Meeting Seekers on Their Way in Sheffield

Meeting Seekers on Their Way in Sheffield

The Rev. Erik Karas, Christ Trinity Church, Sheffield

People who set out on the Appalachian Trail are pilgrims, whether they would call themselves that or not. Everyone who steps onto a path like that is searching for some thing. They may know what they are searching for (or think they do), or have no idea whatsoever. The journey itself will undoubtedly reveal much more along the way than just the end of a trail.

But it isn’t our ministry to help them find what they are looking for. Our ministry is simply to support them with generous and unconditional hospitality along their way.

Hiker at the end of the Appalachian Trail

Photo: submitted

Caring for pilgrims “Along the Way” is an ancient, holy, and powerfully rewarding ministry. On the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and Spain (a pilgrimage recently taken by our own Bishop Doug), volunteers have been caring for the pilgrims walking that trail for over a thousand years.

Here in the Berkshires, we give that ministry our own special twist by doing that ancient and holy work from comfortable chairs in the shade on a beautiful summer day.

Two years ago, we received a Ministry Development Grant from the diocese to set up a Corner of Kindness next to the Appalachian Trail in Sheffield. With money for tents, chairs, tables, a grill, cell phone chargers, food, and water, we set up this little outpost in the summer of 2018 with our UCC friends from across the street and waited for hikers to happen upon our spot.

With a bit of research, we knew that most northbound hikers (which are the vast majority), start at the beginning of the trail in Georgia in March. They continue north, coming through Sheffield between the middle of June and the middle of August, on their way to the end of the trail on the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine. We also learned that the hikers who use the camp site just to our south would arrive at our little spot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. With those target dates and times, we set up twice a week during that first season.

Each day, we saw between 6 and 30 hikers. We welcomed them under the shade, gave them snacks, cooked them a burger, had them sit in a chair with a back, and listened to their stories. Some had just graduated high school. Others were transitioning from the military into civilian life. Some had quit their jobs to hike the trail, and still others were fulfilling a retirement dream. We met hikers from literally all over the world, like a couple from Ireland who needed to finish the hike before their six-month visa expired. Each hiker has a unique story, and most were happy to share it with us.

Hiker napping at the Corner of Kindness in Sheffield.

Photo: Erik Karas

In our 2019 season, we added an additional day on the trail because of the enormous support we had from local people volunteering for the project. The support of local volunteers and the interest in the project from other faith groups is wonderful. It seems that many people today are looking for a way to inject some kindness into our troubled world. This project provides a simple, local, and easy-to-wrap-your-mind-around way to do that in a clearly defined place and time frame. It also provides instant gratification for the volunteers when hikers come in; they are always overjoyed to find us.

Now, in preparation for our 2020 season, we’ve already held a Beer & Hymns fundraiser at our local brewery to help us stock the coolers with water and keep burgers on the grill. Our local Catholic neighbors have asked to get in on the project, and we’re looking for congregations like yours from farther away to fill a car with three to six people and drive out to Sheffield for a day by the trail.

L-R: Rt. Rev. Doug Fisher, Rt. Rev. Larry Provenzano, and Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey stop by the trail.

Photo: Erik Karas

All it would take is a small group of friends, a drive out to the Berkshires, and a few hours sitting in this Corner of Kindness welcoming those who pass by “On the Way.” Our goal is to supplement the three days staffed by our local volunteers with some days staffed by groups like yours so that one day, we will have every day covered during the season!

Our local volunteers currently staff Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. If you would like to take on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, we’ll meet you at the site at about 10 a.m., get you set up, and show you how it works. When you feel comfortable, we’ll leave and then come back to help you close up at the end of the day around 2 p.m. If you don’t want to staff the site on your own just yet, you can always come out and join one of our local groups for a day to get your feet wet before you dive in on a day of your own.

We look forward to sharing one of those days with you and your group this coming summer! ♦

For more information or to schedule a day this summer, email Rev. Erik Karas at pastorkaras@gmail.com .