a tender out at 8 am to hike the volcano and then swim in a cove with hot springs.  Others rolled out a little later to explore the island...the larger group met up at the top of the cable cars and spent time together exploring and taking photos.

Pictures?  Oh yes, and they are FANTASTIC.  Enjoy and leave us a comment to tell us what you think!

Pilgrims seldom complain

Back online!  While we missed the opportunity to post and share with you the adventures of the past few days, we did not miss the opportunity to capture anything!  The text for Saturday was Philippians 2:12-18, and from that our theme of seldom complaining emerges.  The lesson is to acknowledge and address the things that go wrong and for whatever reason burden us; the key is to reflect upon and then grow from that discomfort so that we can process and move forward spiritually.

Speaking of moving forward, we bid a fond farewell to Turkey and the amazing experiences we had there as we boarded a cruise ship to head for open waters and...Greece!  We only had to cruise (and, of course...eat) for a few hours before we landed on the island of Patmos and immediately set out for an excursion to the Cave of the Apocalypse. It was here that John received his visions used to write the book of Revelation in about 95 AD.  The cave has been well preserved and now is associated with a monastery that was built in 1088.  The hike to the cave was well worth the effort (lots of steps/stairs and quite an incline,  impressive that John was able to traverse that terrain!) to see the place used as a table/bookstand for recording the visions, the handhold that John used to pull himself up and the place referred to as the 'pillow' - an indentation in the rock where John would rest his head when he was tired.

Patmos proved to be a beautiful and satisfying experience for the pilgrims, all of whom agreed that this was indeed a revered and peaceful place.  The tender ride back to the ship had everyone reflecting on the amazing experiences that we have had thus far and how our burdens of today are NOTHING compared to those experienced by those who have gone before us!

After a successful day at sea, the pilgrims enjoyed dinner, some entertainment and a restful night of sleep, with little pitching or rolling and lots of gentle rocking on the ship...we've got another full day planned for tomorrow!

Check out our cool shots of the day HERE...you won't be disappointed...we certainly weren't!

Pilgrims imitate Christ

Today was an incredible day, with Ephesus in our sights to complete our tour of all 7 churches of the Revelation.  Our theme today comes from Philippians 2:1-11.  We are called to give everything we have – empty ourselves – to the point of utter exhaustion for others.  With that perspective in mind, we set out for Ephesus.

Ephesus was once a thriving port town, reaching up to 250,000 in population in its Roman heyday, making it (at the time) the 2^nd largest city in the world, second only to Alexandria.  Ephesus as it exists today represents the largest Roman ruins in the world, dating back to 2^nd century AD.  Ephesus has a very long and volatile history dating all the way back to 1500 BC.

For our focus, Ephesus is the beloved church of Paul and is also one of the 7 churches that John writes to in Revelation.  Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus – longer than in any other city – and after leaving them, he could not ever return, for he loved them too much and knew that if he came back he would never leave again.  Paul reminds the people of Ephesus to steer clear of the immoral Roman lifestyle and balance themselves when he writes to them in Ephesians 5:1-5.

Paul’s journey in and around Ephesus is also documented in Acts19:11-32, where we learn of the Ephesians being introduced to Christianity through the burning of scrolls belonging to the town sorcerers (pagans).  It would not be an exaggeration to say that the theology of the church formed in its earliest days started right here in Ephesus. 

As we look to the messages sent to all 7 churches, there is a theme – you hold an important role in carrying forward the message of Christianity – don’t forget that and most importantly, don’t let go of what makes you distinctive in that.  An apt message, even 2000 years later.

Our last complete day in Turkey was indeed a full and fun one, ending with a gorgeous sunset (and subsequent moonrise) over a very tempestuous Aegean Sea.  Click HERE to check out the stunning photos from these events, along with the rest of the great shots of the day. 

We hope that the sea isn’t going to stay TOO rough, as tomorrow we board a ship bound for Greece, where we will cruise to Patmos, Santorini and then we land in Athens 2 days later.  Internet connection may not be easy to find while we are on the ship, so while it will no doubt be hard to not hear from the favored pilgrim group, know that we are all safe and sound, having an amazing time and we will be back to report all that we have seen as soon as we have the technology available.

The blessings and adventures continue!