Blog Archives: August 2020

Well. 130 miles later and we marched down the Mount Vernon Trail and into the Capital this morning. Fourteen of us walked from Charlottesville, Virginia to Washington, DC over nine days. About twenty folks folded in and out over the course of the week, with over a hundred walking in with us this morning. One of the organizers of this group, Doug Pagitt, who founded Vote Common Good, walked the distance with us and spoke at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington today. Our group was enthusiastically welcomed by Rev. Al ...

Why did I think I could walk over 100 miles when one year ago, I couldn’t walk up the stairs without being winded? The reasons: 1) I’ve had companions on the way to help me, encourage me, push me, and help care for me; and 2) our POWER leaders said they wanted someone on this pilgrimage. (It helped that one of the gifts of my sabbatical time was focusing on my health. But I still haven’t walked over a mile in years...) I didn’t think I was the right person, and I’m probably not. But as someone inclined to the driver’s seat, and ...

As some of you may know (if you’ve listened to enough Our Time with Children moments over the years), “Sawubona,” is the way that Zulu-speakers in South Africa greet one another. Sawubona. In English, it means, “We see you.” Not “Hello.” Not even, “I see you.” But “We see you.” We - me, my people here in my family and extended family, my community, and my ancestors - we see you, your people, your community, and your ancestors.” We passed the 100-mile mark today. We are walking this hot stretch of road between Charlottesville, Virginia ...

Church community, Today was our seventh day together and our sixth day on the road. We’ve gone 90 miles so far. About 40 to go. It was hot as blazes out there, and as we walked along one lane of the Robert E. Lee Interstate, you could feel the heat radiating off the asphalt. It was a privilege to walk today with 7-year-old Maya, 8-year-old-Aria, and their dad, Shane. They live in a small Virginia town and heard about our walk on the radio. They showed up this morning, fired up and ready to roll. The girls were amazing - happily leading ...

Chestnut Hill United Church community, This was our “hump” day - the middle day in our trek. It began with the news that Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot seven times in the back by police in front of his children after attempting to de-escalate a conflict. He is fighting for his life. Kenosha has erupted. A Black man, trying to help others out, is presumed violent and dangerous by police who shoot before doing anything else. It’s the story of our criminal justice system. It is why we, as people of faith and ...

Chestnut Hill United Church community, One more reason to love Zoom Church - I could join in today from Route 29 in Elkwood, Virginia. I got there just in time for prayers (sorry I missed your sermon, Kipp!). Despite the heat and humidity (the humidity was 95% when we started off this morning), one thing that keeps me going is a collaborative playlist that some of us are creating together. If you listen to music on Spotify and have a song that helps you "walk the walk" and sustains you when your spirits (or feet) fail, ...

"The old is dying and the new is struggling to be born. Now is the time for monsters.” Antonio Gramsci, an Italian philosopher imprisoned by the fascist regime, wrote about what happens when the old order refuses to give up power and unearned privilege. The way those who fear they are losing everything unleash all possible havoc while they still have a chance. Reconstruction and Jim Crow. The end of apartheid in South Africa. And now. Now is the time for monsters. We saw our share of monsters on our 17-mile trek today.* And we learned - ...

Chestnut Hill United Church Community, Fifteen miles today. No historic sites. Just one foot in front of the other. Talking with fellow pilgrims, most of whom locate themselves in different pockets of the Christian tradition than I do. Marveling at the ways their faith has led them to this moment - putting their bodies on the line as white Christians for Black Lives.* Serious humidity. Two dozen of us walking down one lane of a hilly four-lane highway. Honks and cheers of encouragement, including someone who anonymously bought the whole ...

Church community, As a midwestern, middle-class, educated white person, I grew up believing that we really write our own stories. But I know now, more than ever, that we are always inside bigger stories - whether we name them or know them or not. Setting off on the first mile and the first day of this 140-mile journey* in Charlottesville, Virginia this morning, we went deep into four bigger stories. Stories meant to frame the purpose of this pilgrimage. Story #1. Four hundred and one years ago today - on August 20, 1619 - twenty ...

  Chestnut Hill United Church community, A brief reflection on the first day of my journey from Charlottesville, Virginia to Washington, DC. Walk the Walk: Day One - Charlottesville, VA. The symbolic starting point of this experience was supposed to be the gathering at the burial grounds of those enslaved at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. There, we—a group of white faith leaders from around the country—would mark the beginning of our 140 mile walk.* Along this journey we will reckon with the ways our Christian faith ...

One of the protests that I participated in was at the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) in North Philadelphia. The group of people was protesting the over-policing and police brutality in the neighborhood. Prior to marching, we listened to stories from people in the neighborhood, speaking to their experiences with homelessness and police violence in North Philly. Then we marched through the streets of North Philly to Temple. At first, I felt fear and apprehension. I didn’t know anyone else there and we were surrounded by police. As we ...

When we revitalized a tradition of community Bible Study at Chestnut Hill earlier this spring, I didn't know what to expect. I am, personally, a big nerd for learning more about the Bible. I was not raised to read the Bible very often, though I was raised going to church. When I went to divinity school, I came with general knowledge of the Bible, but not a lot of what some might call “Biblical literacy.” I couldn’t quote scriptures off the top of my head, I couldn’t repeat the names of the books of the Bible in order, and I *definitely* ...