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Make a pilgrimage?
Make a pilgrimage?
The Rev. Vicki Ix Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times
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Friends,
I write this the day after our bishop announced the suspension of in-person services until and including April 12—Easter Sunday—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the whirlwind of communications in these past two weeks, we have all been bombarded with information, health directives, and the 24/7 news feed. Our work on this issue of ABUNDANT Times fell by the wayside as more urgent matters came to the fore. Now, as we are all adjusting to some kind of new normal, we have decided to push ahead and get this magazine out to the faithful people of our diocese.
We needed to adjust the theme from “Make a Pilgrimage” to “Make a Pilgrimage…Eventually”. We believe that reading these thoughtful articles about places near and far might take us all out of our boxes for a bit. This issue takes us to Canterbury, Liberia, and to the Appalachian Trail in the Berkshires. You’ll hear from real people about the impact of sacred travel and the people God brings into our lives when we’re on the move.
As we endure the strangeness of staying put for weeks, it may be good to page through and dream of your next real vacation, or that trip to the Holy Land you promised yourself you would make. You might even stop by the diocesan offices in Springfield and visit the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden in our backyard. “Oh, the places you’ll go!” Someday. Eventually. When this time of fear and isolation is over.
It will be nearly Easter by the time this magazine is delivered. We will all have celebrated Christ’s resurrection in a different way. We cannot know when this pandemic will end, but perhaps the daffodils and hyacinths will comfort us for now.
As you turn the page and begin a virtual journey with us, let’s all remember that there is one pilgrimage experience nothing can take from us—prayer. Even as we hunker down and physically distance ourselves from one another, we can go to our inner room and shut the door. We can journey into the heart of God with all the people we love and care for. That’s the most life-giving pilgrimage of all. ♦
Vicki+ March 20, 2020
