Pilgrimage as Formation: Richmond, Liverpool and dealing with history

Pilgrimage as Formation: a foundation

A Look at the Dioceses of Liverpool and Virginia Youth Pilgrimage (Part 1 of 3)

A Philosophy of Pilgrimage

Ambrose Bierce, the American writer and satirist, defined a pilgrim (humorously) as “Pilgrim: n., A traveler that is taken seriously.” Pilgrims are those on a quest for something greater. Once a Muslim shopkeeper congratulated me for being a Hajji (someone who has done the Hajj) for having been to Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem. While our beliefs were different, respect was given.

Why Pilgrimage?

There is an age-old understanding that our “real world journeys” are a tool to change the interior life. Sometimes we make these journeys for penance, to atone for past sins. Sometimes for healing. Sometimes for petition and supplication. Sometimes we pilgrimage for discernment. The one unifying understanding of pilgrimage is that God will show up and honor our efforts. Pilgrimage is a journey of faith taken with the body to quench the soul.

Pilgrimage is an ancient practice. And like many ancient practices that are worthy of being brought into the modern era, we are seeing pilgrimage become a modern tool for following God’s call. Pilgrimage contains a mystique that was expressed so well in Emilio Estevez’s 2010 independent film, The Way, about the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The film showed that even those who were “secular” find a sense of the divine by walking the pilgrim path, and maybe they knew that all along. The journey itself is a declaration of faith in the process, even if it is not in the divine origins of the paths. As our lives become increasingly virtual, there is something to be said for the grounding of pilgrimage. Pilgrimage gives a connection to the countless throngs that have tread the same paths. There is a connection to lost generations when we embark on new paths to old places. In a visceral way, we feel the “great cloud of witnesses” as much with our bodies as with our minds. We are attempting, by walking in the steps of those who came before to revive forgotten memories, and build a future cognizant of the past while redeeming the present.

Stages of Pilgrimage

There are stages of pilgrimage as you plan, prepare, venture forth, and return home. A pilgrimage can take place over a weekend, or months. So much of it depends on attitude and approach. In my pilgrimages, these are the steps and understandings I have found helpful.

Preparation

We need to know where we are going. Kids climb in the vehicle, and go wherever it is going. They have no say, and they do not question, until the inevitable “How much longer?” comes out. But as we grow and develop, we do question, we do wonder. We ask the “Where” and the “Why” questions. Preparation is a big part of this.

When we are on pilgrimage, preparation is important. Study. Prayer. Physical and mental preparation are all a part of preparing ourselves for what is to come. Helping our youth and adult fellow pilgrims is an imperative. We must let them know what road it is we are taking, and why. Without that, they are spiritual tourist, not pilgrims. And the difference between the two is intentionality.

Intentionality

When we set out to do something AND DO IT, we have intentionality. It is about being deliberate. On the pilgrim path, there are things that set us apart. It can be many things. A symbol, like the shell of the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James, in Spain, designates the pilgrim. People know you are walking the Way. Other ways we can be intentional are acts of devotion, like praying the Daily Office (Episcopal Church) or even better, creating a devotional guide in advance of your journey. (A devotional guide becomes a great keepsake for our pilgrims after the trip.) A common symbol, like a cross or some external token can be a powerful personal reminder and a bond for the group. In all of this, find a way to set the time and journey apart and commit it to God.

Faith & Serendipities

A huge part of the pilgrim’s path is to follow the Spirit’s promptings when they come. In my pilgrim travels, some of the highlights of my times were the unplanned cups of tea in the home of a stranger, or the “accidental” meeting with a witness to history. When people recognize us as pilgrims , I believe they work together with the Spirit to teach us what we were meant to learn. This is a statement of faith, but I have found over and over again that being open to the outcomes of the Spirit has turned a trip into an adventure, and a stranger into a friend. So, I will schedule a “lunch” maybe not knowing where, but being open to a serendipity that comes up along the path. For some, I know this is terrifying, so sure, feel free to have some granola bars in your pack, but be open to the Spirit’s whispers when they come.

