J2A Greece Pilgrimage 2008

"The story that we bring back from our journeys is the boon. It is the gift of grace that was passed to us in the heart of our journey."

2008-06-24T18:05:00.005-04:00

To be perfectly honest, it is very difficult for me to experience my own personal pilgrimage while serving as the leader of the group. I do my best to focus attention on the daily devotions but find myself immediately distracted by planning the next activity or dealing with the schedule for the day.

In between the multitudes of details that unfold, when I get a moment alone, I pray that God will shine a light on my path and direct me towards some kind of personal discovery or transformation. As the pilgrimage progresses I wait to experience something.

In Delphi, I sat at the Temple of Apollo and watched each of our pilgrims take a turn walking alone to the entrance, each person reverently offering his or her question or prayer. I was witnessing something incredibly powerful, examples of immense courage and personal growth, and all of a sudden I found myself crying, wiping away the tears with my already damp handkerchief.

The overwhelming wave of emotion surprised me, and I knew I had arrived. What a gift we gave to each other, supporting one another along the pilgrim's way. I don't know what was asked or prayed for, but I do know we were there together, and that bond will be with us forever.

Rob Burlington

"How will you remember to remember when you return home?" -Phil Cousineau

2008-06-24T17:18:00.001-04:00

When I return home there are going to be temptations and distractions leading me away from my experience in Greece, and it would seem as if I would forget, but I will never forget. Memories are powerful, and the ones from Greece are plentiful and moving. Distinct memories include the Temple of Apollo where we had to ask God an important question. While standing in front of that temple you could feel the forces of God, how God was trying to listen to you. Even though the answer to your question may not appear quickly, it will in time in a certain way. This memory will always be a part of me.

Breathtaking moments, such as walking through the monasteries secluded on mountaintops are impossible to forget. Because these memories are imprinted in your mind forever, it is easy "to remember to remember." Greece is a beautiful place and consumes your whole being, your spiritual and daily life, and you feel as if you are part of God's many kingdoms. How will I remember to remember when I return home?..easy..I will never forget this amazing experience in an amazing country, with my friends, an amazing group of pilgrims.

-Amelia Baker

There is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering.

2008-06-23T16:39:00.013-04:00

Over the past couple of days, the idea of dedication has stood out to me. As I walked through the monastery museum in Patmos on Friday a design in one of the old books stood out to me. I recognized it but not as a Greek symbol.

"Phil... this looks a lot like a Celtic Knot."

"It might be..."

And he proceeded to tell me the story of the lives of ancient monks. Each monk would specialize in one thing. One monk would be amazing at applying gold leaf; another would focus on calligraphy. Despite being held inside, to this day, impenetrable walls, there was a sense of security. Everyone knew what they were good at and followed that path from the age of fifteen or sixteen, (the age of the majority of our group), until they died.

But the story of the monks doesn't end there. A monk would spend a lifetime working on one book. One. And when that book, filled with the monk's life work, was finished he would be asked to take a pilgrimage to deliver that book to another monastery. A monk could be asked to travel to some distant city in Europe. It was highly probable that the book I was looking at had been brought from somewhere in Ireland and had been copied and then carried to this monastery in the far reaches of the Aegean Sea.

I tell this story because of the depiction of dedication.

Next our travels led us to Delphi. On the bus ride there I read a passage in Phil's book about a woman who called herself Peace Pilgrim. She travelled for nearly thirty years with only her message of peace. Pure dedication. At Delphi we were invited to present a question to the site of the Oracle. I remember reading a book of seers, fortunetellers, and prophets when I was in fourth grade, (the Oracle of Delphi was mentioned in the book of course). While my librarian disregarded the ancient prophets' accuracy, I was entranced with the idea of these people with this special gift. I remember telling my mom back then that when I went to Greece I had to go see Delphi. And here I was.

I was originally very agitated with the whole question thing. I loved the idea, but I had no clue what to ask. I was at a complete loss. After a troubling day of heat rash and a long bus ride, I was not too happy or spiritually in tune. By the evening I managed to find some peace of mind. The question would come to me during our time of silence, I thought, and I went to sleep.

I woke up Sunday morning with the question bursting from my rested head. "What should I do with my life? What should my dedication be?" It's a fairly open question. I wasn't exactly looking for a profession, but more of a purpose. The monks inspired me. Peace Pilgrim inspired me. No, I'm not planning on entering a convent or traveling for the rest of my life with no home. But, this was definitely the question I was dying to ask.

As the All Saints' pilgrims took turns going up to the entrance of the temple to present our questions, the direct sun was swelteringly hot. There was no shade to be had. Despite the peace our silent walk brought me earlier that morning, I was starting to get agitated. When my turn came, I walked up to the six columns that remain of the temple. As I looked up at them and, like in a surreal dream-sequence of a movie, they seemed to grow, the harsh stone contrasting with the brilliantly bright blue sky. I closed my eyes, starting my prayer. Suddenly, a breeze came straight through the entrance and provided the first bit of relief from the heat I'd had that morning. I went on to ask my question. I whispered it to the Oracle, to God, to myself, and to the land.

There was perfect stillness in my mind and all around me.

"You'll find it. It'll come to you."

And that was all I needed.

Stay open.

Listen for God's answer.

Okay.

I will.

Alice Berry

What is the question you bring? Why did you come so far?

2008-06-22T16:37:00.003-04:00

Delphi, this ancient city, really helps put everything in perspective. In ancient times kings and peasants alike traveled here, thinking it to be the center of the world. Almost all who travelled here came with life changing questions to present to the oracle in The Temple of Apollo. The myriad of questions presented were questions of war, love, commerce, wisdom, and really anything that one longed to know. That being said, all of us on this pilgrimage were asked months ago to think of one question we longed to ask. I was perplexed by this. Thinking of that one question was a task that I struggled with off and on until the very moment I stood in front of The Temple of Apollo. Months of consulting myself and friends had brought me to this one point. When we arrived in front of the ruins of the temple I immediately took to my sketchbook, drawing this great monument, still considering what my question would be. Light was about me, the sun was shining down upon the great mountain, and my creative fires were ignited as I sat and tried to reason what my question was. Finally in a creative spark my question was formed and I wrote this:

This place, In the center of the mortal earth, pierces the sky
It truly is a connection of worlds
These great pillars dedicated to Apollo, god of the sun, creativity, and reason, still stand tall
Surviving the battle with time they live on as an inspiration
The atmosphere forms a vivid revelation of creativity and soul

Stepping away from the temple after standing in silence I felt like I had acquired an answer to my question, and I had figured it out for myself. With this sense of accomplishment I shall descend down the mountain ready to take life head on.

Alexander Hoare

"What is your labyrinth? If you don't name it, it will have power over you for your whole life."

2008-06-21T16:12:00.006-04:00

"And God shall wipe away all the tears from your eyes."

