“The Forest makes your heart gentle. You become one with it… No place for greed or anger there.” Pha Pachack This past week, fifteen pilgrims started a journey, and they all returned different people. Everyone’s experience was distinct,
Lessons from the Pilgrimage
During the oceanside Eucharist on Second Beach, we moved through several liturgical stations. At one station, pilgrims were asked to reflect on the past week spent in sacred spaces and write a sentence about what God had taught them. In
The Pilgrimage Song
The youth pilgrims created a song about our week’s journey, inspired by the Camp Huston song. Part 1 Part 2
Day 6: Hope
Last night was the first where everyone slept outdoors. We woke up today in tents or on the grass, surrounded on all sides by a dark wall of woods. Tuck made us all aware of the life beneath our feet—tree
Day 5: Healing
We hopped in the vans for a quick jaunt to the mouth of the Elwha River. Most of this beach didn’t exist six years ago. When the dams came out in 2013, decades of backed up sediment flowed down and replenished the eroded shoreline with eighty acres of new land. This was—and still is—the largest dam removal in the world.
Day 4: Sanctuary
Wednesday began with a meditative walk through the grassy paths of St. Luke’s, Sequim’s labyrinth. Our pilgrimage’s music team played the Gaelic hymn Morning Has Broken, inspiring deeper reflection while we walked. Ann Strickland and the other musicians then transitioned
Day 3: Land
A long trek left us worn yet exhilarated, still ready to learn and experience the wonders of land. Over 60,000 unique plants and a hive of bustling bees helped our hearty crew to understand the mutual, everlasting, and complex relationships shared between us all.
Day 2: Ocean
Today we explored the ocean in kayaks and conversation. All the youth and trail guides loaded into kayaks at Fort Worden State Park, where we paddled along the shore—eelgrass beneath us and clear skies above us. A pair of bald eagles watched from the bluff.
Day 1: Pilgrim
We kicked off our pilgrimage with a Sunday liturgy at St. Mark’s Cathedral, a new experience for many of our youth pilgrims. The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori delivered a wonderful sermon on the lectionary’s wisdom readings, readings about how
Former Presiding Bishop Schori Joins Pilgrimage
Former Presiding Bishop, the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be joining 15 diocesan teens this summer for a pilgrimage across the Olympic Peninsula.