Pilgrimage
Preparation: Begin by explaining the importance of the metaphor of pilgrimage in the Christian tradition.
Here are a few basic ideas to share:
A favorite hymn in the Mennonite church, "You are salt for the earth" by Marty Haugen (#226 in Hymnal a Worship Book) contains the verse:
We are the bless'd and a pilgrim people, bound for the kingdom of God! Love our journey and love our homeland: love is the kingdom of God.
Explain the significance of pilgrimage in all traditions but particularly in early and medieval Christianity. The following web sites provide brief descriptions and explanations:
Pilgrimage is practiced in many traditions. Christian pilgrimage tends to focus upon journeys to the Holy Land or to sites associated with miracles or saints. I encouraged the youth to think intentionally of any journey, even a summer vacation, as a pilgrimage. Pick a final destination, a particular place or object that you plan to see you your trip. Go with the intention of coming back changed, renewed or recreated.
Preparation: choose the clothes that you will take carefully to represent seeking God's approval or simplicity. Take one object or article that symbolizes an attitude or psychological burden (for example a grudge or resentment) from your life that you wish to leave behind on your trip. You might also take along a gift, something that you wish to offer in thanks. Medieval Christians often went on pilgrimages as an act of penance from which they would return forgiven. Protestants do not think that God requires such acts from us, but the symbolism of the journey can help us to feel a stronger sense of redemption. If you are taking a trip to visit family or old friends, the center of your journey might be time to renew or repair a relationship or a time to give thanks for a gift or service that you did not properly acknowledge or a time to apologize for some past offense that you still regret.
While you are on your trip, consciously anticipate the destination that you have named as the center of your journey.
When you arrive, try to circumambulate the site if possible. For example, when I traveled to Norway several summers ago to meet my Norwegian relatives, I thought of the small church in Jostedal where my ancestral family had worshiped as the center of my journey. Before entering the church, I walked all the way around it. On one occasion the center of my journey was a painting by Tom Thomson, The Jack Pine, that hangs in the National Gallery of Canada. I spent about 15 minutes studying its composition and then at least another 15 minutes contemplating why it moved me.
We often purchase souvenirs on our vacations to serve as reminders. Roman Catholic pilgrims do the same thing. They bring back medals from shrines that they have visited. Medieval pilgrims to Galicia brought back shells as tokens of their journey. This practice gradually spread to pilgrimages to all destinations. Like most people, when I travel to the ocean, I bring back a shell or a pebble. Encourage the youth to lend this simple action more intentionally, so that the object serves as a constant reminder of their spiritual growth.
Activity: Choose a pilgrimage site that is close to your church. There are several possibilities within a few minutes walk from College Mennonite. For the day of our short pilgrimage, I chose the sculpture The Broken Shield that sits on the campus of Goshen College. I placed some shells under the sculpture before church. After sharing about the background of Christian pilgrimage, we left the church and the youth each picked up a small stone to symbolize a resentment or grudge that they wished to leave behind. Each took his or her own silent path to the sculpture and then, when he or she was ready, laid the stone at the base of The Broken Shield, picked up a shell and then returned to the church. We then spent time sharing where we thought we were going for a summer vacation or trip and discussed ways of turning the trip into a pilgrimage. Before returning home from church, I picked up the stones to prevent a lawn mower accident.