As parents, friends, and extended family reading this blog I am sure you are all probably pretty jealous of our trip at this point. After reading yesterday's blog and hearing of our relaxing day at the beach and the pool you might also be thinking to yourself "Man, I need to go on one of the these pilgrimage things." Yes, yesterday was a time of relaxation, prayer and reflection where we could soak in our gorgeous surroundings. However, today was a new day where we challenged ourselves in our minds, body and spirit. This morning, as a part a part of our daily routine, we all scrambled in the lobby to listen to the inspiring words of Phil Cousineau who talked about how our lives are labyrinths. I say scrambled because we hit some of the minor bumps in the road that a pilgrim would hit. For example, our 8 o'clock wake up calls didn't go off and finally when we were all in the lobby the girls had to make sure they had skirts that were the appropriate length. There were numerous outfit changes, but Elizabeth holds the record of having to change in the lobby bathroom 3 times. When we were finally settled, we were handed three pieces of paper, one of them having a picture of of a labyrinth (which looked somewhat like a maze) with a famous creature in Greek mythology, the minotaur, located in the middle. Phil described how our lives are like labyrinths. The labyrinth represents the confusion and struggle in your life as you are striving towards your ultimate goal which is to break through the confusion, and tackle the minotaur who is trying to distract you from attaining this goal. As the title of this blog says "if you don't name [your labyrinth], it will have power over you for the rest of your life." Some examples Phil mentioned of what our labyrinths could be were "my struggle with my faith, insecurities, doubt, parents, friends, etc." When Phil asked the group to name some of our personal labyrinths Rob told the group that recently he has been nervous about trying to find a new job and about starting a new chapter of his life (and yes...that was a shoutout from Rob letting anyone know that if you hear of anyone looking for a pretty much awesome guy to work in your school administration system just give him a call). However, as difficult as it may seem to think of our lives as labyrinths Phil also left us with a message of hope by telling us about our "clew." A clew (which is where we get our english word clue) is the thing that is inspiring you to get through your labyrinths. It is the golden thread; what is holding you down/grounding you throughout your life. For many of us, we are finding our "clews" on this trip by learning more about our faiths and our relationships with God.

Phil's talk lead us perfectly into the days activities. As a group, we travelled by bus to to the the monastery of St. John where we learned about John's revelation. We were able to see the exact indentation in the rock where it is said that when John had his revelation he fell over and knocked his head on the rock. John (Herring) told us about how the Book of Revelation is sometimes taken as a dark and depressing message because of the different language. But, just like in our labyrinths, he said that the book is really a message of hope that God will always be here for us.

After the visit to the monastery, Rob surprised us with a boat ride to one of the most beautiful beaches on Patmos. Unfortunately the winds were to strong to dock at the beach, so instead we found another spot (a little rockier) but nevertheless we all jumped into the cold water and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.

Carolyn Harris

2008-06-20T08:26:00.005-04:00

"Knock Knock.....Answer It"

2008-06-20T08:17:00.006-04:00

A very tired group of pilgrims arrived at breakfast this morning. After a good traditional Greek breakfast we had quiet reflection time. We sat outside with Phil Cousineau under the hot Greek sun and had a spiritual inspirational talk about answering the knock on the door. The knock on the door to wake up with your spirituality. We talked about the Book of Revelation and how St. John wrote with such powerful imagery--a wonderful work of art. Phil talked about how much of the imagery in Revelation is like a riddle. Then he asked us a couple of ancient riddles. Jack and Cameron solved the riddles and won one of his books. The riddle's answers were dream and time which connected to waking up to become more faithful in your spirituality.

The rest of the day we had free time and a lot of us spent quiet time to think about all the deep questions asked relating to our life. We went to the pool and the beach and had time to walk around and shop. It was a nice day to relax and contemplate our life and why we had chosen to come on this pilgrimage to Greece. It is definitely a once in a lifetime experience here to learn about Paul and John and walk where they walked and think where they thought. It is a moving feeling and it makes you feel important. We are all having a great time bonding with each other. Greece is so beautiful and this is an amazing trip.

Eleanor Woodward

Sailing the Aegean Sea

2008-06-20T02:08:00.005-04:00

Last night the ferry arrived at Patmos at around two in the morning, and needless to say we were all very tired. The ferry ride, at least for me, was fairly boring. Tait and I attempted to play the Odyssey definitions game and afterwards pretty much sat around doing nothing. It was a relief to get to our hotel finally, until we realized that our air conditioner didn't work. At four in the morning a confused rooster started crowing and our wake up call came a couple hours too early. Despite the night, the hotel is quite pretty. There is big court yard with a Cedar tree planted in the middle of a fountain and the hotel itself is covered in vines that have bright purple flowers all over them.

Today we mostly were at our own leisure. Many people went swimming and I went with Tait, Alexander, Courtney and Kathy to look around the town for a while. There were a lot of souvenir stores that I got tired of looking in. Despite the late night everybody seems pretty awake today. After our leisure time we all went to a restaurant for lunch, which was pretty good.

Though everyone's a bit tired, they seem to be having a great time. I'm looking forward to going to the monastery tomorrow. The trip seems to be going by very quickly, though it feels like we've been here for a while.

Alex Stroud

"The ideal life is pursuit of excellence in mind, body and spirit."

2008-06-18T19:06:00.004-04:00

Wednesday June 18

Most of us started off our day with a breakfast buffet at our hotel in Athens. A few people never received a wake up call. Once everyone was ready to go we headed to the Acropolis. We enjoyed exploring the Parthenon and the Agora (where Paul preached) and had silent time to reflect on the different things we had learned and talked about. We also picked up a new skill.... avoiding the various umbrella vendors. The weather was pretty hot and the portable fans came in handy.

Next, we got back on the bus and headed to Corinth. Almost everyone took the opportunity to take a quick nap on the way. We went to see the canal in Corinth which was a beautiful sight. We walked to get lunch, and Jack tried to convince the chaperones to sign a waiver allowing him to bungee jump....don't worry, Jack was unsuccessful. We explored Corinth some more (another Paul hotspot), and headed to the port.

We boarded the ferry to Patmos, squeezed into our little rooms and ate dinner. So far the trip has been amazing.

Hannah Woodward

Welcome to Greece....food glorious food!

2008-06-18T19:04:00.008-04:00

Tuesday June 17

After finally arriving at our hotel we journeyed through the streets of downtown Athens to dinner. After a 20 minute walk and almost getting hit by the speeding mopeds we arrived in the old area of Athens. The remains of an ancient Roman library and other ruins greeted us as we climbed to the rooftop of a lovely restaurant. The view was breathtaking. To one side was the magnificent scene of the Acropolis and to the other a view of Athens and the suburbs.

The traditional greek music and food was enough to last the whole 10 days. The servers kept coming back with different kinds of appetizers, and just when we thought we were done Rob told us it was just the beginning. There was a salad course and then the meat course of lamb, chicken, rice and potatoes. Then when we again thought it was all over they brought us pretty much all the fruit there was in Athens.

Enjoying each other's company, the music, and the food was the perfect beginning of our time in Greece. One comment made at dinner was that it was hard to believe we were finally here, but we are and we couldn't be happier.

SE Spencer

We made it

2008-06-17T13:16:00.007-04:00

We are here! We had a good flight from Paris to Athens and have met up with our driver Stratos, Greek guide Michael and author Phil Cousineau. Tonight we are walking to a very old part of Athens, Plaka, where we will dine on the roof of the restaurant and in the shadow of the Acropolis. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes for a safe journey.

Arrive in Paris

2008-06-17T13:06:00.003-04:00

Little did we know but we were joined by two other All Saint's parishioners on our flight from Atlanta to Paris (Beverly and Les Pounds). Nice to know that we had good company! And after a long flight we finally arrived in Paris. A quick meal at a small bakery counter near our gate and then we were off again for our final and much anticipated leg of out trip, our flight to Athens.

