This final blog post of mine marks our last night on the Pipeline Pilgrimage.
The day has had a sense of spacious finality to it, the last day I can hold in my open palms before the ritual of tomorrow’s sending off, our final full day moving after the pattern we have built.
Our experiences today were both distinct and kin to our other days. We sang “the Farthest Field” in morning worship, and tears followed for some. We inflated a peaceful silence for the first hour of our walk. We sojourned through woods, neighborhoods, and fields, and shared thoughts on the climate movement, faith, and the beauty of our surroundings. We better learned one another’s stories.
Joyful surprises found us – a trumpet sent us off with “When the Saints Come Marching In,” and a familiar trail angel, Ellie Richardson from the MACUCC, greeted us with warm brownies. Through headstands, on swingsets, and by way searching for dragons in the clouds, we played. Our team of Great Climate Marchers comprised our sturdy backbone. First Congregation of Pelham honored us this evening with a sumptuous feast.
We engaged in our final evening of spiritual conversation, sharing our gratitude and seeking to understand how the pilgrimage has informed “what is our work to do?” We each brought a unique perspective, our own sense of personal calling.
Yet one undercurrent churned beneath what each of us had to say: in this pilgrimage, something special has come together. The Pipeline Pilgrimage will continue to stand out for me as the most memorable and empowering piece of activism I have known. This pilgrimage has been marvelous in the thickest sense of the word. Our walk has been so much more than I could have expected, and not because of any one of us, but all of us together, led by something greater than ourselves.
So we hope to share this with you during our closing worship tomorrow at Christ Church United of Dracut, beginning at one o’clock and running until three. We invite you to join us in a moment of Easter hope and transformation, knowing that this pilgrimage – like all others – will never really end, but becomes a practice of resurrection when we bring it back into the rest of our lives.
The day has had a sense of spacious finality to it, the last day I can hold in my open palms before the ritual of tomorrow’s sending off, our final full day moving after the pattern we have built.
Our experiences today were both distinct and kin to our other days. We sang “the Farthest Field” in morning worship, and tears followed for some. We inflated a peaceful silence for the first hour of our walk. We sojourned through woods, neighborhoods, and fields, and shared thoughts on the climate movement, faith, and the beauty of our surroundings. We better learned one another’s stories.
Joyful surprises found us – a trumpet sent us off with “When the Saints Come Marching In,” and a familiar trail angel, Ellie Richardson from the MACUCC, greeted us with warm brownies. Through headstands, on swingsets, and by way searching for dragons in the clouds, we played. Our team of Great Climate Marchers comprised our sturdy backbone. First Congregation of Pelham honored us this evening with a sumptuous feast.
We engaged in our final evening of spiritual conversation, sharing our gratitude and seeking to understand how the pilgrimage has informed “what is our work to do?” We each brought a unique perspective, our own sense of personal calling.
Yet one undercurrent churned beneath what each of us had to say: in this pilgrimage, something special has come together. The Pipeline Pilgrimage will continue to stand out for me as the most memorable and empowering piece of activism I have known. This pilgrimage has been marvelous in the thickest sense of the word. Our walk has been so much more than I could have expected, and not because of any one of us, but all of us together, led by something greater than ourselves.
May the light continue to guide our paths, and yours.
Author
Patrick Cage
Patrick Cage served as environmental intern at the Massachusetts Conference, UCC for six months in early 2015. He is a recent graduate of Yale College where he was an environmental studies major with a concentration in religion and the environment,