Edinburgh Minister's Nazareth Charity Walk Raises More Than £5k

An Edinburgh minister and his wife have raised have raised £5300 for the Nazareth Trust after taking part in a five day charity trek in April.

Colin and Ruth Sinclair, from Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh, joined volunteers from around the world to take part in the Walk the Jesus Trail from April 2-8, following in the footsteps of Jesus, to raise funds for the Trust which operates The Nazareth Hospital EMMS.

The walk covered biblical sites including the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000, and Cana before finishing in Capernaum.

Reflecting on the walk, Colin, current Moderator of Edinburgh Presbytery, said: “There is something powerful about simply walking and the fact that at points in the day/ week it was very challenging, only adds to the ‘enjoyment’ of the trip. When you go round ‘holy sites’ on a bus you miss something. You live within the bubble of the bus community and then step out, dare I say it, as tourists to be entertained. When you walk, hour after hour, day after day, you adjust to a pace that is refreshingly different from our high pressure world of today. You learn things about yourself and about the group. Above all you have time to take things in, to feel the contours of the ground below your feet, the sun on your shoulders, the sense of anticipation at the end of a day and the relief of taking off your boots.

“Each day there were usually at least nine of us walking; not a greatly different number from Jesus and the twelve. To follow in his steps, seeing the illustrations he used beside you on the path, in the trees, flowers, crops and rocks, was very special. To follow our guide as the twelve followed Jesus and to imagine what they thought about as they sought to understand who Jesus was, was very powerful. Ruth and I fitted in two days in Jerusalem before we went to Nazareth, so we have had memories of how the story ended, as well as living through his Galilean ministry.

“As is always the case, what made the trip so memorable was the people we met along the way. In our fractured and broken world, where division and injustices are all too obvious, (walls and barriers notwithstanding), ordinary people on all sides are making the daily choice to live with love, kindness and generosity of heart and spirit. We met an abundance of these and will treasure them in our memories, hearts and prayers.

“As well as the physical journey and the insights we were given, times when we read a bible story, sang a hymn, prayed or sat in silence were very powerful. The final experience of walking round the remarkably well conceived Nazareth Village sealed our walk - and was even more powerful because we had done the walk. The village is part of the Trust and is a great asset to their work.”

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