This year’s Pilgrimage is preparing to gather at EWR Airport and set off for Israel. Our first travel group has 33 participants and the second group has 30. The first group depart Monday, February 5 and the second group Monday, February 20. I will be hosting the group along with Rev. Kenneth Blyth of Sarasota, Florida. This will be my 22nd pilgrimage over the span of 36 years.
As usual, the groups are made up of a wide range of ministers from many different denominations and independent traditions as well as from states across the country.
The KNIGHTS TEMPLAR HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGE is a program related to the Grand Encampment Knights Templar of the United States of America. Our Mission: To sponsor (expenses paid) credentialed Christian Ministers on a Biblical study and historical / cultural immersion experience who would not have the opportunity otherwise. In this program, the various State Grand Commanderies of Knights Templar sponsor Christian Ministers on an expenses paid study pilgrimage in Israel for 11 days. The Masonic Knights Templar have been offering this program for over forty years and have sent over 2000 ministers to ‘walk where Jesus walked.”
Follow the link below for more information:
www.kthlp.com
Follow the link below for a pilgrimage program open to anyone.
https://kthlp.com/in-the-footsteps-of-jesus-holy-land-pilgrimage/
Updated version
While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many adjustments and some
cancellations, the Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage program moves ahead
with eyes forward.
Knight Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage for Christian Ministers.
Keep in mind this vital date: September 20. It is the date each year that all
Pilgrim Ministers are to be registered with the registrar of the Grand Encampment
Committee on the Holy Land Pilgrimage. It is the same date every year. Grand
recorders and your state committee chairman need to have sent in the:
- Registration Form
- Nomination Form
- And full payment by that date.
The groups of Pilgrim Ministers travel in February. There are many arrangements,
reservations, bookings, and details to be put in place from September through the
end of January.
All other activities can happen year-round. These would include: recruitment of
ministers to be nominated (see Guidelines for Selection), fundraising, and program
promotion. Ministers can be nominated by a local commandery and those nominations forwarded to your state Holy Land Pilgrimage Committee or chairman at any
time. Donations and fundraising can also be an ongoing enterprise.
Always check the web site listed below for the most current information and details.
In addition:
In the Footsteps of Jesus Holy Land Pilgrimage for Sir Knights, their Ladies,
Friends, And Guests is open to anyone. Each person is responsible for his own
fees and expenses related to the pilgrimage. Each person is responsible for being
able to manage his own luggage and follow the itinerary. This pilgrimage is an
eleven-day program that covers as much ground as possible in the touring days.
We average five to seven miles of walking many days, often uphill or up steps and
on uneven surfaces.
Current plans are moving forward for the next In the Footsteps Pilgrimage for
November 7 – 18, 2022. See the website listed below for more information.
Stay up to date at: kthlp.com (Remember the first letters of Knights Templar
Holy Land Pilgrimage.)
Work on the 2022 In the Footsteps of Jesus Holy Land Pilgrimage is moving forward as we plan for the first pilgrimage trip since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was just after my return from the 2020 Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage for Christian Ministers that the world effectively ‘shut down.’
In those years between then and now, I retired, we moved to a condo in Upper Sandusky, adapted to a different pace in life, and became the Executive Secretary (volunteer) for The Valley of The Firelands Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry . . . among other things.
So much going on in this overwhelmed world. It probably was a good time to retire. July 1 was the official retirement date. 40 years of appointments with the UMC and 6 years of Youth Ministry and teaching before that. 46 years seemed like enough. Many thanks to all those who honored and acknowledged this milestone.
Kemerley.com 