Hearts set on the pilgrim's way

2008-06-15T16:20:00.003-04:00

We had a blessing today at All Saint's during the 9:00 service, tonight we all get together for a celebratory dinner and tomorrow our adventures begin!

"O God we entrust these pilgrims to your loving and merciful care. Support and guide them as they walk the pilgrim's way in your light and your Presence. Let your loving care enfold them and all those who love them."

Coming Soon Greece Pilgrimage 2008!

2008-06-09T13:37:00.002-04:00

test post

The road home

2007-07-29T03:15:00.001-04:00

Written entry by Rob Burlington follows images

Time for peace and reflection inside St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh

Outside St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh

View from Edinburgh Castle

Keeping guard

A walk down the Royal Mile

“How do we keep sacred memories alive? How do we make the journey part of our lives once we are back in the daily grind? This is so important because you've changed. We must remember this: The journey is a miniature of the bigger one which is life.” -Joan Marler

“I can see now that a true pilgrimage is a way to bring you closer to God.” -Phil Cousineau

I will miss this group after we're back in Atlanta. I am grateful to Laurie, Tim, Beth, Kathy, and Michele for leading us so gracefully with their guidance, flexibility, patience, wisdom, and humor. Jack, Cadell, Tracy, Ellen, Carly, Virginia, and Taylor are a special group: unique, smart, funny, kind and fun to be around. They have taken a leap of faith making this journey and have challenged themselves with thoughtful questions, often searching for the answers together.

We began the journey asking ourselves about our spiritual lives, and we “used” Celtic spirituality and the Iona Community to help us explore that. What evolved from that question was a more profound exploration of self-knowledge: Who am I? What have I learned about myself on this pilgrimage? What will I leave behind? What can I celebrate about myself and share with others? We discovered that as we learn about ourselves and become more whole, more fully human, it might draw us closer to God.

These pilgrims love food, restaurants, cooking, and enjoying a great meal together, and we have just returned from our last dinner together, a celebratory closing ritual. Virginia Parker, while tasting a dessert, as a shout-out to Celtic spirituality said “that right there, that's my 'thin place'.” May we continue to seek and find the “thin places” every day, recognizing the presence of God in each other and in ourselves.

Bless to us, O God, the earth beneath our feet,
Bless to us, O God, the path whereon we go,
Bless to us, O God, the people whom we meet.

-based on an old prayer from the Outer Hebrides

Rob Burlington

Leaving Iona

2007-07-28T06:32:00.001-04:00

Written entry by Jack Anderson follows the images

The Croft on Iona that took care of our hostel

Images from the journey to Edinburgh

A walk through the meadows of Edinburgh

“The story that we bring back from our journeys is the boon. It is the gift of grace that was passed to us in the heart of our journey. Perhaps it was in the form of an insight into our spiritual life, a glimpse of the wisdom traditions of a radically different culture, a shiver of compassion, an increment of knowledge. The ancient wisdom teachers taught that the ultimate answer to the sorrows of the world is the boon of increased self-knowledge.” -Phil Cousineau

It is Friday, the last time we will get to see Iona. The last time we spent on Iona was spent in the church, the abbey as it is referred to. We were unable to enjoy the last minutes of Iona because we had a ferry to catch to take us to Oban. We sadly waved goodbye to everyone on the island, as we will soon return to our normal lives. We sat on the ferry, looking at Iona as the island fades away as we move further and further away from it. Then we arrive at the island of Mull, right next to Iona, but not within view of Iona. We get on the bus to take us to the boat that will then take us back to the urban city of Oban. Then we sail on the ferry and reach Oban where we have fish and chips for lunch. We eat it right next to the train station. After we finish we get on the train that will take us to Edinburgh, an urban metropolis. Right as we get on the train, Dick, a friend we met in Iona, waves goodbye to us. As we look at him, we are happy to see him for the last time but are sad to know that we will be leaving him behind. It is never easy to say goodbye. We have finally made it to Edinburgh after an exhausting day of traveling from place to place. We are glad to reach it, but are sad to know that this means we are away from Iona. That night, after dinner, we sat in the central park of Edinburgh wondering what we will do now that we are away from Iona and heading towards home. After discussing it, we realized that we do not have to leave Iona behind, but we can take what we have learned from Iona and share it, pass it on to others once we get back home to Atlanta. Even though we have left Iona, we will still remember it as time passes by. This goes back to Tuesday, when we threw the rocks into the ocean and took one back with us. On Iona, we have left behind something old in us to bring back with us something new. We have taken our rock to remember what we learned and endured on Iona, and will pass it on as we return home, with something new that we hold and is in ourselves.

Jack Anderson

A mountain top experience

2007-07-27T07:23:00.000-04:00

Written entry by Virginia Parker follows images

The indigenous flock that shares the land around our hostel

St. Martin's Cross in front of Iona Abbey

Views from the top of Dun I

“Come on all you people, come on all you people, come on all to praise the Lord”

The day began with an excellent breakfast from Team Thursday. This amazing team consisted of Cadell, Kathy, Rob, and me. We made French toast, cheese eggs, bread, and pork and leek sausage. After that amazing breakfast we headed to the Abbey for a small service run by Rob. It was in the same small peaceful chapel that it was in yesterday. Then afterward we headed to our own place somewhere between the Abbey and the ruins of the nunnery. We had an hour to contemplate, draw, or read. It is easy to think on a place as glorious as Iona. Even if a gray cloud covers up the powder blue sky it is still gorgeous, enough to stop you from breathing. I felt myself at times just pausing in my reading, thinking, or drawing to think about how lucky and fortunate I am to be in a place like Iona. There is no other place on the world like it. All you have to do is look at the water an you know that you are in some place special.
After our hour was up team Thursday had to go make lunch. We got very creative with what was left in the refrigerator. We had a smorgasborg. Rob made some amazing couscous. I made tuna salad. Cadell arranged the sandwich meats. We also had left over “Cock-a-Leekie” from Wonderful Wednesday and salad that one of the hostel workers, Jenny, had made the night before. We then had an hour to ourselves. All of the youth went down to the beach to collect pebbles. It was not any random pebble collection, but we were only looking for just six. The six that we felt shaped the personality of our astonishing teachers and Laurie and Rob. It did not take us long to find them, about seven minutes. We then headed to the Iona Community Gift Shop where we bought them all wooden Celtic cross key chains.
We then took a tour of the Abbey. It was very intersting because we have been worshiping in that space every night but there we learned what we would have never found out had we not taken the tour. All week I had wondered what these stones hung up all over the wall were. we learned that they were grave stones. We also learned that where ever you see a cross carved into the floor, that was where a grave there at one time. We had a look in the Abbey Museum as well where there is thought to be Saint Columba's pillow. After we headed back to the gift shop to do a little shopping of our own. Then we turned to face Dun I, the tallest point on Iona. It was a steep climb but we did it a little bit of “umph” and a lot of will power. At the top you were able to see all the majority of the island. The view was electrifying. If I had more time I would explain it in full detail. But I am afraid that if I tried to describe it I would do it such an injustice because there are no words that exist that can do it justice. On top some people went off by themselves while others stayed together. There was a cairn on top that some of us added a stone to. The majority of us then made our way down what we thought was the hard path. It turned out that it was not a path at all so we made our own. We were pioneers on a wild land, well sort of. We got to a spot where we had to make a decision as to which way to go, on the beach or around the fences. A crossroads if you will, and there was a little quarrel as to which way we should take. We got back to the hostel, Cadell and I went to cooking while the others read or showered.
After dinner we headed to the Abbey. The service that night was the Eucharist. The youth sat around this large table and the adults sat else where. It was almost metaphorical how the adults had left the kids for us to explore or spirituality with their watching us. It was really wonderful to be at the head of the table with everyone else around us. After the service we gave out some final gifts to people that we had met while we were on the island. We made some tea, something that we have done a lot of, and sat down to play a game of hot seat. It was almost surprising how fast and truthfully people answered their questions. These were deep questions like why do you go to church? We would have not been able to answer the questions that easily and honestly as we did earlier in the week; I guess Rob knew that and that is why we did it then. Afterwards we gave out the pebbles that we had found and went to bed.
-Virginia Parker

