Owner: American Pilgrimage URL:http://www.americanpilgrimage.com Join Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:46:36 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: With just a bicycle and a backpack, I’m touring the country, seeking sites that uniquely reflect the American religious experience. Site statistics:Click here
New Podcast - Marjorie Nelson and the Peace Testimony 2008-07-03 18:23:04 At any Quaker get-together, you’re bound to hear about peace activism. Well, the Friends General Conference Gathering is not different. I met Marjorie Nelson
, who has a very moving story to tell about how her peace ministry led her to be captured by the communist Northern forces during the Vietnam War.
This is her in 1967, in the middle:
You can listen to the podcast here. Read more:Peace
, Podcast
, Testimony
Babies and Quaker Process 2008-07-03 01:04:55 I’m just getting out of a 5-hour long meeting for business of Adult Young Friends, a Friends General Conference group for Quaker
s between the ages of 18 and 35. They’re wrestling with a tough issue that has the community in constant tears. But they’re doing it in a productive, spiritual Quakerly manner, which has been lost in many venues of Friends.
At its heart is babies. Beca Read more:Babies
, Process
Busted! 2008-07-02 06:02:12 Early this morning, about one o’clock, the campus police paid me a visit. They saw my tent’s reflection in their headlights, and was wondering what was going on.
When they saw I didn’t have a fire and wasn’t leaving any litter, they didn’t seem to care that I was there, even though it’s against campus policy.
After that, I couldn’t sleep. There were d Read more:Busted
Quakerly Sin 2008-06-30 21:44:33 Today was the second day of the Gathering of the Friends General Conference in Johnstown, Pa., and I’m in a fantastic workshop called “Beyond Hearsay Testimony.” It looks as the history of testimony in Quaker traditions, how it changed in prominence, meaning and importance, and what it’s role is today. It’s very nerdy and esoteric, and right up my alley.
Today we di
The Allegheny Mountains 2008-06-28 22:16:36 Well, today the EarthQuaker Bike Trip has ended, with a 36-mile ride from Shawnee State Park to Johnstown.
Today’s ride was beautiful, on back roads with vistas and greenery abound. I grew up in the Pennsylvania Alleghenies, and it’s amazing how spiritually connected I feel to them. It’s almost as if they’re calling to me as I arrive, softly and sweetly. The earth is so
From Angry Dogs to Serenity in Shambhala 2008-07-16 21:06:28 I had a hard bike ride through Vermont today, and it didn’t help that Vermont is intensely hilly, which is beautiful, but extremely difficult. Plus, it seems like half of Vermonters keep an unleashed angry dog in their front yard that will chase you down the road for a good half mile. No joke – it’s happened about 10 times in the last two days in Vermont. I’ve seen pit bull Read more:Serenity
Hanging with the Hasidim at the Hotel 2008-07-15 19:33:56 I stopped inside the lobby of Best Western east of Rutland, Vt. to use the internet, and I barely got out. I met a pair of Hasidim, an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect, from New York City, and hung out with them for hours. It was only half voluntary — they were very nice and interesting, but harrowing as well.
I met the wife, Zahava, while I was sitting on the couch. Or, I should say she accoste Read more:Hanging
, Hotel
Wall-E, Jesus, and Sunshine in Vermont 2008-07-14 15:49:15 I’m officially in the fourth state of my trip, Vermont
, where I’m headed toward a Buddhist retreat in the hills. It’s been sunny and nice, after last night’s deluge.
I passed the Greyhound station in Rutland, and I had to go to the bathroom extremely badly. But the station was closed due to torrential storms. So I walket through this dark alley and edned up, luckily enou Read more:Jesus
The Gospel of Inclusion, Chapter 11-End 2008-07-13 17:43:48 Along my journey, I am reading a constant stream of books on faith by various contemporary writers. This week, I’m reading The Gospel
of Inclusion by Bishop Carlton Pearson, published in 2008 by Atria.
In the second half of his book, The Gospel of Inclusion, Bishop Carlton Pearson alludes to a strong challenge to the monotheism of Christianity: that Christians have turned the Devil into a Read more:Chapter
The Smith Farm, Where Mormonism Started 2008-07-11 23:13:54 After leaving Hill Cumorah, I took a tour of the Smith
family farm, where Mormons believe that God and angels first appeared to Joseph Smith, and the roots of the Church of Latter Day Saints took hold.
