WLS Study Tours
Study Tour to Israel and Archaeological Dig – May 2024
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary will be sponsoring an archaeological dig and tour of Israel next year. The dates for the trip are May 25 – June 6, 2024. During the first five days of the trip participants will dig at Auja el-Foqa, a site north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. The site is being excavated by an Israeli archaeologist and an American professor. The seminary took part in digging at the same site back in 2019. It has yielded artifacts from the time of the Israelite monarchy. Participants will spend each night in East Jerusalem and be bussed back and forth to the site each day. There will be free time each late afternoon and early evening for sightseeing in Jerusalem. The second part of the trip will be a five-day tour of other parts of Israel including Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Masada, Galilee, Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, and Caesarea.
Professor Bill Tackmier will be leading the trip. The cost of the trip, including airfare, hotels, admission to historical sites, and most meals is $4,230.
See the trip brochure for additional information. Contact bill.tackmier@wisluthsem.org with any questions.
Lutheran Heritage Tour – May 2024
Professor Aaron Christie and Professor Joel Otto will be leading a Lutheran Heritage Tour, May 31-June 14, 2024. Prof. Christie has traveled extensively, studied, and led tours in Germany. Prof. Otto teaches the Reformation-era church history course at WLS. This is not your typical “off the rack” trip to Germany. We hope to put the Lutheran Reformation into perspective as we tour sites that stretch from the time of Emperor Constantine to the present. The sights, sounds, and tastes of our Lutheran heritage will come alive in some of our favorite places. The tour will provide the context for the Lutheran Reformation by visiting Trier, the oldest city in Germany, as well as several cathedrals constructed during the Middle Ages. Luther’s life will be explored by visiting Eisleben, Erfurt, Coburg, Wittenberg, and Eisenach. The heritage of Lutheranism will be emphasized through stops in Nuremberg, Dresden, and Leipzig. A highlight will be attending a concert of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion at St. Thomas, Bach’s church in Leipzig (pending availability).
The cost of the trip will be approximately $5,500 (includes airfare, accommodations, transportation, entry fees, and breakfast). Pastors desiring to earn STM credits may receive three credits by going on the tour. See the trip brochure for more information or contact Prof. Christie (aaron.christie@wisluthsem.org) or Prof. Otto (joel.otto@wisluthsem.org).
Study Tour to Israel and Jordan – January 2025
The land of Israel is not large geographically, but in salvation history it is massive. From apostles’ boats in Galilee to Solomon’s ships in Aqaba, from Goliath’s Philistine plain to Jesus’ Calvary mount, the biggest events of human history happened in Israel. Jordan is Israel’s Eastern neighbor. From a path to the land of promise to a hill where Moses looked, from a baptism in a river to powerful preaching in Perea, so much of significance happened in Jordan.
With departure on January 4 and our return on January 17, 2025, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary offers an opportunity for students, pastors, and other interested brothers and sisters in Christ to explore with intensity locations from the north to the south, from the west to the east. The cost is $4,899. Pastors may take the trip for three STM credits at no extra cost.
Destination highlights include the valley where David killed Goliath, a tabernacle model in Timna, the Gulf of Aqaba, Petra, the location of John the Baptist’s imprisonment, Mt. Nebo, the Dead Sea, Masada, Qumran, Jericho, a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, Hazor, Cana, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Beth Shean, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, Caesarea Maritima, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Hezekiah’s tunnel, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Israel Museum, Bethlehem, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, and much more.
See the trip brochure for additional information. Contact steve.geiger@wisluthsem.org with any questions.