By Susan Wordal
One of my sorority sisters, who is also a retired government lawyer (so you know I love her), has recently been on a trip to the land of the Pyramids. It’s one of those bucket list things. And, as is her habit, she takes many photos and shares with those of us who are her friends on FB. We get to travel vicariously, and she generally throws in some historical detail and some Catholic perspective for those of us who are not necessarily of that particular persuasion (either an historian or Catholic). It provides some context for what she sees, but by no means requires us to subscribe or conform to any particular perspective or religious affiliation in order to appreciate the sights and sounds and textures of her trip. And she does share all those as best she can through her writing and her photos.
One of her last posts about the trip was the “safe arrival home” post. And in it she references a travel writer named Rick Steves, who was quoted by their main tour guide at the beginning of her trip. It seems Steves had indicated there is a difference between being a tourist and being a traveler. But the tour guide went farther and suggested a 3rd category: pilgrim. (A pilgrim in the land of Egypt, what a novel concept!) Here’s the essence of that comment, which I took from my Sister’s post:
¨ Tourists take a trip and look at the places. They enjoy the experience, learn a few things but return home unchanged and unmoved.
¨ Travelers engage with the places and cultures they visit. They expand their worldview and make connections.
¨ Pilgrims view travel as transformative and challenging. They see new adventures and places as a way to become fully human.
The Council here at Pilgrim Congregational UCC participated in a retreat on Saturday where we worked through visioning comments and other comments from members of the congregation as a way to move forward with creating some goals for Pilgrim in this new era of the church. The conversations were insightful and dynamic. We worked hard, we joked with each other, and we found insights and camaraderie in the work we are doing in this place.
Maybe you can see why my Sister’s comment about Pilgrims as a category of explorer, if you will, resonated with me. It encapsulated what I think Pilgrim has to offer people who are on or have joined us on this journey. Some will be tourists – here for a short time, enjoying the experience before they move on to another experience. We love them and wish them well and hope they take a little of us with them as they move forward on their journey and will remember us fondly if they look back. Some will be travelers – here to see and experience, to engage with us and make connections for whatever time they are here, and to carry a bit of us with them as they continue with us and without us. We also love them and wish them well, and know they take a little of us with them in their journey, possibly even returning to us from time to time, but certainly looking back and remembering and sharing with others that which they found at Pilgrim.
But those of us who are pilgrims see the experience of Pilgrim (the church) as a place to transform ourselves and challenge ourselves and others, to seek the next adventure together, to experience this place and others as part of the journey. We look to our fellow Pilgrims as our support system, our family outside our nuclear family, our partners in life’s ups and downs. We welcome people into our circle and by so doing, we engage with others and are transformed by those experiences and that exposure to new ideas, or ideas we have never contemplated before, or have contemplated only at a distance. We may stumble along the way. We may speak before thinking, or we may make a genuine statement of caring which is not received as such. And we can recognize that, we can atone for our missteps, and we can change for the better. And for those who feel we have transgressed, there is the power of forgiveness. And in forgiving, we who are called on to forgive, as well as we who seek forgiveness, are also transformed. For we recognize that we are human and while we can and should be like an elephant and never forget, we learn to rebuild from places of sorrow or disappointment, transformed by that power that is forgiveness when it is genuinely earned and genuinely warranted and genuinely given.
So, join us. Experience the adventure in transforming the legacy left to us by our Founders and by our Creator. Honor those who came before and those who come after. Know that we will stumble and make mistakes in our very human and flawed condition. And trust that as we work together, we at Pilgrim are truly pilgrims on a journey of discovery and transformation and even transfiguration. Accept the challenge to love and forgive in equal measure. Be a full participant, not just a tourist or just a traveler, but a true pilgrim. Welcome to our circle.