As they tell it, the place has a rather intriguing history. First, after moving to New York from Vermont, the Smith family built a log cabin as a temporary residence on the farm they were intendi Read more:Mormonism
Leaving Zen, Scattering the Puzzle Pieces 2008-07-31 16:18:48 I’ve left Zen
Mountain Monastery, even though it feels like I just arrived. With its high density and diversity, there’s so to see much in the region between the Catskills and New York City that I can’t stay anywhere for too long.
I began the day with a long meditation, which I managed to get through with minimal pain, and a tour of the grounds. One of my favorite places on the Read more:Leaving
, Puzzle
Back to Buddhism, Hard-Core at Zen Mountain Monastery [1] 2008-07-30 21:36:41 With Massachusetts long-gone, I booked it through the Catskills to Mount Tremper, N.Y., home of the ZenMountain
Monastery. And Nick Fulgoney.
Nick and I went to high school together, and were rather good friends. He liked Metallica and Pink Floyd. I didn’t. But it was all good. But, when I graduated college and whiled away the time in Baltimore, he went to Zen Mountain Monastery. He’ Read more:Buddhism
Climbing Jacob's Ladder [1] 2008-07-29 15:25:00 So, I’m at the border of Massachusetts and New York, and man, it wasn’t easy. Little did I know that US 20 was known as “Jacob
’ Ladder
,” a treacherous, winding highway that only seems to go uphill.
Now, if you remember Jacob’s Ladder from the Bible, it appears in Genesis 28:11-19, when Jacob dreams of a gateway to Heaven and God foretells the future of his des
The Plagues of Religious Forgetfulness, Apathy, and Ignorance [2] 2008-07-27 22:58:19 This morning, I went to attend services at First Churches in Northampton, Mass. The church is a merging of American Baptist and a United Church of Christ congregations, and is a landmark in the town, as it was the home parish of Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the most famous American theologian ever.
Jonathan Edwards is credited with starting and being a major driving force behind the first of the G Read more:Apathy
Listen My Children and You Shall Hear... 2008-07-26 14:41:41 I got up quite early this morning and headed to Boston’s Christ Church, familiarly known as Old North, the beginning of Paul Revere’s ride. Nestled in the bustling tourist district of old Boston, even as I arrived at 10 a.m., there were hundreds of people there, jostling down the church’s tight aisles:
I stayed there for two hours, as the tourists multiplied, which solidifie Read more:Children
, Listen
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare 2008-08-14 20:52:50 I arrived today at New Vrindaban, an intentional community of Hare Krishna
devotees in the hills near Moundsville, WV. Perhaps a hundred people live on New Vrindaban’s acres, with some scattered in nearby houses. But on arrival, I couldn’t tell.
There was silence. And almost no one walking around. I had no idea what to do. I’ve yet to arrive somewhere where I was left to my own
Scrabble! [2] 2008-08-13 21:12:25 Tonight, I played Scrabble
with my mom and her boyfriend, Jim. I won, with almost twice their scores. Here they are, defeated:
The Dark Side of Pittsburgh Churches [1] 2008-08-12 18:29:10 I’m in Pittsburgh
! This is where I’m originally from, and although it may have a bad reputation, it’s one of the cleanest, greenest, most fun cities out there. Just check out this great view when exiting the Fort Pitt Tunnels:
But while in Pittsburgh, I decided to visit a fantastic church, one that I’d never seen before. St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millval Read more:Churches
The Amish Are Racing Past Me 2008-08-11 19:07:08 As I bike through the Altoona region, I’m deep in Amish
country. For 60 miles, there have been buggies, farms, and lots of Amish farm stands selling fresh fruits and vegetables. I actually just passed one selling beets, which is one of my favorite pleasures. If only I had some cash.
Of course, I’m not taking pictures, as Amish do not appreciate them. I wrote a bit about why the last Read more:Racing
Meeting the Mennonites Among the Corn-Covered Hills [2] 2008-08-10 20:54:01 This morning, I went out of my way to attend a Mennonite Church in Lewisburg, Pa., as I didn’t want to leave the state without doing so. I went to Buffalo Mennonite Church, which is actually a while from town, nestled between cornfields, with nothing by farmland for miles.
