2023 Young Adult and Campus Ministry Grant Recipient - All.together Campus Ministry

All.together Campus Ministry                                                                                  $2000
Diocese of Michigan
Israel/Palestine Immersion Program and Holy Lands Pilgrimage

Back in July of 2022, All.together Campus Ministry began discerning a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. By October of 2022, after conversations with board members and students, we set our sights on a pilgrimage that would take place from May 13th-22nd of 2024. As Fall Semester of 2023 began, we had 18 folks signed up and we began an initial round of fundraising which has resulted in almost $10,000 towards our goal of $35,000. Just as we were about to start our public phase of fundraising, the Hamas attacks on Israel took place and everything screeched to a halt. Now that we are a month into the Israeli siege of Gaza, it is clear that our trip in May will no longer be possible. However, this has not deterred us. If anything it has made it more clear that our goal to equip students with personal relationships and deeper understanding of the history and current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is even more crucial now. Thus we would like to develop a year long program exploring the history of this conflict, hear from experts on the subject on the current state of affairs, and prepare ever more seriously for a future Holy Lands Pilgrimage in the spring of 2025.