Dear Pilgrim

I have just returned from an overwhelming and fantastic ten days in Ethiopia, a country that I have wanted to visit for many years and of course one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.  The Ethiopian people are so inviting and hospitable, the scenery incredible and, as we travelled during Lent, we felt we were experiencing a living, vibrant and faithful community in the churches and monasteries that we visited.  I would like to invite you to join one of our first McCabe pilgrimages to Ethiopia.

As pilgrims, we travel to discover more about our world, the peoples who inhabit it and the faith which shapes our understanding of life.

In Ethiopia, we will find out more about the largest Oriental Orthodox church in the world today.  The rock-cut churches of Lalibela, the African Jerusalem, will be a highlight. We will also learn about the Queen of Sheba and her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem and explore the story of how the Ark of the Covenant was brought  here from Jerusalem.  We will visit some of the remote and little-visited rock-hewn churches of East Tigray and end our pilgrimage with a relaxing stay by Lake Tana where we visit the isolated island monasteries.   We will travel through some truly wonderful landscapes, with colourful flora and a profusion of birdlife and other fauna.

As with all McCabe pilgrimages, we will try to engage with the local Christian community and return home with fresh insights into our own faith, enriched by all that we have experienced as we journey together.

Rosemary Nutt