A Pilgrimage for Don Lewis

Transcription

1 A Pilgrimage for Don Lewis A Pilgrimage has been defined as a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. My; own understanding is that it is a spiritual discipline, an act seeking continuous prayer. It can be made for all of the same reasons that one might pray-:adoration, supplication, celebration, thanksgiving, penance to name a few. One of the most polular pilgrimage trails is the Camino de Santiago-The Way of St James in norther Spain. The word Camino or Way is both the specific path and a metaphor for the path we follow in life. The normal greeting on the Camino is Buen Camino - good camino. And is meant specifically and metaphorically. The most common advice on the Camino s that you have to walk your own Camino. A pilgrimage is both very personal and also communal. You walk if for your own personal reasons but in the company of a community of pilgrims all walking in the same direction along the trail. Even though you all walk at your own pace it is interesting how many nights you will spend with the same group of pilgrims-sharing your journey. A year ago I had walked the last 130 miles with Ken Stone. If you walk the last 100 kilometers (60 miles) you receive a certificate of completion. As you walk you carry a kind of pilgrim s passport which you have stamped each day along your journey to show how far you have walked. What follows is a photo album I made for Carol Lewis and her sons of a pilgrimage I made in honor of Don Lewis over the first 100 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago, starting at St. Jean de Pied Port in France. It is reprinted here with her permission.

2 A Camino for Don Lewis

3 Don Lewis was a friend of mine. We attended the same early morning bible study for more years than we can remember. He was a good guy. He passed just before I left on a trip to Europe. I took a copy of his memorial service program to give me something to reflect on while I walked a part of the Camino de Santiago. I did not have a specific plan for the Camino or the program but I knew that I had to take it with me.

4 My Camino began at the traditional start-st. Jean de Pied Port- on the French side of the Pyrenees. I spend the night at a small private auberge-eight to a room for eight euros. This was the first place that I had Don's program stamped. It had gotten wet and so only one place was available

5 Next morning I headed up the Pyrenees

6 My first stop was Orisson. Just eight kilometers up the steep grade. Here there was another alberge with incredible views.

7 Next morning the views were again incredible as we headed up over the Pyrenees.

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9 We could see huge herds of sheep as well as a few horses and cows as we crossed the mountains

10 I spent the night in an old Monastery that had been remodeled as a alberge in Roncevaux, Spain

11 The next day was much easier as it was relatively flat all the way to Zubiri. By this time I had met many fellow pilgrims and fellowship was the order of the day. On the Camino, you plan day to day, but you look ahead to see what blocks of walking lie before you. It was at this point I began to really plan how far I could walk before I needed to take a train on Sunday to Barcelona to meet my daughter. I had walked four plus miles the first day and then two twelves. The next day it was twelve to Pamplona. It looked like I might be able to walk 100 Kilometers (60 miles) total. It would be a stretch since I would have to walk over 15 miles the day after Pamplona but I felt I could do it, Since you get credit for the whole thing if you walked the last 100, I decided that 100 was a good number and I would walk 100 kilometers in memory of Don.

12 At breakfast in Zubiri I met a couple from Munich. They had recently married. She was American and he was German. They had met two years before on the Camino and were going back to take pictures of the tree under which they first met.

13 Just outside Zubiri I visited an abandoned church which dates to the 13th Century. The man who bought it from the Catholic Church hopes to restore it. He met his wife, a school teacher in Pamplona, walking the Camino. The design under the front porch had been covered with concrete and he spent days chipping it away to reveal the amazing detail

14 The alter had been stolen but that revealed what is believed to be the original alter. In the corner of the old alter you can see shells-the sign of the Camino-which suggests that it was serving pilgrims even then. The owner hopes to be able to service pilgrims in a variety of ways in the future. I put a stamp on Don's program here.

15 Walking on the Camino is both physical and mental. And although it was only another twelve miles, the leg to Pamplona was grueling. When I talked with others we were not sure why, just that it was. Perhaps there were not as many obvious places to stop. Perhaps there were not as many other pilgrims. When I arrived at Pamplona, which is beautiful, I was exhausted and could hardly move. And it was supposed to rain the next day. In order to walk the hundred Kilometers I would have to walk the long 17 miles the next day, plus some the next, catch a taxi or bus back to Pamplona and then take a train to Barcelona. I could avoid all of that and really enjoy a beautiful city if I just stayed in Pamplona. It sounded like a really good idea. I decided that I would just stay in Pamplona. After all it was not like I had told anyone that I was going to walk the 100 kilometers, not even my friends on the trail. I tried to persuade myself that even Don would understand. My friends and I went out to dinner that night-tapas-open faced sandwiches.

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17 On the Camino it seems that it is only after a few days walking with a group that you can share your private reasons for walking the Camino. That night over diner I began to hare ho Don was and what he meant to me. As I talked about Don, and after three sangrias, I began to rethink my decision. As I explained to my friends, Don was the one who would stand up in Church when the Pastor cut a verse from a hymn and say "you have sing all of the verses." He seemed to be speaking to me as well. I made the decision that in spite of the distance, weather, and transportation problems I would walk the next two days to complete the 100 kilometers. We were staying at an ancient monastery in Pamplona, shown above with my friends. I had Don s program stamped here as well.

18 The walk the next day was seventeen miles. It was pretty flat with one tall ridge in front of us. In spite of the forecast, day was beautiful and I felt strong as I walked.

19 At the top of the ridge was a set of figures honoring pilgrims.

20 One of the last churches I visited. I had a stamped placed on Don's program here.

21 In spite of being the longest day of walking I felt pretty good when I finished. I looked at the bunk in the alberge and decided not to take it but instead to pay extra for a private room. The woman who took the bunk instead of me was bitten by bed bugs all night

22 As I began the five mile walk the last day that would complete the 100 kilometers, I wondered if I had done the right thing pushing on or had just been playing silly games with myself. It was an easy walk, but as I rounded the last corner and saw that last village-i saw it not just as the village of Cirauqui, I saw it as the city on the hill- I knew that I done the right thing-jerusalem was there before me. As I walked though the portal into the small square I was filled with such joy it is hard to describe. Then many of my trail companions passed me with hugs and smiles and it felt glorious. And it felt as warm as Don s smile.

23 My prayer for Don each day was always: Loving Creator, It gives us comfort to know that Don is at your side. Please be patient with all of the why questions that he must be asking, Please be even more patient with all of his suggestions for improvements. Please let your grace be present to all to whom Don ministered here on earth, most especially, to those in prison, those considered the least in our society and his family and friends. And to Don I say "Buen Camino Amen