The following article appeared in the Las Cruces Sun News on February 25, 2000.

Local Pastor Selected for Holy Land Pilgrimage

The Reverend John Poling of the First Presbyterian Church leaves Sunday for a Holy Land Pilgrimage. He was selected for this pilgrimage by the Knights Templar organization which sponsors an annual trip to the Holy Land for selected ministers from various denominations across the United States.

Reverend Poling was nominated by the local commandery, submitted an essay, and was interviewed before being selected as the minister for New Mexico for this trip. He will be one of 40 from all parts of the United States who will leave New York on February 28. The group will visit many different places of historical interest to Christians. They will also visit areas sacred to Jews and Muslims.

The itinerary includes visits to Tel-Aviv, Galilee, and Jerusalem. Specific places include Caesaria where St. Paul was imprisoned and Cornelius baptized, Mediddo, the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Capernaum and Simon Peter's house, Mt. Tabor, site of the Transfiguration, Jerico and Zacheus's tree, the Mount of Temptation, the Temple ruins, and the fourteen Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa. He will also see David's tomb, the Room of the Last Supper, and the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the palace of the high priest Caiaphas, and the Garden Tomb.

The trip will also include  visits to related places such as the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, El Aosa Mosque, the third Holiest site for Islam, the Wailing Wall, Judaism's most sacred site, and various Roman ruins as well as Safed, a Crusader Fort.

The Knights Templar is a Christian-oriented fraternal organization which is part of the Masonic structure. They trace their history back to the 11^th century when the original Knights Templar were laymen who protected and defended Christians travelling to Jerusalem. Today the Knights Templar organize fund-raising activities to support Masonic-related youth groups and raise money for medical research and educational assistance.

Further information about the pilgrimage and the First Presbyterian Church can be found on the Internet at www.zianet.com/fpc and about the Knights Templar at www.knightstemplar.org.

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