Pilgrimage

After school is out, I have the opportunity to go to the British Isles to visit. My sister is living there for the next few years and that provides me a cheap place to stay!!! For me, this is a dream come true. As I've starting planning the trip, I've began to view it less as a tourist venture than a pilgrimage. Its a place to find my family roots in a way, since most of my ancestors came from the Isles and that gives it a unique draw. I've always felt it was a distant home. A little river in Ireland gave me my family name, and on its banks still grow some of the oldest forests in the country. There are other reasons too. As I have wandered looking for a church, I've found myself drawn to the Canterbury Trail attending a local Episcopal church. The liturgy, the sense of mystery, the welcome of all people, all have considerable draw on me. As I contemplate this, I long to walk the actual Canterbury road, searching for answers to my questions. The Irish site of Kildare, home of St. Brigit is a place I know I have to go as well. Her story has captured my imagination, as a female leader of the Celtic church. As I pray about ministry ahead, I'd like to meet up with Brigit. I've found Kurt Nielson's book Urban Iona: Celtic Hospitality in the City a great inspiration, as he chronicles his own pilgrimage to Ireland.

Its interesting to note the difference between being a tourist and a pilgrim. I wonder if we really can divide the two neatly, but perhaps tourism is drawn to escape into the novel and pilgrimage is drawn to finding oneself on the road with other people in search of the transendent. I'm not sure, though I hope to find out. I'm beginning to find that all places are places where God can be found, if we are only listening.

I'm looking forward to finding out more about myself and about God on this journey.