In the Footsteps of Peace Pilgrims

In the Footsteps of Peace Pilgrims: 
Reclaiming the Sacred Art of Pilgrimage

Since time immemorial, seekers have been called to pilgrimage. Religious and spiritual traditions the world-over include pilgrimage among their practices. Sacred activists count marches and solidarity walks as a form of pilgrimage; some heed the call to pilgrim in nature on paths epic or ordinary. Others still are drawn to a more interior saunter.

No one better personifies the art of pilgrimage in more recent times than an American woman who went by the adopted name of Peace Pilgrim. On January 1, 1953, she set off from Pasadena, California with the goal of walking the entire country for peace. Carrying only a pen, a comb, a toothbrush and a map, Peace Pilgrim stopped to talk to everyday Americans about peace in the world, peace in our communities, and peace within ourselves. Over the course of the next thirty years—a period including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the ever-present threat of nuclear attack—she would total far over 25,000 miles on foot, reaching tens of thousands with her message. After her death, a core group of friends collected volumes of her speeches and spiritual insights. 

Rev. Barbara Becker, our guide for this course, has had access to many of Peace Pilgrim’s rarely-seen postcards and letters, as well as time on foot with several of her most engaged followers. Using Peace Pilgrim’s inspiring journey as an example, along with guiding wisdom from other pilgrimages across time and traditions, we will stop to explore the many signposts along a pilgrim’s path that can heighten our experience and draw us deeply into the present. Set against the backdrop of this pressing moment in history, students will define what it means to reclaim the art of pilgrimage, tailored for their own lives as well as for the benefit of the causes that most touch their hearts today. 

Central to this workshop is an actual pilgrimage of each participant’s own choosing, to be carried out in the time between the two sessions. One need not be able to walk long distances outdoors to join—instead, we will ask what pilgrimage can look like in our own lives, physically or metaphorically, as we meet our particular circumstances with compassion and humility. 

• Highlight the use of pilgrimage across several religious and spiritual traditions, as well as inspired uses of the art of pilgrimage in contemporary times. From the Hajj to Bodh Gaya, from the Camino de Santiago to the peaks of the sacred Black Hills, from marches for justice to the rich practices of those who are more home-bound, we will uncover what lies at the heart of spiritual journeying. 
• Emphasize the steps along the path, drawing from Peace Pilgrim’s own rarely-seen diagram for spiritual awakening, as well as several exemplary stories from her remarkable journey. 
• Explore the practices that can heighten a pilgrimage, especially when the road gets rough: contemplation through journaling, music, poetry, art, being a good steward of our time and resources, etc. 
• Actualize our own desire or curiosity to include pilgrimage as a practice in our own lives by defining and then carrying out a two-week pilgrimage between classes and then sharing and processing the experience with other participants.
• Offer gratitude for our sacred journeys by creating a communal opportunity to share our paths and to recommit to the road ahead.