Pilgrimages & Retreats
with Pastor LindaRETREATS
Why go on retreat?
Because Jesus did. Jesus would go out to a mountainside alone to pray. But, you won’t be alone. You will be with a small group of us who have taken a class or two through Wakening Ministry. We will spend time together-in person-learning more about this wild faith. And then we will spend some time alone, just as Jesus did.
We will dig into some stories (biblical and current) of lives that have been changed by an encounter with God. What happened and do these encounters still happen today? A life of faith begins with a glimpse of the light of Christ. We will share our own stories and make new ones.
Come to the mountains together. It’s been a difficult couple of years. Let’s rediscover who we are. What has changed and what remains. Most important of all, we will meet with Jesus in the mountains. I promise.
For those who fly in (into Charlotte or Asheville, NC), we will pick you up and bring you to us (and return). No charge but lots of great conversation. Share your flight details with us and we will handle the rest.
Never been on a retreat and you would like to know more? Just ask.
Faith: Finding the Light
Summer Retreat 2022
Montreat Conference Center
Montreat, NC
August 19-21, 2022
$245 Double Occupancy
$349 Single Occupancy
Cost covers lodging, meals, snacks & materials
Closest Airport: Asheville, NC
(free transportation from either the Asheville or Charlotte aiport to and from the Retreat Center will be provided at no additional cost)
Hope: Living the Light
Spring Retreat 2023
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center
Stoneville, NC
March 31 – April 2, 2023
$295 Double Occupancy
$395 Single Occupancy
Closest Airport: Greensboro, NC
We offer free transportation from either the Greensboro or Charlotte airport to and from the Retreat Center will be provided at no additional cost; contact us for details.
Love: Being the Light
Fall Retreat 2023
Montreat Conference Center
Montreat, NC
November 10-12, 2023
$295 Double Occupancy
$395 Single Occupancy
Cost covers lodging, meals, & materials
Registration closes October 1, 2023
Closest Airport: Asheville, NC
(free transportation from either the Asheville or Charlotte airport to and from the Retreat Center will be provided at no additional cost)
For those traveling from out of state, you are invited to be Pastor Linda’s guest for an additional overnight stay. Contact us for more details prior to making your travel plans.
PILGRIMAGES
2019 Holy Land Pilgrimage
Mount Arbel, Israel
“Are you afraid?”
This is the question I was asked most often when I was preparing for my first trip to Israel. Truth is, I wasn’t. Not one bit. Years ago, when I gave Jesus my heart and my life, I asked God to direct my steps. I promised God that I would follow Jesus wherever I was led. I had no idea at the time that it would be all the way to Israel! But it was. Truthfully, I had no desire to go prior to this prayer. But God gave me the desire: “Go.”
And so, I went.
Holy Land
Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus
February 2025
with Pastor Linda
For many years, I have been studying and teaching about the Bible. As a Christian educator, ordained in the United Methodist Church, I have been blessed to lead others into the God stories that still impact our lives today. One of my seminary professors told me years ago that the Holy Land was the fifth gospel. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John only set up the story – it unfolds in Israel. It will change your life and deepen your faith to walk in the footsteps where Jesus walked. As we read his words, “Follow me,” on the rocky shore of the Sea of Galilee, the well-known story comes alive – and it becomes ours.
If you choose to join me on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I will prepare you through our classes to learn the stories that will describe the places we will see. If you don’t know the stories, come and learn them with me. You do not have to know the Bible to know Jesus, but when you know Jesus, you want to learn more about his story. Let me teach you.
We will travel with our host, an Israeli-American escort. We will arrive in Tel Aviv, meet our phenomenal guide, and drive to a kibbutz on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. After a wonderful Mediterranean meal, we will get a good night’s sleep. For the next few days, we will explore the sites around the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus lived and taught. We will tour a vineyard with the winemaker and owner. We will then travel south towards the Dead Sea. We will visit Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We will ride a cable car to the top of Masada, the historic palace of King Herod. And we will float in and on top of the Dead Sea.
Finally, we will travel up to Jerusalem. The excitement and anticipation will begin to grow as we enter into the Holy City. We will go to our hotel for a good night’s rest before the next leg of our journey. We will walk through the Old City, beginning in the Upper Room and then to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will touch Mount Moriah and the rock that held the cross of Christ. We will pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and from the top of the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into heaven. Along the way, we will stop to reflect on the stories within the Scriptures that unfold God’s plan to save the world.
To close the trip, we will travel to Bethlehem and see the historic church that has been built over the cave where Jesus was born. While in Palestine, we will get a sense of the tension within this holy land. Your life will be marked deeply by the sites you will see, the people you will meet, the food you will taste, the land that you will touch, and the holy moments that you will feel.
Towards the end of my first trip, as I was overlooking the city of Jerusalem, deep within my heart I heard the words, “Go to the land that I will show you.” I knew in that moment that it was God who had invited me, led me, and was showing me this land. And I knew God wanted me to bring you to see it, too.
* The tour cost is per person sharing a double/twin room, based on 11 participants. Space on the pilgrimage is kept at 12 persons in order to experience this Holy Land as the 12 disciples did as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Your faith will be strengthened and life will never be the same again. Come.
Greece & Turkey
Cruise in the Footsteps of Paul
Aegean Sea
October 18-29, 2023
with Pastor Linda
$5,499*
I was surprised when I initially saw the Garden of Gethsemane outside the walled city of Jerusalem. I don’t know what I was expecting but I’m sure it wasn’t this. I thought the trees would be larger and that there would be grass to sit upon. Instead, there was an iron fence around a small plot of land that held some of the oldest trees known to mankind. I stood among others lined up along the fence. I felt I was all alone even though I was in the midst of a crowd. I knew a few but most all were strangers from around the world. There was a stillness within me—a silence. And then deep within my heart: “Here. He was here.” Was he? Had Jesus actually been near the very place I was standing? My heart seemed to think so. My mind could convince me that it was unlikely. But on a pilgrimage—the heart is in charge.
Follow your heart. Come, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus with me.
