PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Perrysburg Saint John XXIII Pastor Rev. Jeff McBeth had a family faith workshop at the parish on his to-do list Wednesday night. But he wasn't supposed to be there.
Instead, he and a group of local parishioners were supposed to be in the air on the way to Israel, fulfilling a dream of going on a pilgrimage to holy sites. But that plan was dashed after Hamas launched a violent attack on Israel one week before the group was set to depart.
“We should be in the air right now,” Fr. McBeth said in a conversation with WTOL 11 Wednesday night.
He said it was his fourth attempt at organizing a nine-day, 10-night pilgrimage to locations such as the Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Beatitudes, Canaan and the River Jordan.
"Places that are so important in the life of Jesus that we read all about in the Gospels, to experience those first hand as a way of enriching our faith,” Fr. McBeth said.
He made the first attempt at the trip in 2019 while pastor at St. Peter Catholic Church in Huron. He would try two more times to fulfill the bucket-list item, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted his plans.
In his biography section on the Saint John XXIII website, when asked, “Where Would you like to travel?” Fr. McBeth answered, “The Holy Land.” So, in 2023, the travel partner in Bethlehem was trying to make it happen once again for an area group of more than 20. But as fate would have it, war broke out between Israel and Hamas more than a week before their scheduled departure and the plans were once again scrapped.
“Obviously, for us, we don't get to go on a pilgrimage, but for the people over there, it's just amazingly tragic," says Fr. McBeth.
As the death toll rose and information about the violence began to trickle in, Fr. McBeth said he was getting more and more messages from the people signed up for the trip.
“As this was starting to unfold and people were wondering what was going to happen, I told people I hope we get to go, only because that means it will be peaceful there and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “But even less than two weeks ago, the Thursday before the attacks started, we had a Zoom call with everyone that was going to make introductions, last-minute questions, then Saturday people started texting me, friends, parishioners, people in the group wondering what was going on. A lot happened and we were starting to think it’s not going to happen this time until we finally had to say we can’t do this right now.”
Fr. McBeth said Oct. 18 was always the firm date for the flight out, but it does give them pause to think what would have happened if they had flown out sooner before the fighting broke out.
He said most of those on the trip purchased travel insurance, and just like the times before, the company through which they booked has been accommodating.
“Ultimately, it was the right thing to do," Fr. McBeth said of the decision to cancel the trip. "Obviously, everyone’s heart goes out to the innocent and the people suffering and dying over there."