All the Earth's energy

2007-07-26T06:30:00.001-04:00

Written entry by Tracy Ruska follows images

Carly Wright finishes a blog entry while sitting beneath the Iona Abbey

A comforting lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches

On our way to the Isle of Staffa

Fiengal's Cave where all the energy of the Earth flows

The stormy return trip from the Isle of Staffa

“This is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes a part of the tangible world.”-Freya Stark

Today began with the feeling that today would be different from all others; maybe it would be in what we did or what we discussed. That feeling did prove to be right. We began the day with our own worship in Oran's Chapel instead of the morning service in the abbey. This proved to allow us to make more of a personal connection with God. Not only was the form of worship we practiced different, but the discussions that followed were as well. The question of is there a God and if so how do we find it came to be one of the main focus points of the day. As young children we were taught that God is a man sitting up in heaven and Jesus is his son. However as we get older we are finding that this image is not what we consider God to be. This uncertainty of the idea of God leaves us to doubt whether or not there is a God. For some of us we have found that God is real, but he has a new form in our lives as we grow older. This has come after we have found God in places we did not expect to find him. This new finding of God has allowed us to reaffirm our faith in Christ again. For the others that are not as lucky to have found God; the feeling is that if they remove themselves from the center of life then they too shall find God where they do not expect too. As we open ourselves to finding and accepting God in our lives we must also open ourselves to leave this place and head into the world we live in where God is not omnipresent, but must be search out.

Christ be with you all,
Tracy Ruska

Our island home

2007-07-25T06:15:00.000-04:00

Written entry by Carly Wright follows images

The line of pilgrims stretches up a steep incline

We break bread on a large boulder in Columba's Bay

These are the stones we used to represent our turning from things old and taking on things new

Near the end of our pilgrimage on the island we rest on a high hill

A paradise off the west coast of Scotland

"Imagine that your task in the labyrinth is to find the center. When in doubt, remember your original intention for the journey; recall your purpose; reinstate your vow; rekindle your fire by doing something passionate; rediscover the thread that led you to your pilgrimage in the first place."-Phil Cousineau

Today was a day for the body and the soul. Although we only made it to the closing prayers of the 9 o' clock Abbey service, I feel that in no way was our day lacking in spiritual encounters. No way could any of us have foreseen or expected any of the beauty we came across today. Seven miles may seem like an eternity on a sidewalk, but as our group joined so many other pilgrims on their way for a pilgrimage hike around the island, shin splits and back aches eased and time slipped away. It's hard to describe how this hike affected us as a whole, but I know that the beauty of the terrain had all of us in awe. There was more green than I had ever seen in my life, and rocks that had formed way before any life on this planet. Even with the bog in our boots it was “brilliant” as Mandy, one of the workers of the hostel, would say. But the land wasn't all that impressed me on today's journey. Relationships were built along the way between the different pilgrims. Some were short lived such as a conversation between fellow Americans just until you have to step over the sty and change your pace. Others may last much longer, including the groups new bond with a familiar older man, although we don't even know his name (a new trend I've been experiencing). It was easy to connect with someone whose journey has seemed so similar to ours, as we've spotted him in front of us at the church in Oban, again at the Ceilidh, and finally connecting with him on our hike. Ellen gave him a bookmark which she had made and as he read the lyrics to “On the Loose” his face lit up and told her “You are certainly at the Iona pace, on the loose.” And later on the beach of St. Columba's bay I bumped into him as he was finding green Iona marble in the water to give to his new friend, Michelle. As we left the bay all the pilgrims found two stones, very beautiful stones. In one we invested all of our negative energy, all that we would like to turn away from or leave behind as we headed back and tossed it into the water. In the other we invested all that we would like to take with us on our journey. It was goodbye to opening my mouth instead of my eyes and hello to living in a moment where I would experience all I can... as well as the beginning of me asking new people the very simple question, “What is your name?”

As we settled back into the hostel we gathered round for a reflection that turned into a wonderful discussion of everyone's labyrinths, Taylor's most despised part of pilgrimage. Everyone seemed to be having some kind of labyrinth whether it was just from a lack of sleep or a lack of patience and it was great to realize that none of us were alone. But the big moment came after finally admitting that we've tried to take everything in and change our minds and lives with this short experience, and discovering that it might not work that way. I will never forget when Taylor and I both said what we've been holding in “I'm just not getting it.” Then we all realized that this really isn't about being hit over the head with the great “IT” but rather living the moment while you can and maybe once we look back on all we've done, we can say “AHAH! That's It.”

Carly Wright

Iona Beach Party

2007-07-24T04:16:00.000-04:00

Communication Note: Rob is unable to pick up a signal in Iona on his cell phone. Please use the number for the Iona Hostel on the information sheets if there are any emergencies.

Written entry by Ellen Begley follows images

View of Iona Abbey from ferry

Walking to the Iona Hostel

Taking a swim in the North Sea

Make way for sheep

Dancing at the Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee)

The practice of soulful travel is to discover the overlapping point between history and everyday life, the way to find the essence of every place, every day: in the markets, small chapels, out-of-the-way parks, craft shops. Curiousity about the extraordinary in the ordinary moves the heart of the traveler intent on seeing behind the veil of tourism.

IONA! finally! Our entire group was antsy with anticipation on each ferry and bus ride from Oban to Iona. This didn't, however, make us any less appreciative of the scenery on our journey. For acres and acres on our bus ride we only saw a sea of lush, green vegetation with sheep and a few highland cows. When we finally arrived and settled in, we met the friendly owners and decided to go for a swim (brrr). We decided first, to walk on the beach but shortly, this activity was turned into a dare between Kathy and myself to swim in the less than fifty degree water. Luckily, others wanted to swim with our persuasion. At the beach, we eased into the breathtaking water slowly but once in, Virginia, Carly, and I swam to the nearest rock and climbed. “Conquering” the rock we were investigating, Taylor joined in by skillfully climbing from the large rocks on shore to wading, pants hiked up, to the rock we were standing on. She even managed to not get wet! The remainder of our group was snapping pictures on shore and walking the cold, rocky beach. The ocean was nothing short of crystal-clear and breathtakingly beautiful. Shivering and with a few cuts on our legs from the barnacles on the rocks, we hiked up the large sand dune back to the hostel. We then showered and ate a delicious dinner of “Burlington Salad”, spaghetti and rolls and headed to the abbey for worship service. After hearing thought-provoking stories and singing a few new hymns, we attended an Iona Ceilidh. What is a Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) you might ask? A social gathering within a community of dancing, music, singing, and story telling. There, we learned many traditional European dances, a few line dances and a couple of partner dances. There was some interesting partnering, but I quickly learned that with a little instruction and practice the All Saints' group could dance! We picked up the dances fairly quickly and among the best dancers were Caddell, Jack, Tracy, and Virginia. We even made some new friends with our partners, some from Scotland and others from Michigan. With danced-out sore feet and fun stories about the Ceilidh, we left for our mile and a half walk back to the hostel. On our trek back, we traded stories and learned more about a man who spends his summers on Iona but is from Hamburg, Germany. With heavy eyelids we now enter our bedrooms, resting up for our seven-mile hike that is in store for us tomorrow. As I reflect, we are thankful that our day was filled with anticipation, excitement, heavy luggage and grocery bags, swimming, worship, and dancing and I would have had it no other way!
-Ellen Begley

"We'll get ice cream after a short walk"

2007-07-23T05:26:00.001-04:00

Text entry by Cadell Martin follows photos.

