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Pilgrims Seek Common Ground

This fall, Friendship Force International will launch the first exchange of our new “Pilgrimage Project” initiative. This groundbreaking enterprise unites Christians, Muslims and Jews in unforgettable journeys of the body and spirit to places in the world sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths.

In November a group of interfaith leaders from Western North Carolina will embark on a ten-day pilgrimage to Turkey. An example of the itinerary is the schedule in Izmir, Turkey. On Friday, pilgrims will visit a local mosque for Friday prayers, called Jumu'ah; on Saturday the group will observe the Jewish Sabbath (the Jewish community in Izmir dates back more than 2000 years) and then on Sunday worshippers will attend services in an historic Christian church.

Also on the itinerary is the ancient city of Ephesus, the site of one of the earliest Christian communities, and a Jewish community that has existed since 300 BC. It is also the location of the Temple of Artemis (Diana) and the best-preserved city of Asia Minor. The pilgrimage concludes in the ancient crossroads city of Istanbul with visits to the Hagia Sophia museum and other historic and sacred sites.

"Our goal for the project is for pilgrims to return home with a new understanding of their own faith as well as a deeper knowledge of the common roots of their sister faiths,” says Leslie Withers, Director of the National Pilgrimage Project for FFI, “and also feel equipped and motivated to continue interfaith dialogue and action in their communities in western North Carolina."

Over the next two years the Pilgrimage Project will involve a dozen communities across the country, beginning with the Western North Carolina pilgrimage. Other communities planning future pilgrimages include Chicago, Milwaukee, Dayton, Hartford Connecticut and Charlottesville Virginia.

If you would like to know more about Friendship Force International’s ‘Pilgrimage Project,’ please see our website at: http://www.thefriendshipforce.org/PilgrimageWeb/index.html

If your community would like to know more about creating an interfaith pilgrimage, please contact Leslie Withers at: 404-965-4329 or by email at: pilgrimage@thefriendshipforce.org