Christmas is coming

Things look uncertain this Christmas, just as they did for Mary and Joseph on the first Christmas when the census was called (Luke Chapter 2). They had a long journey ahead of them, and Mary was in the final stages of her first pregnancy. There was a lot to be frightened of, but there was also a new hope in the baby that Mary was carrying - a new hope for Mary and Joseph, and for the world.

Please join us!

Join our group of pilgrims this Advent for a virtual walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Although Mary and Joseph probably took only seven days to walk the ninety miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, we'll be taking things more slowly - our pilgrimage will last for the four weeks of Advent.

Each week, we'll be adding new pages to this site which will include descriptions and pictures of the places Mary and Joseph would have seen or may have stopped at on the way; what they looked like then and what they look like now. There will be prayers, including the prayers Mary and Joseph might have said on the way. There will even be occasional recipes for sharing the kinds of foods they may have eaten on the journey.

Walk with us

As with previous websites, we would love you to join in. Our journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem - ninety miles in twenty four days - would mean walking three and three-quarter miles per day. If you've got a Fitbit or similar device, or a fitness phone app, that's 7,500 steps a day - you could aim for that as your daily target.

Meet us on the journey

Even better, meet us every Wednesday for lunch throughout Advent, to pause at one of the places on the way to Nazareth, and to share a meal, a reading and prayer . Email mick@mickgowar.net if you'd like to join us and we will send you a Zoom invitation. In the meantime, do send send any suggestions for prayers - or if you've been lucky enough to visit Israel, send your memories of the holy places - to mick@mickgowar.net and we'll try and include them on the pages of this site.

Ann and I both look forward to sharing this journey with you.

Links to further information

Any words in bold and underlined are links to other information. Click on them to read more or to watch video or listen to audio materials.