We said goodbye to our good friends and their animals (alpacas, goats, and dogs) in Dexter this morning and made our way to Roswell today. We extended the walk a little bit to walk on dirt paths along the canal rather than asphalt for a little bit longer.Â
Clara remains the only person who has walked every mile of the pilgrimage so far! At the end of day 6, we have covered about 80 miles.Â
Clara’s partner Ben joined in the walking today. It’s a joy to have different people come along the way with us, with their unique energies and perspectives. Ben brought his bike along in the support van so that when he finished his shift he could bike back to his own car. As a bike enthusiast myself, I loved this!Â
We made it to Roswell in the afternoon, arriving at a United Methodist church where we are sleeping tonight and tomorrow night. Tomorrow is a sabbath/rest day!Â
We only had to walk about 5 minutes down the street to attend what turned out to be a wonderful gathering with Bishop Hunn and Episcopal leaders tonight at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church. We prayed, dined (Mediterranean food!) and enjoyed fellowship around the table — and then we were offered the floor to present to the group about our work, the pilgrimage, etc. The group felt deeply present, engaged, and willing to join right in, asking helpful, highly-attuned questions, and helping move good things forward.
During the engagement, I personally felt particularly good about connecting dots between climate change and other important issues - such as immigration and democracy and speaking to the need to address these poly-crises holistically. Sometimes it feels hard to speak to this complexity, but tonight it felt natural to say these things plainly. What a grace comes with expression of important realities - we have to get these things off our chests!Â
After we wrapped up our sharing, Bishop Hunn made a selfie video on the spot and challenged Clara and I to speak to a larger online audience, calling attention to our action and the opportunity to show up on Feb 5 for Climate Solutions Day at the Roundhouse. Clara and I are both still a little camera shy, but we followed Bishop Hunn’s lead and made the video and the whole group also followed Bishop Hunn’s lead and offered supportive cheers at the end of the video. 😊 Who knows, maybe it will move some people!Â
Bishop Hunn also asked if there were any gaps in support for the pilgrimage and said he and his team would do their best to mobilize their networks to fill them. I felt we had genuine partners in the room — folks who show up! Some have already worked with Sister Joan and collaborators at NM-IPL on projects in the past and some will be linking arms with us in the days, weeks, and years ahead.Â
We are sleeping in the office of a kind pastor tonight. I’m going to bed feeling grateful for communities that uphold caring for the world in all the ways! I am buoyed by all of this good energy that is clearly deeply rooted and at the ready.
- Desirée
