Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the relationship between the Pilgrimage Project and Friendship Force International?
2. How are clubs selected to organize a Pilgrimage?
3. Who should be the pilgrimage coordinator?
4. How will the pilgrimage be funded?
5. What is the source of funding for the scholarships and national organizing?
6. When will pilgrimages be scheduled?
7. Can a person who is not Jewish, Muslim or Christian participate in a pilgrimage?
8. Who has the authority to make decisions?
9. Who decides which people will be able to go if some need to be put on a waiting list to preserve religious diversity?

1. What is the relationship between the Pilgrimage Project and Friendship Force International?

The Pilgrimage Project is a new initiative by Friendship Force International (FFI), a 30-year old nonprofit whose original mission has been to organize international exchange visits featuring home stays. Today Friendship Force has more than 300 clubs around the world, with 100 in the U.S. In 2002, the late Wayne Smith, founder of Friendship Force, organized the first pilgrimage from Atlanta, in response to the tragic events of 9/11. Although he was retired and organized the pilgrimage as an individual, Friendship Force has since been awarded a grant to take the Atlanta pilgrimage model and expand it to 10 additional communities in the United States.

2. How are cities selected to organize a Pilgrimage?

FFI has invited its US Friendship Force clubs to consider organizing a pilgrimage, and about 15 have begun making plans. Participating clubs first identify a pilgrimage coordinator, who recruits a Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith leader, who in turn will recruit pilgrims from their faith. (See below.) After the leadership team has been selected, a member of the FFI headquarters staff will meet with them to clarify expectations and begin making plans. A written compact details the responsibilities and expectations for the local group and for FFI.

3. Who will be the pilgrimage coordinator?

In most cases the PC will be a Friendship Force club member who has experience as an Exchange Director. We believe their experience in arranging international travel for groups of volunteers will be invaluable in running a smooth pilgrimage. Ideally, the PC will also have at least five years experience in interfaith work, either as staff or volunteer. The person needs to be skilled in working with people from different backgrounds, an active listener and a good facilitator. In some cases, another person who is not a club member might be chosen as PC. For example, if an active interfaith organization exists in the community with a staff person who has the skills and time to coordinate the pilgrimage, that person could be the PC, with the support of the local club.

4. What will the pilgrimage cost?

The actual cost of the 10-day pilgrimage will be approximately $3000 per individual. This includes airfare from hometown, transfers and in-country transportation costs (including tips), lodging, 2 meals a day, any admissions costs at the sites we visit, and all the program activities during the pilgrimage. The optimum size for a pilgrimage group from a community is 25 people: the Pilgrimage Coordinator, 3 faith leaders, and 7 pilgrims recruited by each faith leader. The Pilgrimage Project will pay the full cost for the Coordinator and half the cost ($1,500) for each of the 3 faith leaders. The balance of the cost for the leaders is to be paid by their congregations and/or by the leaders personally. In addition, supplemental scholarship funds could also be applied to the leadership costs.

For the remaining 21 Pilgrims, the Pilgrimage Project will pay 1/3 of the cost. The resulting price of $2,000 is well below the cost of this kind of travel experience and is affordable to many travelers. However, this is a pilgrimage for people who are leaders in their community – either in congregations or faith-based organizations. To increase the ownership and impact of the pilgrimage, each pilgrim will be asked to obtain a contribution of $500 or more from their congregation, sponsoring organization, or friends and supporters. That will reduce their personal expense to not more than $1500.

The Pilgrimage Project will provide up to $5,000 in additional scholarship funds on a matching basis with the local committee. This will provide a scholarship pool of up to $10,000 to be used for applicants who cannot afford the $1500 cost—or to further subsidize one or more of the faith leaders. The local funds can be raised through activities such as fundraising dinners, grants, bake sales, special offerings, etc. These events can both promote the pilgrimage and raise money for scholarships.

5. What is the source of funding for the scholarships and national organizing?

The CF Foundation is a family foundation in Atlanta that is primarily involved in community development. The foundation subsidized pilgrimages from Atlanta in 2005 and 2006. They have provided funding to Friendship Force International to organize pilgrimages in 10 additional cities over the next two years. We are currently identifying additional sources of funding for 2009 and beyond.

6. When will pilgrimages be scheduled?

We hope 2-3 communities will be ready for a pilgrimage by the fall of 2008 and 5-8 more in 2009.

7. Can a person who is not Jewish, Muslim or Christian participate in a pilgrimage?

A pilgrimage is a faith-based experience. People go on pilgrimage to strengthen and clarify their faith. When people from different faith traditions go on pilgrimage together, we hope (and our experience indicates) that each will strengthen his/her own faith while learning about others’ religious beliefs and practices. The primary purpose of FFI’s Pilgrimage Project is to break down barriers to understanding among Christians, Muslims and Jews, because strife among those groups is a particularly virulent problem in today’s world. A “universalist” who sees value in all three of these traditions (and others) and who is in harmony with the mission of the pilgrimage will be welcome, and as a “neutral observer” could play a valuable role in discussions among the groups. It could be an asset for the Pilgrimage Coordinator to be a person (such as a Unitarian) who has empathy for all three traditions but does not “belong” to one of them. However, it is essential that the faith leader chosen for each group is a respected, mainstream Christian, Jewish or Muslim leader who can clearly articulate the basic tenets of that faith from a believer’s viewpoint. They will plan worship services and serve as pastor to pilgrims from their faith group, among other responsibilities. For example, a Unitarian minister could be a valuable member of the Pilgrim community, perhaps a Pilgrimage Coordinator, but would not be a suitable leader for the Christian faith group.

8. Who has the authority to make decisions?

On a national level, decisions about where and how pilgrimages will be organized are made by George Brown, Director of Friendship Force International, and Leslie Withers, Pilgrimage Project Coordinator, in consultation with local Friendship Force clubs. On the community level, decisions about the makeup of the group, scholarships, and the details of the daily itinerary will be made by the leadership team, in consultation with the project Director and Coordinator. The leadership team consists of the local pilgrimage coordinator and Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders.

9. Who decides which people will be able to go if some need to be put on a waiting list to preserve religious diversity?

Each faith leader is responsible for recruiting 7 pilgrims from their faith tradition, but then the Steering Committee as a whole (3 faith leaders plus the Pilgrimage Coordinator) determines the final makeup of the group. Applications will be welcomed from FFI club members and others not directly recruited by the faith leaders. The Steering Committee will decide how to distribute the available scholarship money to balance the group.  As a team, the Christian leader, Jewish Leader, and Muslim leader working with the Friendship Force leader would decide what to do if there were more applicants than spaces.

Return to Top