The Walk to Jerusalem is a walking program developed by St. John Health of Michigan.  It is designed to increase the physical, spiritual, and emotional health of participants.  This “imaginary” trip to Jerusalem was accomplished by individuals within the church logging their own walking miles each week.  The Walk to Jerusalem began January 13 with the initial goal of accumulating enough miles (about 6050!) to reach Jerusalem by Easter. 

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.”  - Isaiah 40:31

Welcome to the “Walk to Jerusalem”. As we make this journey, by combining our miles, we will arrive at Jerusalem by Easter Sunday. Let’s all have this be our first step to a healthier year, spiritually and physically.

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Please begin your journey with us by signing up in the Cloister...

Enclosed in your official registration packet you will find:

• A devotion booklet – there are 12 weeks worth of devotions but as we hope to reach Jerusalem in 10 weeks, you may want to double up on devotions the last 2 weeks. You may also choose to use Epworth’s Lenten Devotional book which will be available February 3.
• “Walking with God” card – on this card, you may write your focus Scripture for the week as well as any prayer concerns for the week.
• Cultural Quotient Pre-Test – just for fun!

Tabulating Miles:

Each week you may enter your miles for the week...

• on the Opportunities page & turn it in  
• by your name on the board located in the Cloister
• by emailing your total to Ruthann

In addition to the actual miles walked, you will also receive credit for

• Each 20 minutes of aerobic activity (swimming, basketball, tennis, Jazzercise, Body Recall, etc.).
• Families receive 5 extra credit miles for walking together.
• Small children can earn 1 mile of credit for good behaviors such as: going to bed without a fuss, bringing a can of food to church for Feed Your Neighbor, picking up toys or not fighting with brothers or sisters. You may set the goals for your children.

It will be exciting to watch our progress updated each week on the map below.

Ideas for Walking:

• Family Life Center – 22 times around = 1 mile – Must check with the office for availability of the FLC (Join the staff at 12:30 each day to walk)
• Epworth Church  - 12 laps around the main floor (see map in cloister)
• Westfield Mall – The mall opens at 7:00 a.m. for walkers. 1 time around the mall including all the wings equals 1.3 miles

There are many tapes, DVD’s and CD’s you may wish to purchase to encourage you in your walking. A pedometer will also help monitor your miles. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the church office at 419-531-4236.

OUR GOAL HAS BEEN SURPASSED!!!

We’ve made it to Jerusalem having already traveled 8022 miles.  We are continuing our trek during the next few weeks by following the paths that Paul took on his journeys. There is information on the bulletin board and in the cloister by the big map on the places Paul visited. As you walk during this and future weeks, please pray for each of the modern day cities along the way and the people living there.

You can read a detailed chronology of Paul's travels & epistles at this web site.

These are the approximate distances:

1st Journey.............1350 miles  (already completed)
2nd Journey............2750 miles  (completed Feb. 27)
3rd Journey.............2850 miles  (completed March 5)
Journey to Rome.....1950 miles  (about 1000 miles yet to go as of March 12)

Here's the 'OFFICIAL' wrap-up from the coordinator of this effort, Ruth Ann Johnson...

Thanks to all who participated! We exercised our way to a total of 17,453 miles. Since you worked so hard we decided to fly from Italy, the end of Paul’s journey back to New York then walk the last 507 miles. This gave us an excess of 1,614 miles. 

We hope this got you into the routine of exercising your body and meditating on God’s Word.  Great job!