After Holy Eucharist at St. John's Cathedral in Oban.

Fish and chips in Oban

We ask some Scotland natives the correct way to pronounce Edinburgh

A view from our hike to Kerrara

A sunset over Oban

The Five Excellent Practices of Pilgrimages:
Practice the arts of attention and listening.
Practice renewing yourself every day.
Practice meandering toward the center of every place.
Practice the ritual of reading sacred texts.
Practice gratitude and praise-singing.

We began our day with a wonderful breakfast made by the innkeeper and afterwards we headed to St. John's Episcopal Church. It was a very nice service. The Liturgy is very similar to All Saints' yet the sermon was very different. The priest definitely seemed more conversational and the baptismal was different yet interesting. The priest walked the baby, which is his granddaughter, and the family down to the narthex and she was baptized there. We also learned how in the olden days the baby would have to turn from the ecclesiastical west to the ecclesiastical east because that is where the sun is during the morning. After the service, the congregation was invited for tea and coffee in the lobby and there we talked to some of the members of the church. We were asked where we were from and where are we going. We also earned that one of the members of the church built the crucifix that is in the chapel on Iona. After the delicious tea we headed back to the inn to prepare for a full day out. For lunch, we walked to a fish and chips restaurant and we all enjoyed fish and chips. After lunch we were promised ice cream but we wanted to walk off lunch first. So, we began walking by following Tim. Tim then lead us up a steep hill with many steps. It was very tiring but our destination was a hill that over looked the city and the pier and we could see over to another island. After spending some time looking over the city and at some pretty flowers, we began our descent down. After going down the many steps we began to walk towards the ferry that would take us to Kerrera which was one of the islands that we saw from the lookout point. To get to this ferry we had to travel this treacherous road that was fairly narrow and cars also traveled on it. We were pretty nervous about traveling on it at first because it started out with a curve and we couldn't see around it so we had no idea when a car was coming. After we made it passed that part, we continued on our was to the ferry. The walk itself is a little over a mile, one way, but on the way we could see the ocean and purple and blue hydrangeas. We arrived at the ferry and road over to Kerrera where we began to take a path that finally ends at a castle but that was over an hour walk. We just walked on the path until we found a place where we could sit and talk. On the way we passed a huge sheep farm and the sheep were very interesting to see and talk about. The spot where we stopped seemed to be a docking place for this family that had a house on this island and there house was right in front of the ocean. While we were having alone time in this area. The family came back to her house. When she got their she released her four parrots and her two dogs. When we were beginning to head back to the ferry, we stopped to talk to her and we learned that she rescued the parrots. One of them had been torn away from its family when it was young, another had a disease, and one just had dirty language. She also sold glasses that had a designed on them for 3₤. She told us that the money went towards food for the birds.

The End of Part 1

Cadell Martin

We've Made It!

2007-07-22T08:06:00.000-04:00

Written entry by Taylor Page follows images

Our arrival at Edinburgh Airport

Our dinner entertainment in Oban

Pilgrims in Oban

“Whether by walking or by traveling via plane, ship, train, bicycle, or bus, the pilgrim progresses across time as well as space. The ambitiousness of the goal, the intensity of devotion ensure that the sight of new landscapes, the smell of novel foods, the encounter with unusual customs-- all converge to create a new way of experiencing the world. The legendary hospitality and deference afforded pilgrims also contributes to the sense of delight and gratitude for the unfolding adventure.”
-Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage

At 4:30 PM on Friday, our pilgrimage officially began. We all gathered in Ellis Hall with various amounts of luggage. “What did you bring?” “I have this big suitcase” “I managed to pack it all into my backpack”, etc. Some of us were proud of our ability to condense, while others decided not to give anything up. Either way, around 5 PM our ragtag crew headed off to the MARTA station. We boarded to train with minimal trouble, although with many surprised looks from our fellow passengers. We reached the airport and, despite some trouble with checking in, we made it past security with time to spare. When the gang reached our gate at T5, a message blared over the loud speaker. “Attention to flight 96 to Edinburgh, your gate has been changed to E2”. We looked at each other with wide eyes, but begrudgingly headed over to the E terminal. We got a little snack and then boarded our airplane. It took a bit of time to actually take off, owing to a sick pilot and other small delays. We did, though, eventually take to the skies. The flight was, fortunately, fairly uneventful. Everyone got various amounts of sleep and the food was pretty good. We landed in the Edinburgh airport at 9 AM, Scotland time. After zipping through customs, we nabbed a shuttle to the Edinburgh train station. The drive to the train station was a wonderful glimpse at the city. I had no idea that there were so many beautiful old buildings in Edinburgh. The Old Town was particularly lovely. We grabbed some lunch, took up all the room in the little shop, and boarded the train to Glasgow. Scotland is such a beautiful country. We passed rocky mountains, fields home to sheep, and large lakes. In Glasgow, we changed to a train to Oban. That ride took us through more amazing landscape. We finally reached Oban, tired and bedraggled, but happy to have arrived. We walked through town to our home in town, the Balmoral Inn. We met the innkeeper, a man named Constantine, and hauled our luggage up 2 flights of steep spiral stairs to our rooms. Some of us took showers and napped, while others went out to explore the town. At 7ish, we gathered again and went to McTavish's for dinner and a Scottish show. At McTavish's, some of our group got to try that infamous Scottish dish, haggis, and generally found it to be quite delicious. Others had a soup called cock-a-leekie (chicken, leeks, and rice). The Scottish show consisted of music, singing, and dancing. The music was played by a fiddle, an accordion, and, of course, bagpipes. The little Scottish dancer was great and a man sang traditional Scottish tunes. While we were all tired (with a few falling asleep at the table!), we had a great time getting a little bit of Scottish culture. After dinner, we walked down to a pier in the Oban harbor and had a meeting and Compline while the sun set- at about 10:30 PM. We took a little stroll, then headed back to the inn for some much needed beauty sleep. A good start to our journey!

Taylor Page

2007-07-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

"O God, we entrust these pilgrims to your loving and merciful care. Support and guide them as they walk the pilgrim's way in your light and your Presence. Let your loving care enfold them, those who love them and those they leave behind.

In the name of God and of this congregation, I send you forth as pilgrims."

The pilgrimage to Iona had an official start today with a blessing in All Saints given by Fr. Geoffrey Hoare and a cookout at the the home of Nick and Kathy Roberts. After a year of planning the pilgrims will begin their journey to Iona, Scotland on Friday afternoon.

