From the (Associate) Pastor:
As a colleague wrote in an email this week, SHE’S BACK!!! For Harry Potter fans, that is what they say when Voldemort returns. I trust my return is more welcome than his! The past week has been surreal in many ways: I left in summer and returned to the holiday season. When I opened my closet the morning after returning to find something to wear, it was still full of summer clothes. It took several mornings before I knew where I was when I woke up (you are not in Paris any more, Bev. Nor are you in a pilgrim’s dorm with other sleeping/waking/snoring/ slightly smelly humans). Though I had to stop spending my days walking when I fell and injured my ankle and knee a month or so ago, it still feels odd not to be on the pilgrimage route. Even in Paris, I was spotting the scallop shells that have been the symbol of the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela for centuries, and I made a point of going to the Tour (tower) St. Jacques—the traditional starting point for pilgrims leaving from Paris. And, what do you know? Sitting in the Phillips Lounge this week, I realized that the centuries-old sideboard I have been looking at in that room for the past 20 years has scallop shells carved into it. When you’ve been following them as your trail marker for weeks, you start seeing scallop shells everywhere!
It is good to be back with you, and at the same time, it is strange to no longer be a pilgrim in France or Spain. As someone on one of my recent FaceBook posts commented, “we are all pilgrims, aren’t we?” And that is true. I think that is one of the lessons of my sabbatical. We are all pilgrims through life—journeying to the final destination which awaits us all, life beyond death, but, most of the time, focusing on the journey itself rather than the destination. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other when the path is arduous and we are tired. Taking time to appreciate the beauty of the world around us. Enjoying the company of those we encounter along the way. And sometimes enduring the company of those we encounter—with as much grace as possible! One of the things I have brought back from my sabbatical and pilgrimage is a renewed desire to walk through life with intention and awareness. To walk with gratitude to God for the gifts of time, company, family, friends, and beauty. To marvel at just what the human body can do—many times during my days of walking I would say to myself, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” from my favorite Psalm, Ps. 139:14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” I usually repeated that when I was making my way up or down a challenging climb or descent, as encouragement to keep going.
Thank you for the gift of this time away. It was exactly what I needed. I’m grateful for the chance to have a real break and to experience parts of France and Spain in a way most people are not able to. I’m grateful to my colleagues for filling in for me and taking on additional responsibilities this fall so that I could be away. I look forward to sharing more about my experiences in the coming weeks and months.
Until then, I encourage you to think of this season of Advent as a pilgrimage—an intentional journey through this time of expectation, hope and longing as we look toward the day when Christ will return and make all things new.