Dear brothers and sisters,

Journeys transform you. We can think of childhood vacation trips, or a hike in the woods, or a Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land or Canterbury or Rome. When you travel somewhere unfamiliar, you’re stretched and challenged; you see the world in fresh ways; and often your faith is enriched and your discipleship deepened. That’s what happened at this year’s diocesan summer camp, held on June 14-19 at Camp Mack in Milford.

The theme was Walkabout, an Australian term that refers to “a rite of passage where male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months” (from the Wikipedia website). In the case of our camp, however, Walkabout had a special focus: a journey with Jesus. The Bible, after all, is filled with journeys: Abraham traveled from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran to the Promised Land; the Israelites wandered in the Sinai Desert for forty years; St. Paul and his companions moved from city to city proclaiming the Gospel in the eastern end of the Mediterranean basin; and of course Jesus himself spent three years preaching, teaching, and healing in Galilee before the final journey to Jerusalem – accompanied by twelve adventurous (and often reluctant, and sometimes frightened) disciples. And so campers and staff undertook their own journey. One vignette gives the flavor.

On Wednesday, we were scheduled to walk the Stations of the Cross in an outdoor setting, a journey par excellence; but the threat of thunderstorms forced us inside. Camp Director Tamisyn Grantz and her staff creatively used the “Q” (a huge, barn-like chapel) for the Stations, letting up stopping points all around the building, with an oil lamp and a pictorial representation of the particular Passion event at each Station. I accompanied one of the groups (3^rd and 4^th graders) as we moved from Station to Station. What impressed me most was the sheer silence in the building. The young people took the journey utterly seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever been with a group that prayed the Stations with such devotion and focus. There was something simply in the act of walking from place to place that enhanced the sense that we were taking a journey with Jesus, a journey that began when he was condemned to death and ended as his body was laid in the tomb. It was a journey that at once broke our hearts with Jesus’ sufferings and filled our hearts with Jesus’ love.

How is Jesus inviting you to take a journey with him? “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings to closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The journey may be literal (a trip somewhere, a new venture for Christ’s sake). It may be figurative (a journey inward in prayer and reflection). But it is always life-changing. Jesus beckons. Like the campers on Walkabout, we too can walk with Jesus into an unknown but wondrous future.

Yours in Christ,

+Ed