Life as Pilgrimage
Summer Newsletter
A Chara… dear friend, in Irish ~
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of traveling with a group on a pilgrimage to northern England. We visited cathedrals, walked ancient pilgrim paths, and even took in a football stadium as well as a castle or two. We shared laughs, chatted about work and family over shared meals, got into deep conversations while tromping barefoot across tidal flats, and took time at the end of each day to notice any insights we’d gained along the way.
I’ve accompanied many pilgrimages since about 2009 or so, but it had been a few years since I’ve been able to do so, due to Covid. And it was a wonderful reminder to me of the gift of pilgrimage as a spiritual practice. I was so glad to rediscover that the journey of physical movement from one place to another becomes a metaphor for life itself.
On the journey, our eyes were opened to each other as travel companions, to the people we encountered along the way, and to everything we were seeing around us. We took on a curiosity, an eagerness to learn, and a welcoming attitude toward the new and different. Our ability to notice things became sharpened - a bright flower along the side of the road, a kind gesture from a stranger, a particularly beautiful vista - became images of deeper truths.
By the end of our journey, each of us could pinpoint a “thin place,” a moment when heaven and earth seemed to meet. And each person’s was unique. Those moments weren’t at all predictable, weren’t tied to a specific time or place, and certainly weren’t a planned part of the itinerary. Sacred moments could be found anywhere on our path - we only needed to cultivate the ability to notice them.
The act of cultivating an openness, a curiosity, an eagerness to learn, a welcome of what is new and different, an awareness of those moments when our eyes are opened to the holy in the world - this is what pilgrimage can teach us. And it’s this pilgrimage spirit that we can bring back home with us, noticing those holy moments breaking through in our daily lives.
I hope your summer includes moments of open-eyed awareness of where that holiness might peek through, wherever you are.
Kiran
p.s. A warm welcome to new subscribers from Abbey of the Arts! It was a such a privilege to be invited by Christine Valters Paintner to share about the background of the Celtic Psalms project in a Monk in the World post, in advance of a selection of those songs being used as a new Prayer Cycle this coming Autumn. I’ve long admired Christine’s thoughtful, creative, and prolific work, and it’s a delight to be included in her offerings.
p.p.s. There’s a lot of info to scroll through below… Here’s a snapshot, so you don’t miss anything:
Summer Tour of the Northeast US/Canada for Celtic Psalms
Pilgrimage April 2024 (Earlybird $150 Discount if booked by end of Sept)
Retreats Schedule for 2023-24
Resilience Trainings
Spiritual Direction
Bless My Feet Members
Music
We’re delighted the confirm our dates, times and locations for our Summer Tour of Northeast US/Canada 13-23 July 2023. If you want to know more details about the concerts, check the Celtic Psalms website or Facebook for updates in the coming weeks. Maybe we’ll see a few of you there!!
We had a delightful evening to celebrate our 10th Anniversary of doing Celtic Psalms music together. If you’d like to have a listen (and have 2 hours on hand!), here’s the concert link.
We were excited to launch Celtic Pilgrims, our nonprofit dedicated to bringing people together through music. We’ll continue the launch of our nonprofit when we’re on tour in the Northeast US/Canada this summer. Check out the Celtic Pilgrims website where you can get on our mailing list, donate, and be the first to hear about our schedule for next year as it unfolds, as we plan more bridge-building events around music.
Resilient Spirit 6-Day Retreat/10-Day Pilgrimage 9-18 April 2024 (Early Bird Discount before 30th Sept)
This retreat and pilgrimage begins with six days of restful reflection at the Corrymeela Community in Ballycastle. With the theme “Resilient Spirit,” this portion of the retreat explores spiritual practices that build resilience in our lives. During this time we will experience workshops with Sara Cook (resilience and wellness skills), Paul Hutchinson (reflective practice and storytelling) and Pádraig O’Tuama (poetry as spiritual practice), and a retreat day with me. Optionally, the pilgrimage continues with four days in the Republic of Ireland including a time at the Glendalough Monastic Site and Dublin city. Find out more and book your spot! The EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT saves you $150 if you book before the 30th of September.
