Paris Pics

So, we took some obligatory pictures and some fun snapshots in Paris. The sleepy one is for my Mom who once had a student who thought that the Eiffel Tower was the "I feel tired." Gotta love a junior high kid with a Texas accent learning about French landmarks! Hope y'all enjoy! 

Welcome sign @ the airport

Locks on the bridge

Notre Dame

Snails!

Hipsters - they're not just in Portland...

Somebody thought the Queen needed a nose job

Street musicians

Louvre metro stop

Cool modern metal work

Cool old school metal work

Stained glass in the Basilica of St. Denis

Even the floors are works of art in many places

They even put a bird on it!

Eiffel tower & sunshine after the rain 

Arc de Triomphe

Walking along the Seine

I really was feeling a bit tired :-)

Beginning

Marking the beginning of a pilgrimage isn't as easy as it may sound. Some say it begins when you first feel called to go; some when you begin to prepare. Some say it starts when you take the first steps away from your home toward the place of pilgrimage and still others when you take the first steps of the "official" marked trail. We are on this journey for a variety of reasons and most of us agree that there have been (and continue to be) many beginnings or starting places for this pilgrimage. We are hoping to find strength - both inner and outer - and so our preparations have been a necessary beginning of our pilgrimage. We have walked and hiked and packed and read and saved our pennies and studied and prayed for more than a year all to get ready for what is basically a really long walk.  So you could say this started over a year ago when Kirsten agreed to come along AND to get us physically trained. 

Or you could say that this journey began when we left the Eugene airport before the crack of dawn and headed out of town. Or you could say it really began when we boarded a flight bound for France. Or maybe you think the pilgrimage part hasn't begun because we aren't yet on the "official" Way of St. James. But it sure feels like it has begun. 

We spent the first few days in Paris. I had never been before, and in addition to Kirsten showing me some of her favorite spots & us hitting some classic stops, we also had the joy of staying with some friends from seminary who live in the area called St. Denis. We were able to soak up the calming beauty of Monet at L'Orangerie and watch the crowds at the Eiffel Tower. We saw the over-the-top wealth on display at Versailles and were overwhelmed by the artistry on display at the Louvre. Then, each day we returned to a home where children were doing homework and dinner was being made and laundry was getting folded. This home is in a neighborhood filled with Middle Eastern and North African immigrants, so we had the experience of being surrounded by people who looked different from us. This 'home base' provided us with a grounding in the city of lights. A reminder that while it can feel at times like a city filled with tourists and their selfie sticks (when did people start carrying equipment to perfect phone pics?!), in reality the city is filled with people who are just making their way through life one step at a time, the same as anywhere else. 

So, no matter where the 'starting line' might be, for us the adventure, the journey and the pilgrimage has most certainly begun!  

Why Pilgrimage?

In answer to that question, here is something written for the church newsletter . . .

It all began with Egeria. She was a faithful Christian who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 381-384.  My church history professors had assigned us a reading from the account she wrote of her travels, and for some reason this reading came alive in a way that many others in seminary did not. I could picture a woman who was excited to have this traveling opportunity and who wanted to share it with her congregation at home. Her detailed account of the places she visited and the worship practices she observed and got to experience were the kind of reading that painted a picture for me of not only the Holy Land but the early church as well. Her writing was the first time I had encountered the idea of pilgrimage as a spiritual practice, and it struck a chord with me. 

As my seminary studies continued, I was introduced to other places of pilgrimage - of course The Holy Land and Rome - but also Taize in France and Iona in Scotland and places throughout Turkey and Greece. I was also introduced to the Christian use of labyrinths as a metaphorical pilgrimage, and had the chance to try out walking them. Finally, a classmate made a trip to Spain over one of our breaks to walk an ancient pilgrimage route called the Way of St. James, or the Camino de Santiago. The more I learned about pilgrimage the more the concept resonated with me. 

The image of our lives as a journey following Christ, the Way, has been a helpful one as I try to discern where it is I am called in my life, as well as when I am offering counsel to others who are seeking clarity. But I wanted to move beyond the image and so began to try to actively practice pilgrimage, to live in that metaphor, to see what I might be taught by physically going and seeing.  As I took  actual steps, whether on a labyrinth or journeying to Iona or making pilgrimage to other places meaningful to me as a person of faith, I have found that indeed this practice speaks to me. God continues to meet me on the journey, wherever it is, surprising me with new insights. It isn’t always what I want to learn or what I am comfortable with, but the end result is that I am stretched in new ways and once again reminded God is faithful, gracious and loving. 

So, it is with excitement (and a little bit of trepidation!) that I once again will assume the mantle of the pilgrim embarking on a sabbatical for the spring term. Many years after hearing about the travels of my seminary colleague, and in the interim hearing from many others (including members of this congregation), I am finally going to make the 500 mile pilgrimage across Spain to Santiago de Compostela. The plan is to make the walk during the Easter season, between Easter Sunday and Pentecost. Following that journey, I will be visiting a few other pilgrim sites in the region before returning to Eugene. I will hold this community of faith in prayer as you make the journey from Easter to Pentecost here, and I would covet your prayers as I quite literally walk the road to Pentecost in Spain. 

Like Egeria who inspired my fascination with pilgrimage, I plan to write some along the way. I will make use of our modern modes of communication, and don’t promise to produce anything that will become seminary curriculum! 

While researching this journey, I looked up Egeria’s journal again, and in so doing I discovered something I hadn’t known about her. Most scholars believe she made her home in the Galician region of Spain, the very region where Santiago de Compostela lies. My reaction was, “Of course.” Of course this pilgrimage will take me to the homeland of the people who first read her account written hundreds of years ago. The journal that inspired me to think about what it means to be a pilgrim. The writing that, in so many ways was the beginning point of my steps toward making this journey. Even as I relished this little surprise, I began to wonder what other revelations God might have in store for this journey. I can’t wait to see.