Pastor to join group on Israel trip

The Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, has received a grant to send 21 alumni pastors on a 12-day spiritual pilgrimage to Israel, June 4-16. Among those selected to participate in this all-expenses paid experience is the Rev. David Bowman, co-pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Freehold and chaplain at Renaissance Gardens at Seabrook, Tinton Falls.

Bowman and his wife, the Rev. Cindy Bowman, graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1984; they have served as co-pastors at First Presbyterian, Freehold, since June 1996.

According to a press release, during the pilgrimage to Israel the group will tour the regions of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In addition, they will have the opportunity to participate in a new archaeological dig at Khirbet Beza where scholars are hoping to excavate the remains of what may be a first century C.E. synagogue.

The tour will be led by James Charlesworth, George L. Collard Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Charlesworth is a leading scholar concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The 21 participants are all ordained clergy, living in the New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania area who have been in ministry for 15 or more years. As part of their participation, the clergy will spend time daily reflecting on the areas they have seen and the Bible passages connected to those regions. The trip is being underwritten by the C.F. Foundation of Atlanta, Ga.