One of the wonderful things about my job is that occasionally you get an invitation that doesn’t sound like work at all. I have just been invited to the spiritual leader for a 7 day trek across the Sinai desert next March. Sleeping under the stars, we shall be trekking for 6-8 hours a day while the camels do all the hard work carrying the luggage and with a team of bedouin to guide and feed us. Climbing Mount Sinai, sharing holy communion near the summit at sunrise and visiting St. Catherine’s Monastery will be part of the experience. When I did my course on desert spirituality in March I said I was disappointed not to spend more time actually roughing it in the desert – trust me to open my big mouth – so now I’ve got the chance! The end of March should be a lovely time to be in the desert, if this year is anything to go by – not too cold at night and not too hot by day. Sitting round a campfire in the open reading the stories of the Exodus in the places where they happened, and in a landscape that has changed so little since, is just incredible. The trek is being organised to raise money for Saltmine, a Christian Trust based in Dudley which specialises in evangelism through the creative arts, including a very talented children’s theatre company, an adult theatre company and Exalt, a youth ministry including the band ‘Redefined’. There are still a few spaces on the trek, so if you are free 25 March-1 April 2007 and want to find out more send me an email or contact ‘Trailblazers’ at the Saltmine office for an information pack http://www.saltmine.org/.
JUL 28, 2006
Mark Ireland's Blog 