When news broke of the terror attack in Manchester, I was midway through a Holy Land pilgrimage in Israel.

We had left behind the bustle of Jerusalem and were now settled on the peaceful shores of Lake Galilee in the north of the country. A far cry from the horrific scenes unfolding back home.

As part of a group from churches across St Albans diocese, we had traced the footsteps of Jesus around the ancient city. We were just beginning to explore the country places where Jesus grew up and began his preaching and healing.

We were in a region with a long history of violence and war, with gun-carrying soldiers much in evidence, and the Israeli security wall a reminder of the tensions that persist.

And yet, the desperate news from home was a reminder of how we all share a common humanity.

Wherever we went, shocked Israelis, Arabs and fellow pilgrims from around the world expressed their sympathy at the attack in Manchester.  People from all backgrounds asked if were from the city or had relatives there. We were united in horror at the massacre.

As we toured a country that holds holy sites for Christianity, Judaism and Islam, we wondered at what perverted form of religion could lead to such an attack.

And as a Christian pilgrim standing where Jesus would have stood and seeing scenes he would have known, I prayed for peacemakers and for peace, and for the work to begin with me.

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