2006 Pilgrimage

2006-08-01T22:07:00.000-04:00

2006-07-30T17:46:00.000-04:00

“Remember again and again that true pilgrimage is into the undiscovered land of your imagination, which you could not have explored any other way than through these lands. The challenge is to learn how to carry over the quality of the journey into your everyday life. The art of pilgrimage is the craft of taking time seriously, elegantly.”

Today was easily the coldest day so far on our trip, but it was also one of the best. We went to church at 9:00 this morning and ate breakfast there. They served breakfast cakes, coffee, small doughnuts called “dreams” and a four-foot long sub sandwich as the main event. At breakfast our youth friends surprised us with gifts like the ones we had planned for them, but from Brazil!

It was such a sweet gesture and really made me realize how much we had learned from our friends and how much we had bonded with them on this journey. Their gifts were fun little things such as Brazilian CDs and socks. It was amazing that all these things, which probably would have been bizarre to me before this trip, had meaning now. After breakfast we joined their Sunday School class and discussed Psalm 122:1.

The church service was very nice, and really had more meaning now that we were friends with all the participants. Laurie sang a beautiful song and was approached several times after the service and told how nice it was. Julio Pedro thanked us for coming at the end of the service, and talked about a return visit from our Brazilian friends. After the service we had lunch.

During lunch we received more gifts and gave ours. We each had a backpack to give to one friend, and our individual gifts. They seemed to have the same reaction to our gifts as we did to theirs. We did not have rice and beans for lunch, but will fortunately probably have it at dinner. For lunch we had salad, several kinds of meat filled pastry-like foods, and a rice-chicken mixture. We also had Guarana and tried a pineapple-mint soy juice. We sang our Compline song for the church as a gift, and then had cake. We spent a long time saying goodbye to some members of the parish, then left to go to the “hippie market”. The market was amazing and had every kind of jewelry imaginable. There was also art, clothes, and other Brazilian mementos. We had a lot of fun shopping and found things that had been more expensive at the mall. When we finally left our friends, we gave them all hugs and brought one girl (Luciela) back to the convent to have dinner with us.

Mostly everyone has finished packing now and many people plan to wear their new socks on the airplane. We will have dinner here at the convent and go to the airport after that for our 11:00 flight. This pilgrimage has taught me so much, and I hope everyone has had the same experience. I did not know what to expect when I agreed to come, but I feel so blessed to have been able to do this. Everything was so amazing and everyone was so welcoming that I really felt like I was able to be a Pilgrim. -ginny weinmann

O God of peace, you taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength. By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saturday, July 29

2006-07-30T07:58:00.000-04:00

After all your preparation, the arduous journey, the force that called you here is asking for something vital only you can give. What is it? What can you give back? Has your amazement been amazed yet? Consider the marvel of your arrival.

This morning I slept a half hour later than usual, and it was a beautiful thing to have the extra sleep. What was not beautiful however was the weather. Our first cloudy and rainy day also happened to be our first and only day at the beach. Luckily, by the time we arrived at the beach, the rain had stopped, and the sun eventually parted long enough to allow a few rays of sun to shine through. The waves at the beach were gigantic and powerful, and the most exhilarating and painful activity was running into the enormous wall of water that was created by the waves and powerful current. We were met by our Brazilian friends at the beach, and we all were able to enjoy the beautiful coast.

After the beach, we all piled onto the bus and drove to the most magical place I’ve ever been: the all you can eat pizza parlor. I thought we had reached the pinnacle of food services at the all you can eat Brazilian steak house, but friends I tell you that that is not so. Not only did we receive the usual pepperoni and cheese pizza, but I also for the first time experienced shrimp pizza, white chocolate pizza, bacon pizza, and dark chocolate pizza with strawberries. Even with my allergy to cheese, I engulfed 12 pieces of pizza.

After we had finished with this amazing place, the whole group went to a Rio mall so the females of the group could go on their long “needed” shopping spree. All of us enjoyed the mall, and our Brazilian friends bought everyone sandals as a parting gift. When we came back to the convent and began our nightly devotionals, we heard the eerie howling of the wind outside for the first time. We aren’t sure of where this sound came from, but it was the creepiest, yet most amazing sound I have ever heard. During our silent prayer, the wind picked up its intensity and let out a sad shriek. It was an awesome way to end the day.
–will kimmell

Our visit to Corcorvado

2006-07-29T07:42:00.000-04:00

This is a great moment, when you see however distant, the goal of your wandering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes part of the tangible world.–freya starck

This morning, after two years of mental, spiritual, and physical preparation, we finally had Jesus Day! When we arrived at the parking lot where we were planning to board our vans to take us to the Corcovado, the mountain on which the Jesus statue stands, we were surprised to find out that a group of Germans had paid the vans to take them to the top instead of us. After a little negotiation, we acquired several taxis. Our unexpected change in transportation was just another turn in the pilgrim’s “labyrinth” we are becoming so accustomed to.

After careening our way to the top of the mountain, thanks to our typical crazy Brazilian drivers, we were greatly rewarded with the view from the top. As we anxiously waited for the elevator to bring us to the feet of the huge statue, I truly felt like a pilgrim. The statue I had seen in so many pictures and tried to imagine so many times was finally right in front of me. Up close, the fifty-two year old Jesus statue looms over its visitors and looks out over all of Rio de Janeiro with a watchful eye. We admired the 360-degree view as well as the masterpiece we had waited so long to see. While at the top, we had our own liturgy and read the passage about Jesus walking on water. After our service and a little more staring, we tore our eyes away and walked back down the stairs to our taxis.

Next, we arrived at Jan and Anne Benedict’s (two of our Brazilian hosts) country club for a beautiful lunch. We had steak and fried mashed potatoes on the patio overlooking the beautiful pool. After our late lunch, we headed to the outdoor botanical gardens to see the Brazilian flora. Jan, our resident ecologist, gave us a tour and pointed out the monkeys, Jack birds, and every beautiful tree we asked him about. We were all relieved when our bus driver for the day, Washington, eventually made it back to the convent after fighting Rio traffic at rush hour.

Our dinner was a surprise: fried fish along with our mandatory rice, beans, and salad. We had Compline on the roof and we talked about “Arrival” and the reality of our pilgrimage. As we looked up at the Jesus statue, illuminated by bright white light, each of us shared when we believed we “arrived” in Rio. Between moments like the consecration of the Santa Teresa project, our tour of Boystown orphanage, finding ways to connect with our Brazilian friends, and finally seeing the Jesus statue up close and personal, we have all finally fully arrived.

-maggie riddell

2006-07-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

Happy are the people whose strength is in you!* whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
Psalm 84:4

By the end of the day, it had been almost unanimously decided that today had been the most eventful. It began with the consecration of the Santa Teresa Project, a school setting providing education to prepare less privileged kids, typically from the streets, for entering the job market. We met many old friends at the ceremony, including Bishop Celso and David from the English Anglican church, as well as some new ones, such as Ben Gilbert, who was the main founder of the project itself. Although most of the service was in Portuguese, it was still very enjoyable, especially singing the hymns. To top it all off, all of the kids already enrolled in the program stood in the front and held up four signs in English welcoming “our friends from the Diocese of Atlanta.”

