If you stop by the office in mid-October, you may notice a familiar face missing from the pastor’s office. Many people have noticed the out-of-office dates on the calendar right in the middle of the school year and wondered, “Where is Pastor Emily going?”
A year ago, I received an email from two of my favorite podcasters saying that they would be leading a pilgrimage in Switzerland this fall through an organization called Common Ground Pilgrimages.
For the past seven years, Common Ground has been hosting pilgrimages all over Europe and North America, treating different texts as sacred. Each trip is focused on a particular book or writer, with a guiding topic to center conversations. The faculty and chaplains on the trip lead pilgrims to explore these texts in a way that help make meaning of life in order to encounter the sacred even in the midst of the “ordinary” reading life.
Though I had been paying attention to these pilgrimages for many years and hoping to participate in one at least by the time I went on sabbatical, Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, Kentucky women who host the podcast Pantsuit Politics: A Different Approach to the News, had never led one before. I have been a faithful follower of their podcast for ten years and really appreciate the nuanced perspective that they bring to a world and culture so mired in disrespect and polarization.
As soon as the email came that Sarah and Beth would be leading the pilgrimage, Scott said, “you have to go!” So, we made plans to make it work financially and without too great of an inconvenience to our home or church life.
During this particular pilgrimage, we will be traveling to Montelier, Switzerland to walk through the beautiful scenery that Mary Shelley once trod when she wrote her seminal classic, Frankenstein. Our sacred reading will be guided by the topic of creativity.
According to the welcome packet we received, “we will reflect and discuss questions such as: How does connection – or its absence – inform our creative instincts? How do we pursue possibility and ambition without letting ego unravel us? At what point do the dreams we cherish most become burdens for ourselves or our communities? … And how do we recognize and embrace the moments when we might be wrong about ourselves?”
I have to admit that I had never read Frankenstein before signing up for this pilgrimage, nor am I a horror fan. But, after reading Frankenstein for the first time and reading a few books about Mary Shelley’s life and the writing of Frankenstein, I am so excited to dive into the questions listed and more as we consider what insights this classic novel about the repercussions of ambition taken too far have to offer us. Shelley was wrestling with many of the same questions we are tackling today as we consider how far we should take such technologies as artificial intelligence and other media that change the way we relate to one another and understand what is possible and what is true.
I am eager to walk beautiful paths around the Alps, meet new friends and pilgrims who will help me think more broadly, and become rejuvenated by reconnecting with the sacred all around me. I truly believe that this experience will expand my mind and heart in ways I have yet to fully comprehend or imagine.
I am also hopeful that participating in this pilgrimage will give me tools for being a better preacher and pastor. Perhaps there will even be ways that I can bring the practice of sacred reading into our congregational life. Finding the sacred in the ordinary and thinking deeply in community about the things that influence our lives are transformative experiences. Maybe we won’t go to Switzerland as a congregation, but we can learn and grow together through practices like sacred reading and walking.
Please keep me and my family in your prayers during this opportunity. I have tried to set Scott up with all the extra help I can while I am gone, but I know it won’t be easy for him to be alone with the kids while I am out of the country. Pray also that God will open my mind and my heart to whatever sacred inspiration God desires for me to absorb and learn.
The church will be in good hands while I am gone, and I will only miss one Sunday. As always, please reach out to the office or to the Deacon of the Week if you need anything during my absence. I look forward to seeing you on the other side!