On the Eve of Pilgrimage

I write this the day before leading a Youth Pilgrimage to Transylvania. I say lead, but I think that word needs to be broken down, for I am a pilgrim just as the people (both adult and teen) with whom I travel. As I sit more with the elements of leadership, I realize that is one of the biggest places of pilgrimage in my life. I step into a terrain which I know little, then I grow in self understanding which allows me to examine my roles differently. From this point I will never be the same, there is no going back to operating as I did before. Very much like a pilgrimage, each pilgrim will encounter themselves and the world in such a way that transformation is inevitable.

Leadership is the forefront of my thoughts because I just finished a 9 month internship that focused on my theology of ministry while working as a chaplain in the juvenile detention center. I was shocked at the ease and strength with which I assumed my role. The frustration I experienced was when I would need to accommodate other people’s anxiety about my work. I realize now what I labeled as others anxiety was real fear of an unknown. I did not hold that same fear. As I journey in this pilgrimage I feel I am aware of when I am fearful and when I am picking up on another’s fear. One of the greatest gifts I can offer this pilgrimage is strength and solidarity. I have committed to this group that I will walk with them in ways known and unknown.

Through my coursework and preparation for this pilgrimage I have become increasingly clear in my theology, in particular, my Christology. Along with my new found strength coming from the jail, I find I am more invited to speak my own theology and to engage in dialogue. I am energized by the variety of God images that exist and see each person as holding a piece of the divine. It is by being and sharing in community that we see the Holy more fully. I am very comfortable operating and translating from the Christian Tradition. I say this with the keen awareness that the tradition I hold so dear has been misused throughout history for power and greed. In the Christian faith I look to the ways Jesus prayed, lived, played, taught, and journeyed with the people of his time. I believe my call, or rather humanity’s call, is to listen deeply and respond lovingly to the world around us. This is a constant discernment, I look to the teachings of Jesus to help me in this process.

I am inspired to hear and explore other traditions, to see the unique ways different people of time and space have chosen to relate to the Holy. I believe the only way we can truly listen deeply and respond lovingly is to be in dialogue and communion with as many diverse people as possible. Dialogue and diversity are what I am most yearning for on this pilgrimage. I am about to meet people who hold different values, who live differently from myself, and who worship differently than I. And yet, through the diversity the one spirit will move us to listen deeply and respond lovingly.

May we be blessed on this journey.