Grant paves the way for Holy Land study program

$60,000 from The Episcopal Church’s Constable Fund to develop a free, video-based educational program in partnership with the Standing Commission on World Mission

We’re grateful for the generous grant from the Constable Fund to help us develop a new program that will bring you close to the Holy Land and its people. You’ll experience the region’s history and conflicts, and the present-day witness of the indigenous Christian community.

You’ll visit important places in Jesus’s life and ministry and hear from our Christian brothers and sisters who are carrying out today’s expressions of Jesus’s teaching and healing at the schools and hospitals of the Diocese of Jerusalem.

The Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter, AFEDJ trustee and executive director of Jerusalem Peacebuilders, will be your primary guide for the video series. You’ll also meet directors and staff of Christian schools, hospitals and centers for children with disabilities, the Palestinian families these institutions serve, as well as Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders. The program will include facilitator and learner guides, versions for adults and youth, and resources for worship and prayer.

“We couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to share the experience of visiting the Holy Land with people across the Episcopal Church and beyond,” said John Lent, executive director of AFEDJ. “The program we’ll develop with our partners and advisors will be as transformative as going on pilgrimage.”

We plan to shoot our first videos in Palestine and Israel in the spring and will have the first program modules available in the fall, along with a detailed overview of the entire program that will help churches with their program planning.