The first session of PSE has taken off full-swing. The 14 partipants have settled in to the routines of their host families—sharing meals, weddings, and life—and the once foreign streets of Bethlehem are becoming familiar as friendships with local shopowners and late-night meals immerse partipants in true Arab community.

On May 10, 2008, 16 venturesome pilgrims gathered at Kennedy Airport in NYC to embark on a trip to the Holy Land. We were blessed to be led by Rev. Stuart Taylor, a Presbyterian pastor from Tucson, AZ, who used the Psalms, poems from Ann Weems and prayers of Walter Brueggemann to lead us in daily prayers. We did see the holy sites, but not just as tourists; this was a true pilgrimage.