Between April 10-28, JPB Co-Founders, The Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter, Dorothy Porter and Stuart Kensinger, led two pilgrimages for members of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church and the Order of St. John. These exciting trips explored the many different holy sites and breathtaking locations across the region, such as Jerusalem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, Jericho, Dead Sea and the Judean Desert. Pilgrims also had the opportunity to connect with the work of JPB and to meet several of our summer alumni and current in-school program participants. The experiences were powerful. One pilgrim wrote to Fr. Nicholas, "I cannot possibly thank you enough for the very special week with you and Do

On April 26, JPB co-sponsored TIRAMUN, a Model United Nations and Debate Conference put on by JPB's partner QSchools. The conference brought together over a hundred youth for a day of debate and negotiation on some of the most pressing global issues facing the world today. JPB contributed to the success of the conference by presenting on its programs at the closing ceremony of the conference. Each year, JPB participates in several MUN conferences in the Holy Land to recruit promising Israeli and Palestinian youth for our programs. We are honored to have been a co-sponsor with QSchools for this exciting and important conference. JPB youth participate in Crisis Committee deliberations

During Holy Week in late-March, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church in the USA visited Christ Anglican School in Nazareth to tour the campus and meet with students. JPB alumni and in-school program participants were afforded a special audience with Bishop Curry in which they delivered speeches on how the JPB program has transformed their lives and developed them as leaders and peacebuilders. A powerful testament to our work, the Presiding Bishop was moved by the meeting and witness of the JPB youth. Read the full press article in the Episcopal News Service here. JPB teens from Christ Anglican School of Nazareth with Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. M

JPB is pleased to announce the award of the 2018-2019 Porter Fellowship to Ms. Della Wager Wells. In partnership with St. George's College in Jerusalem and the Berkley Divinity School at Yale, and supported by a generous grant, the Porter Fellowship supports a recent graduate of Berkeley Divinity School to serve for an extended period (typically 9 months) in residence at St George's College. The Fellowship "offers extraordinary Berkeley graduates valuable opportunities to learn from the witness of the College in the Holy Land, to participate in local peace-building and to strengthen their ministries with needed knowledge, experience, and relationships," said JPB President and former Berkeley

During late March, JPB brought together 14 youth from across Israel for an overnight retreat in the Old City of Nazareth. For two days, the teens participated in workshops, dialogues, heard from guest speakers, and toured around Nazareth, visiting the White Mosque, Christ Anglican Church, and a Biblical-era synagogue. The retreat centered around exploring different practices of peacebuilding, with youth examining their own practices and those of other peacebuilders working in the field. On Friday, the teens developed friendships, enjoyed delicious kanafe and Arab foods, and welcomed in Shabbat. On Saturday, after a workshop on personal narratives and a tour of the city's different holy sites