Struggle

We lift weights to build muscle. Muscle is formed when our muscles are stressed. Pilgrimages are meant to be a struggle. If it were easy, our “spiritual muscles” would not be stressed and we would not grow. When Jesus sent out 70 followers in Luke 10, he warned the way was hard. He said to carry no purse, bag or extra sandals. A pilgrim has to step out on faith. Do we really believe in this God of abundance? Can we, will we, rely on God to care for us? Pilgrimage is a form of asking, and seeking, and knocking. Will we receive, find, and be welcomed by an open door?

Pilgrimage is not for everybody. Be intentional about who comes along as you design and form a pilgrimage group. Some people are not emotionally, mentally or spiritually up for pilgrimage right now. As leaders we must be compassionately discerning about who is up for the task. Let prospective pilgrims and leaders know that this will not be easy. It is not supposed to be. For those who are ready, the struggle is surmountable and the rewards far outweigh the costs.

Destination

After the struggle, we arrive at our destination. We get to the mountaintop, or the cathedral, or the end of the road. Wherever it is, it is the culmination of the struggle and effort we have put in. Linger. Absorb. Listen. Labyrinths are good metaphors for the the pilgrimage. Whatever we “find” along the way, was already with us, but we gave time and space to have it revealed. Pilgrimages are just labyrinths writ large where we do not see the path beyond the horizon, but the idea is the same. The God who meets us in the Labyrinth, is also the God of the pilgrim, and is also the God who is with us all the days of our lives.

When we reach the destination, many see this as the end of the road. In a way it is, but the rub of pilgrimage is not the pinnacle, but what we do after we go down the mountain.

Return

For some, after taking a pilgrim path, they hop on a plane or train, and go home a much easier way than what it took to get there. The important part is giving space for thought and reflection, and after such a hard path, it is easy to run back to the normal and let go of the processing, but that would be a loss. Consider Joseph Campbell’s “Arc of the Hero,” the hero returns home, but changed. And because the hero is changed, the homeland is redeemed or saved. Because of what was received on the path, all are saved. Pilgrimages are, or should be, like the hero’s journey, the reward is transformation.

Transformation

And this is the point, we become pilgrims to change our lives. By changing our lives, we change our world. We are intentionally upending our existence for the personal and greater good. The world is better place for our taking the time to connect, or reconnect, with God. That is what the word “religion” means, to re-ligament ourselves to God. So with that in mind, could there be a greater religious formation tool than pilgrimage? Jesus was driven out to the Wilderness, an experience like a pilgrimage before he began his public ministry. He transformed from a carpenter’s son to the rabbi and leader that started a movement that changed the world. He struggled, and found gracious gifts, and going through that journey in a barren land, he returned and proclaimed the Kingdom of God. What if we took the time, and gave those in our charge the time and space to do just that?

A Modern Pilgrimage

I have made many a pilgrimage in my life, and when I stepped on stones where I have known Christ or the saints have trod, I was humbled. Climbing cathedral towers whose steps are bowed by a millennium of pilgrims’ feet makes the passage of time visible and palpable. All paths are not necessarily well worn, but can be all the more poignant.

As I stated at the beginning of this, there is an age-old understanding that the journey in reality is a tool to change the interior. Sometimes this is penance, to atone for past ills. Sometimes it is for healing. Sometimes it is for petition and supplication. Sometimes it is for discernment. But in all of these reasons, it is with the understanding that God will show up and honor our efforts. This is the approach of the folks involved in the Dioceses of Liverpool and Virginia youth pilgrimage. We have to do penance, healing, prayerful supplication and discernment for the path forward to reconciliation for all God’s children.

For the last few years I have had the deep joy to participate in a pilgrim path with the Diocese of Liverpool and my own Diocese, Virginia, as we explore our shared complicitness with the Slave Trade. Liverpool was the place of those bankrolling the Triangle of the Middle Passage slave trade. Richmond and Alexandria, Virginia, were major markets of the newly arrived slaves captured or purchased in Africa. Tobacco, sugar, and cotton, were traded in Europe, and finished products of rum, textiles and other goods were sent to Africa. Then human cargo would take the Middle Passage across the Atlantic to the Americas, completing the triangle. From these horrendous beginnings, we are looking to rebuild a Triangle of Hope which can lead us forward to a dream God has for us and for our world.

In upcoming articles, I will share more about our work, serendipitous learnings, the steps along our path, and some gaping holes in our pilgrimage that we are working to rectify. Blessings, fellow pilgrims, as we follow God’s call.