This is the tranquility that is Galilee. Peaceful, beautiful water that laps against the shore though not always like that. In the afternoon as we travelled back in the boat the wind 'blew up' and there were quite a few waves, though nowhere near as many as were created by the jet skis that criss crossed the lake. It did make me think momentarily WWJD - what would Jesus do?!

Let's work backwards. The most surreal moment of the day, which comes in a close second to doing some traditional dancing on a boat, was when we left the mooring at the kibbutz and they raised a union jack and played the national anthem! The most surreal moment was when we all stood up and sang it! They then played 'Flower of Scotland' but we quickly ran out of the words for the second verse!

Its really quite difficult to know where to start so I may just resort to telling you about the shell, stone and seed. The shell I found very close to where this picture was taken. In fact the seashore was full of little fragments of shells. The shell is the symbol of a pilgrim, in fact we were given one last night. However, this is one I found and picked up and prompted me to start thinking. Pilgrimage is about a journey - the whole external thing about travelling to places of special significance - but also about an internal journey that only each of us can experience. Its about reflection and assessment. Its about working out where I am and is that where I should be. In fact am I happy to be there... So that was where the shell took me.

Then there was the stone. Again collected from close to where the picture was taken. It is smooth from decades (or more) of being tossed against the shore. It is small-ish and oval-ish. It fits into the palm of my hand and I love hoding one as I pray. It reminds me of the time when Jesus challenged the priests to be the first to throw the stone and condemn the woman... It also has resonances today, when we spent time thinking about St Peter, about the rock (a much bigger stone) that the church wasbuilt on. We're all stones in that worldwide building...

Then there was the seed. It came along much later in the morning - as we celebrated Holy Communion - The Mass - by the shore of Lake Galilee. Bird song accompanied our worship> It was the first corporate act we made. As I returned from taking bread and wine, there before me where I was sitting was a pea sized seed. Shrivelled and pretty ugly but it reminded me that there is always hope of new life. It looks ugly but it has the potential to grow into something beautiful...

Don't we all...?

Gosh, that's a bit deep! We're now relaxing after supper with the odd glass of something discussing the deeply complex political situation that encapsulates this land... Which is equally deep in a rather different sort of way!

Tomorrow is Pentecost! The day when the Holy Spirit was given to the church... we shall spend the day in Nazareth and then go to Mount Tabor!