When we returned to the convent, we were blessed with the arrival of Donna Mitchell and Laurie Burlington, thus completing our pilgrimage group. The rest of our trip was taken up by a cable-car trip to the top of the Sugar Loaf, the famous 600-million-year-old 396-meter rock located near the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Although it was probably the most touristy thing that we have done so far, the view was beautiful, we were with six of our new Brazilian friends and every guy’s dream finally came true: there were dozens of monkeys living in the woods at the top of the rock! This was, of course, by far the highlight of the trip.

Although our day was very busy, there was still plenty of down time, and it is in this down time that I am beginning to see more and more how our relationships with the Brazilians are growing. At lunch, we talked like old friends, and afterwards Charlie and I played a Brazilian card game with Rafael and Nilton that we had learned many days before. At a gift shop at the base of the Sugar Loaf, Luiz saved us by stopping us from buying overpriced souvenirs, telling us that we could get the same items for half the price in the markets on Saturday.

During the day while at the convent, I managed to find time to do my laundry. Although this hardly seems like a task worth mentioning, it was an adventure all its own. I hand washed my clothes before dinner and am proud to say that not only was I the first male to take a stab at this task, but the first person in the entire group. I guess I’ll have to wait until they dry tomorrow to see if I did a good job or not.

Our day concluded with our ritual Compline, but this time it was on the roof area of the convent. As we sang through the rounds of our ritual hymn in the pitch black, and moved on to the service with only dim candlelight to guide us, I began to realize how everything about this journey had grown on me. I found that I didn’t even need that dim light to sing the hymns and participate in the service. It had become a part of me, as had everything around me. It seems like so long ago since our first meeting with our Brazilian friends right there on that very rooftop. I have grown very accustomed to the city and the people around me. I feel like I’ve lost track of time, and there is no end in sight. But then I look forward and realize that there is an end in sight, and it is only three days away. It’s still a hard concept to grasp. I prefer to continue living in the eternity of the present, and to try and keep it with me wherever I go, be it in Brazil or eventually back home.
-brad cox

Day 5

2006-07-27T08:18:00.000-04:00

“Imagine the burden on your back as your pilgrimage progresses. Many times, the burden that the traveler carries is the heavy load of unasked questions. Those who refuse to ask vital questions along the way pay the consequences, either by getting lost or settling for the superficial loss that is everywhere served up to the tourist on the fly.”
-Phil Cousineau

This morning we woke up and had to check for frost-bite on our fingers and toes. Just kidding, but seriously, coming from Atlanta temperatures in the fifties feel like snow. As we limited ourselves to only two cups of very strong Brazilian coffee, Rob decided to stuff his face with as much of the white bland cheese as possible. We shoved all of our clothes and toiletries back into our “small satchels” in literally three minutes as we hustled out to Paul Caesar and the bus. We went to the Anglican school COLONAR, where the library was currently under construction using government funding. We were impressed by the many computers, one of which was available for John to upload the two previous blogs. We headed across the street and up another hill to Boystown, an orphanage for boys under 18. We met three boys staying at the orphanage.

We are all very eager to get involved in the program once we return to Atlanta because of our unanswered questions about life at the orphanage. After our tour of Boystown we said goodbye to the seminary and countryside and headed to the urban Petropolis, better known to the pilgrims as P-town.

Our first stop was Santos=Dumont’s home, the Brazilians’ version of the Wright brothers (that is how he signed his name to show the Brazilian-French equality). After learning about the Brazilians’ first flight, we walked down the “Champs-d’Elysees” of Brazil towards the Imperial Museum.

It is a 19th century Brazilian mansion, which was Don Pedro’s summer home. For forty-five minutes we slid around on mandatory slippers and polished the floors as we toured the beautifully decorated rooms and the exquisite jewels (including the scepter and crown of Brazil’s last emperor), paintings, and outfits. By 2:30 everyone was ready to eat. We drove about twenty minutes and arrived at the gates of heaven, Lago Sul, the Fogo de Chao of Petropolis.

For about an hour we kept our green cards up as we stuffed our faces with different types of meat, side dishes including fried plantains and onion rings, but most importantly meat, chicken hearts, and more meat. Will Boswell, Jason, Brad, and our very own John Mitchell never refused anything that passed by. Often used was the phrase, “it’s a party in my mouth.” Needless to say, it was a hit, which unfortunately caught up to us later down the mountain as we headed back to the convent. The minute we stepped through the convent door it was dinner time, and we got just what we needed, more rice and beans.

-page zakas, maggie riddell, & a little help from helen harris

Araras Day 1

2006-07-26T09:57:00.000-04:00

“Imagine that the task of the pilgrim is to deepen the mystery for himself or herself. If you find yourself facing disappointment, try to ask yourself where your attention has wandered. The real work on the journey has begun. Rejoice that you have come so far.”
-Phil Cousineau

I slowly woke up this morning in a bed with not enough blankets. I was surprised to find that a winter night in Brazil could actually become quite chilly, but the sun soon warmed the day back to the usual temperatures we have become accustomed to in this beautiful country. I was tired from the night before because Will Burriss and I stayed up late talking and becoming friends with the two Brazilian boys that had come to stay with us at the seminary. It was difficult overcoming the language barrier at first, but we still managed to have hours of conversation, and it became a game of deciphering what we were trying to say to each other. Unfortunately for myself, to overcome this late night chat I had to down five cups of caffeine-filled Brazilian coffee at breakfast. After our first meal of the day, we threw a Frisbee around while we waited for more Brazilian youth to join us. Once they came and introductions were made, everyone piled on to our bus and we traveled to my first rain forest nature walk.

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to travel into the Brazilian rain forest and explore, so this was a dream come true for me. We were shown around by a machete-carrying biologist, and his spear-carrying friend. We did not see very many exotic animals on this walk because 90% of the creatures are nocturnal, and partly because a large group of teenagers typically do not stay quiet very long. We did end up seeing a turkey-like bird after the hike, but alas, to the dismay of all the men, no monkeys have been spotted yet.

After the hike, we returned to the seminary for lunch and enjoyed a brief but exceptional naptime. After our heavenly sleep, we intended to go to a private pool, but we were officially lost an hour into the ride because the bus could not keep up with the lead car. Part of the pilgrim’s journey is overcoming obstacles and accepting unexpected adventures with a willing and happy heart, but this was difficult with carsickness and a lack of public bathrooms. Yet the pilgrim’s way prevailed, and we made it to the pool in good spirits after our two hour car ride through the Brazilian countryside. The house we visited is owned by a deacon in the Diocese of Rio and the pool that we were supposed to swim in was something close to ice water. Only a brave few souls made the jump into the chilling depth while the rest of us watched with amusement and horror as the “brave souls” quickly jumped out again.

Arlinda, the deacon, fed us hotdogs, which was an excellent touch, and we listened to Brazilian music while we watched the day turn into night. One of my most personal favorite pastimes is watching the stars, and the display of the night sky was one of the most impressive I have ever seen. After we returned to the seminary for dinner, we had our usual pre-bed Compline service. Tonight I enjoyed it because Rob asked us to interpret Psalm 84:1-4 and share phrases that had meaning to us. All in all, it was a great day.

By the way, our bus driver Paul is a retired undercover federal agent who is rumored to have been hired by the Harris and Zakas families. Paul is a great guy and a very skilled driver.
Will Kimmell

Third Day Recap

2006-07-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

“The difference between pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity.”

Today we had another early start after an energizing night of sleep. Our first event of the day was a delicious breakfast prepared by the convent. After breakfast we started our reflection time where people were journaling, reading and observing the breathtaking views of Rio from the convent. After our reflection we proceeded to the bus for the day’s adventures.

