In May 2022, a group from the benefice made a pilgrimage in Jordan. John and Basma led the team posting regular vlogs.
Episode 8 (made up of 2 parts): In the first part John reflects on John The Baptist and then in the second part the group renew their baptismal vows at the side of the river Jordan
Episode 7 (made up of 3 parts): The group attends a Holy Communion service in Little Petra, in what would have been an entertainment room for travellers on a camel caravan - a place where The Three Wise Men would have visited. The service is led by Mark Ireland, the Archdeacon of Blackburn
Episode 6: John talks to us from the top of the High Place in Petra, a place of sacrifice and offerings in the Old Testament. Jeremy reads from Hebrews 10
Episode 5: The group arrives at Mouth Nebo, the place where Moses saw the promised land. Gill Ireland (the wife of the Archdeacon of Blackburn) reads from the Gospel of John
Episode 4: The group visits Tiraz, the home of traditional Arab dress. The founder, Mrs Widad Kawar, has put together a collection of traditional Arab dress, originally from Palestine and then from other Arab countries. Each town and village has its own design of colours and patterns. This is a unique collection that has been exhibited around the world. The women's headdresses immediately reminded the group of the parable of the lost coin
Episode 3: John speaking to us from Gadara and, overlooking the sea of Galilee, reflects on the parable of the Prodigal Son
Episode 2: John, from the Citadel of Jebel Amman (the site of the original Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites), recounts Uriah's story from 2 Samuel 11
Episode 1: John introduces the pilgrimage and talks through the schedule for the 10 days
Bonus material:
On the 2nd day, the group visited the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in the town of Salt. The vicar is Revd Louay Haddad, who is the Principal of the school. In the 3 videos below we see deaf and blind children being taught whilst the Principal of the deaf and blind section (Asma, herself deaf) signs to an Arabic speaking teacher... and Basma translates!
Salt Holy Land Institute for the Deaf - Video 1