Retreats @ Corrymeela 2023-24
This year’s retreat schedule is out! Start marking your calendars, booking your flights, getting childcare, applying for grants, allocating continuing ed, whatever it takes to get you here! These retreats are spaces for your refreshment, restoration, connection, community, inspiration, and resilience…
Service in Community Retreat 25-26 August 2023
Many spiritual traditions value service as an important spiritual practice, and this retreat will frame service in community as a practice that enriches us, not only over the course of the weekend but in the work of our daily lives. Guided by the monastic concept of “ora et labora” (pray and work), participants will join the Corrymeela Community, and other faith communities, in their annual Work Weekend to freshen up the residential centre. Portions of this retreat will combine with the site-wide activities of the Corrymeela community, bookended by opening and closing retreat sessions. If you’re looking for a chance to contribute meaningfully to Corrymeela, connect with community members, and explore service as a spiritual practice, this hybrid retreat/community weekend might be a good one for you! Book through welcome@corrymeela.org
Stillness in Community Retreat 13-15 October 2023
In this retreat we follow of rhythm of silence and gathering, finding stillness in the midst of community. As the pace of daily life picks up following these pandemic years, it is vital for our wellbeing that we find ways to quiet ourselves long enough to hear our own voice, and God’s voice in our lives. Even in the busiest of times, we can develop skills to centre ourselves, pay attention to what is going within us, and listen for where we are being drawn in the days ahead. This retreat will be marked by times for gathering as a community for sharing, prayer, and creative expression, while setting aside time and space for silence. Book through welcome@corrymeela.org
Clergy Resilience Retreat 3-4 November 2023
This retreat is dedicated to fostering resilience and wellbeing specifically for members of the clergy. Even with a strong sense of calling, passion and purpose, the endless demands on clergy’s time, energy and resources can lead to depletion and burnout. This overnight retreat will offer a pause for respite, restoration, and refreshment before the busy Advent season begins. In this retreat, we will build a community of support with one another and explore resources for wellbeing and resilience specific to faith leaders so that they can feel empowered, sustained, and revitalized in their ministries. Times for sharing and silence, music and prayer, as well as some personal time for walks, writing, or creative expression will be woven into the retreat. Book through welcome@corrymeela.org
Silent Retreat (3 Days) 15-18 February 2024
This three-day retreat (extended by popular request!) offers a space to be in silence alongside a gathered community. In silence, we take the time to still the swirl of daily life and really listen, deeply, to what’s going on under the surface. We listen to ourselves – to our own voices, needs, pains, grief, longings, and hopes for the future. And we listen to what God might be saying to us and leading us into. Silence crosses many barriers, and this retreat is open to people from a variety of religious or spiritual backgrounds. Book through welcome@corrymeela.org
Resilient Spirit 5-Day Retreat/10-Day Pilgrimage 9-18 April 2024
See above, or find out more here!
Resilience Trainings
Resilience Training (CRM)® at Corrymeela 25-27 September 2023
The past few years have revealed how important it is to have skills for resilience to handle the stresses of daily life. The Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® is a training developed by the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) that has been used around the world to foster wellness and resilience skills to help individuals and communities cope – and even find ways to flourish – in the face daily individual or collective stress or trauma. Email welcome@corrymeela.org to book.
Resilience Training (CRM)® Online Autumn, TBD - respond to this email and I’ll put you on the list to let you know when we’ve finalized our dates
Both trainings are co-facilitated by Sara Cook, a highly respected trainer with 6 years experience teaching CRM, and myself.
Spiritual Direction
Anamchara is the old Irish term for “Spiritual Director” - though in translation it means “friend of the soul.” I love its implication that spiritual direction is about being a friend to the deepest parts of who we are. Spiritual direction can be a place where we feel most free to be ourselves, where we can find safety to share our journeys, and where we can listen for how God is calling us to flourish. If you’re interested in Spiritual Direction, feel free to get in touch to find out more about individual or group direction.
Find my Spiritual Director profile at one of these links:
Bless My Feet Members
This year I’ve tried a few new things for members, including online retreats and Zoom gatherings, in addition to occasional posts for paid subscribers only. Over the summer I’m going to be giving some thought to what to offer to members, beginning in September. If you have any ideas or hopes or visions, let me know! I deeply appreciate your generous support of my ministry, and I would love to get to know you more in the coming year as we explore how we might support one another from our different corners of the world.
Blessing for Our Journey
May the God of the journey
walk alongside us on our journeys,
opening our eyes
to see the holy
breaking through the cracks,
surprising us with its radiance,
clueing us in to the brilliance
of the world in which we live,
where the new and different
need not be feared
but might be welcomed
with curiosity
and deep listening.
For we cannot know
where holiness might peek through
and change us forever.
Amen