First Day - Orientation

Well, the adventure has begun. I've waited 52 years to go to the Holy Land and today I am beginning to sense that this dream will soon become reality. It's been a long day. Up at 4:00 am to get the first flight out of Rochester to JFK and then on to Dulles. I arrived two hours prior to the start of orientation, to a hot, muggy, Washington July day. Had some time to mosy through the Eastern Market before orientation began at the William Penn House, a hostel and Quaker meeting house near Capitol Hill. When I arrived, an assortment of young travelers were coming and going from the hostel, as we Interfaith Peace Builders travelers were beginning to arrive. At 2:00 we gathered - the 14 of us who will make this two week peace delegation together. We are a motley crew, to be sure. A number of 20/30 something young idealists, dedicated to peacemaking, interested in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict because of its complexity. Two of them speak Arabic, which may come in handy as we move along. We've got a young woman who works at the UN, a young woman who is a schoolteacher, a Roman Catholic lay man and his wife who are heavily involved in interfaith work, a singer/activist with waist length hair who looks like he stepped right out of the 60s. We're all passionate about this particular world situation but for very different reasons, which should make for some interesting conversation and interaction as we move into this experience.

We had a chance to look over the itinerary for the next two weeks. Not much room to breathe in this schedule, but it is very exciting as we will be meeting with some very prominent peace groups in Israel and Palestine, have the chance to visit the major religious places of pilgrimage, and get a mix of Israeli and Palestinian perspectives on the complex issues in this conflict. I did become acutely aware that this organization is secular, however, as I noted that on Sunday we are booked solid all day - no chance to attend church, even though we are spending most nights of this trip at the guesthouse of the Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem!! If I want worship, I'm going to have to get to the 7:30 Daily Eucharist on some weekdays!

At this point, I'm ready to turn in for the night. It's been a full day and more is to come as this adventure unfolds. My first impression is that this will be a fascinating group to travel with, as we come from such varied backgrounds and perspectives. I am in the minority as one who comes at this from a religious interfaith perspective, but I'm thinking that will make for a very comprehensive experience. We're all looking at this through different lenses and will be able to bring our different perspectives to bear on our interactions with those we meet and with each other.

Tomorrow, it's off to Vienna, Austria, where we have a long layover on Monday. We'll be meeting with people there who are involved in Middle East issues to get a European perspective on things before returning to the airport for our flight to Tel Aviv. I expect I will not be near this computer again until some time Tuesday, in Jerusalem.