Our first stop of the day was Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the seat of the Anglican Episcopal Diocese in Rio. We were greeted by Bishop Celso and Inamar, the Dean of the Cathedral. They described their many projects and the history of the church building and the diocese. Although they don’t have many regular members, the cathedral is an essential part of the surrounding Santa Tereza neighborhood. As a treat for the birthday boy, Will Boswell, Bishop Celso led a short liturgy, which included a prayer for his birthday.

After we left the cathedral we continued to walk around the neighborhood, Santa Tereza, where our convent in also located.

We visited local shops and grocery stores where we saw foods we had never seen before and interesting pieces of artwork. After our walk we headed back to the convent for lunch where to everyone’s surprise we had a meal of rice and beans! Everyone is really starting to love the food. Once lunch was finished we quickly packed and set out for our next journey. Our first stop as we were driving was to pick up four youth and two priests from Church of the Redeemer. Then we all rode to Christ Church. Christ Church is the only Anglican English-speaking church in Rio.

We got to walk around and see the beautiful old church and the British school on grounds. David the English priest there was informative and very friendly. Next on our journey we walked to the local grocery store where we stocked up on all the American food we could find. I’m sure everyone was satisfied after that trip.

Then we continued on our bus ride through the beautiful Brazilian forests. The scenery was gorgeous and the sunset was beautiful as it has been every day. On our bus ride was had plenty of time to bond with the Rio youth. Our main connection was music. Virginia’s portable speakers came in handy as we traded ipods to listen to American and Brazilian music. It was cool to see our common interest in music. We were all amazed that our bus made it up the mountain as we swerved to the top. When we got to the seminary we settled into our new rooms and proceeded to dinner. We had a change in the menu, as there was no rice and beans present. We had a delicious noodle casserole that everyone enjoyed. We also had a birthday cake for Will, the third cake of the day for Will, and we sang him happy birthday in Portuguese while all wearing Varsity hats. Before Compline we all wrote a “Rio pilgrimage” haiku. Here are two examples:

Blessed
Rio is
Quite beautiful now
Much land to
See
-helen harris

Rice
And Some Beans
We eat all the time
Beans and some
Rice
-annie thim

Everyone had a wonderful day and we look forward to a wonderful week to come.
Anna Baker, Annie Thim, and Virginia Zakas

Second Update

2006-07-24T08:05:00.000-04:00

“Imagine the way you see yourself seeing. How are you seeing your way? The practice you pursue will determine the quality of your pilgrimage.” Phil Cousineau

Today, I was gently awakened by the singing of the Catholic group worshiping in the chapel. After being awakened, I naturally fell back asleep, only to be awakened again by the loud knocking of Rob on my door. I made my way to the dining room were we had a great breakfast of bread, cheese, ham, and papaya, a wonderful fruit I have just learned to love. After breakfast, we met in the courtyard briefly before we went to our private reflection time (nap time) for half an hour. After doing this we dressed for church and met out in front of the convent. We then crammed into the bus and made our way to the Church of the Redeemer.

This church is extremely simple, but still beautiful. The church service was entirely in Portuguese except for the sermon, which was translated by Ian, one of our guides who is from Brazil. Once the sermon was complete we then had the pleasure of seeing a married couple renewing their vows for their fiftieth anniversary. A member of the vestry was then called up to the front and it was announced that it was his birthday. This was followed by a gift of flowers given to Virginia and a card for our group. We were then presented to the whole church by standing in the front and looking beautiful. We then filed into a back room (like our Ellis Hall) where we ate a wonderful lunch of more beans and rice, with the same type of meat that we had been served for lunch yesterday. After finishing the meal we started playing cards. First we played a game we knew, and then our new Rio friends taught us another game.

Then we had a birthday cake for the vestry member (my birthday is Monday by the way ). The cake was very different, especially the icing which had the texture of pure sugar. Next we traveled to Niteroi to go to a museum, which looked to really be a flying saucer.

Unfortunately it was closed for renovations. On the way there, we passed this mountain surrounded by water, which had a church on top. Finding out that the museum was closed we made our way to a small fishing village where we went and got some drinks and enjoyed the lovely smell of rotting fish.

After piling back on to the bus and heading back it was time for dinner, which was surprisingly beans, rice, and for a change, spaghetti. I personally, once finished, went up to the roof and looked out over the city and at the stars. Then we had our regular Compline and I started writing this. Overall today was a fun day but was extremely simple.
- Will Boswell

We are traveling to Araras today and may not be able to post until Wednesday evening.

Our First Day!

2006-07-23T08:04:00.000-04:00

“How we pack our bags defines our journey. We always have a choice.” Phil Cousineau

“Bomdia.” Hello from Rio de Janeiro! It is almost nine o’clock and we are all at the convent safe and sound, most of the group already sleeping. We boarded our flight with varying expectations and anxieties. Our flight was a normal overnight flight, tossing and turning and smacking the chair in front of us trying to get at least an hour or even two hours of sleep. Of course, the movie was pretty bad and Rob instantly fell asleep while reading his 400+ page Brazilian book. Upon arriving and exiting the plane, groggy and unaware of our surroundings, we encountered our first journey: the customs line. We weaved around and around for about an hour meeting new people coming to Rio for many things. After being allowed to enter the city, finding our luggage went quite smoothly, thank goodness! After going up and down and all around on elevators, staircases, and even luggage carts we boarded the bus. Our first glimpse of the city was a remarkable one, a memory that will probably never escape me. A mix of rich, poor, urban, and country all included in one package. We drove through the city and upon arriving at our destination, we noticed that this destination was on top of a mountain; it is really just a hill but after two hours of sleep it seemed like Everest. We now faced our second journey, getting all of ours bags up to the convent in one piece. “How we pack our bags defines our journey. We always have a choice.” Yes, we always have a choice.

Judson made the right choice to pack a suitcase that would probably hold my shampoo, and then Virginia with the suitcase that could hold the Mitchell and Burlington children with space. The suitcase we had was the suitcase we chose and that suitcase was the one WE got to haul up the “mountain.” Judson, with his “man purse” chose to take the stairs, while the majority of the girls chose to wait for the elevator that would only take three people and that could probably break any second. The bottom line is that we all made it to our rooms, some faster than others, but we all enjoyed the spectacular view from the “summit of our climb.”

After our test of physical endurance we met the youth group from The Church of the Redeemer. Our first ice-breaker activity was to attempt to repeat simple Portuguese phrases. We sort of failed but we all laughed at ourselves and learned that this group of youth was going to be kind and welcoming despite any language issues. Lunch at the convent, then a bus tour around the city came next. We stopped at several beach locations and even tried the local drink: coconut milk. We literally went up and down and all around the city with our bus driver who definitely has “mad skills”. No offence to you driving Atlanta parents, you’ve got nothing on this guy. After dropping our new friends off at their church we continued back up to the convent where we enjoyed a nice, long shower and a simple Brazilian dinner. To end our tiring but absolutely lovely first day we shared our ideas on the differences between pilgrimage and mission and ended with Compline and singing a few hymns. We look forward to our days to come in this wonderful place. We hope that you enjoy experiencing it with us.
- Helen Harris

2006-07-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

All Saints' pilgrims enjoy a kick off cookout before heading to Rio de Janeiro.