Mennonites are an Anabaptist church, famous for their beliefs in nonviolence, simplicity, and the separation of church Read more:Covered
, Hills
Not the Best Day [2] 2008-09-07 14:37:35 Well, it’s not the best day. Mr. Ethan Smith of Burlington, Iowa may have left me in the lurch. The man who hit me with his truck is not returning my calls, and the police cannot find him, so it looks like I may not be able to get the money from him for the cost of fixing my bike.
In a way, it’s self-fulfilling. I constantly complain about how pickup trucks try to run me off the roa
Hit by a Truck!!! 2008-09-06 17:31:27 Well, I’m in Iowa City, in a coffee shop, without wheels. My bike is totaled. I got hit by a truck.
I was biking down a small country road, minding my business, when surprise! Big red pickup is upon me!
Apparently, he didn’t see me, tried to stop, but couldn’t in time. My back wheel is broken in two, my front is scraped up, and my rack is useless. But luckily, my frame seems Read more:Truck
The Gaudy and the Godly 2008-09-05 09:58:27 So, Thea and I were passing through Wisconsin, when we came across Dickeyville’s Grotto, a shrine to God and country that is amazingly able to simultaneously inspire and hurt the eyes.
A monument formed of stone and mortar and decorated with colorful bits of plates, glass, shells, broken glass, and other tiny wonders, the shrine mixes God and country in an exceptionally American way. On on
Cow Fountain! 2008-09-05 09:54:42 You know you’re in Wisconsin when…
Read more:Fountain
In Your Backyard, but Barely Remembered 2008-09-04 22:39:43 Yesterday, Nate and I traveled to the University of Madison, where American Indian burial and effigy mounds are tucked in between residence halls and along park trails.
These mounds, most of which are just a foot or two above grounds, are all over Wisconsin, and have been used for burials, to hold buildings, to guard against evil spirits, and for many other purposes. Some are more than 2,500 ye Read more:Barely
, Remembered
Never Wear a Pink Shirt in Rural Wyoming 2008-09-26 22:30:28 It was a friend of a friend’s birthday tonight, and we got in a truck and traveled out to a small bar in Centennial, Wyoming
. Here’s the gorgeous sunset we saw:
The town is tiny, only boasting about 100 people, yet it has two large bars with good menus. Go figure.
My friend’s friend, whose name is Courtney, likes to roller skate, so I made her a skate-shaped cake of Mexica Read more:Rural
, Shirt
I've Got My Computer! 2008-09-25 15:05:41 I just got it back. I’m functional again. Now, I’ve just got to repair the gaps that came because I was unable to post, and I’ll be off again! At least I’m in a nice quiet town (Laramie, Wyoming), and I can get some work done. Read more:Computer
Mother Cabrini Answers My Prayers! [1] 2008-09-23 20:02:43 You may be wondering why I’m behind in posting. Well, my computer is busted and Apple has been jerking me around for weeks.
I dropped it off two weeks ago at the Apple store in Denver. They said it was probably just the screen with water in it (from Iowa, of course), and they could fix it in house in a day or two.
But last Wednesday, I get a call in D.C., saying that they finally opened
Vegetarianism, Atheism, and the Religion Newswriters Association 2008-09-21 08:56:13 I’ve decided to become a vegetarian once again. Long, long ago, when the New Kids on the Block were climbing the charts, I was a vegetarian for a year and a half. But with the urging of my parents, I gave it up and never returned.
And I’m the biggest meat-eater. I love pork chops, curried lamb, cinnamon chicken, and all-beef patties with special sauce, lettuce, cheese, and anything u Read more:Atheism
, Religion
The Savior of the Nation: Lincoln's Church in D.C. 2008-09-19 18:11:03 In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln
’s birth on February 12, 1809, the government has appointed a 15-member Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which is holding events nationwide. To publicize these among journalists, members of the Religion Newswriters Association were invited to Lincoln’s church in D.C. today for a discussion of Lincoln’s ambiguous re Read more:Church
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