By the Lakeside

After a day of airports, flight, labelling the group and getting them to the guest house yesterday, it has been a joy today to begin again in Galilee. With images of last time and minibus queues for Mount Tabor and a rush for the midday Eucharist in my mind I has anticipated the first day on the green coach with some dread! However with a good nights's sleep, an early start and well behaved pilgrims the day was, in a very unbiblical fashion, quite civilised. We reached Mount Tabor with just three small groups in front of us, and had some lovely worship in one of the side chapels. After a wander we picked up the mini buses again and were in Nazareth in no time. We made the Church of the Annunciation before midday and then joined the blue bus for the Eucharist. A chance to stop and group and reflect on the pilgrimage call to slow down the heart and mind to allow God to do God's work. Bishop John full of calm as ever (in mid sabbatical mood). We had another reading and hymn in the Synagogue Church as we passed before lunch. A beer to relax, some pitta bread and plentiful lunch it was hard to group the group again. But after toilet queues (as everyone decides they now want to go at once!) we separated the greens from the blues (no analogy whatsoever!) and us greens visited the church at Cana then travelled back to the guest house. A sit beside the lake gave me some sense of the relief Christ himself must have felt when he left the crowds, although the is a pang of guilt as he would have turned his reflections on the day into prayer rather than a blog. But still, something of the still small voice of calm remains. The blue coach have yet to return - hopefully by happy hour at 6.30pm before dinner.