Pilgrim's Together

Pilgrim's Together (click to watch video)
by John Coleman

No longer strangers but pilgrims together
Called to be woven like threads on the loom
Drawn by the one God who thirsts for communion
Called by the piper called by the tune
Though we come from many nations
And our faith has many names
Across oceans over mountains
On these paths of peace we come
To be together in the walking
In the resting in the meal
And when the blessed breath of evening comes
As one the pilgrims kneel
No longer strangers. . .
We know our thirst for God is blessing
We know our hunger’s not a curse
We know our emptiness is sacred room
Like a precious spirit purse
We are lovers of communion
We are building with our clay
A house for God to dwell with us
Let us be the house we pray
No longer strangers. . .
Every thread that’s sewn is different
There are no two quite the same
All the colours make strange rainbows
God’s promises made plain
We submit to the great weaver
Let our pattern be the weaver’s refrain
Our God the God of difference
Calls each of us by name
No longer strangers. . .

364 Days Later

Tomorrow is the first anniversary begining my Camino. Joop and I, a year ago today were sitting in a tiny outdoor cafe, sipping red wine contemplating our sanity and fortitude of the days ahead of us.

After sharing much of my story for the first time this weekend with a new one in my life, I reflected again on the signifigance of this adventure.

Joop called yesterday. Emails from Harald and Anika today. We're all in each other's thoughts - still woven together from the journey.

My past, my present and my future.

That Precise Moment

This evening I was outside. A calm Spring day. Fading light. I noticed the color, the temperature, the birds, the sky. It is evening this time.

Last Fall it was the light. The Light.

I often started out in the mornings in the dark. Sometimes damp and crisp. More often than not the mornings I ventured out early were pitch dark. The dark before the dawn dark. The time of day when everything is at rest. Night is even sleeping at that point.

And then I could see-feel my feet. The air began to have light. The birds would begin to cheep. The landscape would start to expose texture and depth. The stars would fade and everything else woke up. I could hear proud roosters for miles. Voices would begin to carry. Lambs would begin to bleat. And I inhaled it all. I let it come to me. Day after day.

And today, although it was evening, I was transported once again.

New Meaning To Easter

My little band of Camino friends have been exchanging Easter greetings the last few days. I realized while responding to one that through St. James, we connected ourselves to the Easter Story. St James was at the Crucifixion. He was there in the Upper Room when Christ returned.

I have not a single doubt in my bones we were all summoned to the Camino and therefore summoned to a connection with Christ as his first followers were.

Easter has a new meaning to me this year. Will it for you?

Six Months Ago Today....

Six months ago today my feet landed on French soil ready to walk to "the ends of the Earth". All alone and with a "journey of a lifetime" ahead of me.

I met my first Camino friend Denise, then Joop, then Eva, then Aliche, then Harald, then Klaus, then Siggy, then Javier, then Dominique, then Marlene and after coming home, Tamara, Javier's daughter, etc. The list goes on and on.

We keep being hurled together over and over. Pictures shared, another familiar face found, another email exchanged, another connection made. It's an exercise in openness, love, International relations, Faith, geography, and chance.

I love you all so very, very much. My heart grows bigger every day.

Father Jose Maria

I received word tonight Father Jose Maria, caretaker of San Juan de Ortega, has passed away.

What a wonderful man: Revived the Camino, offered refuge to us Pilgrims, served us Garlic Soup, and took the time to speak to us. I was awed when meeting him and will not forget his kindness. Here's the link to the post I did during my Camino.

San Juan de Ortega

Jurgen is sitting with him on the park bench.

One of my other walking companions was kind enough to tell him, in Spanish, for me, how grateful I was for the work he had done in getting the Camino revived.

I think of him often and will include him in my prayers. My dear and beloved St. James, please walk with him and share with thim all the blessings we are sending his way.

Gracias Padre, Vaya Con Dios!

A Beautiful Gift

I received a BIG surprise in the mail last week. A beautiful 16" x 16" (40cm x 40cm) calendar of the Camino from Harald.

Holding the package in my hand alone brought tears very close to the surface. The fact that he thought to send me something .... all the way from Germany to Utah. Then I opened it.

And I cried. Then I sobbed. Then I cried a little more. HUGE, beautiful pictures of the Camino. A whole year of them. Just for me!

I was explaining the emotion to a friend of mine: I told her that I "reference" Websites and books and people often about the Camino. My Camino Friends and all the authors all took the same road, seeing the exact same things. And every person has captured that "exact same spot" in a different way. From snails on a blade of grass to the blue skies above the churches, to the long stretches of trail. Somehow it all gets captured. It just takes a few hundred of us to pull ALL the beauty together again.

And then there are some who can do it so easily with a 16x16, .5 inch box. Thank you!

Friendships Grow

My dear friend and savior, Javier, does not speak English, nor does he own a computer. But he has a lovely daughter who I have become friends with. She writes excellent English is so very cheerful and passes messages between her dear father and I. I hope some day to see Javier again so I can thank him for his tender care in Granon. I hope some day to meet her as I find her to be a delightful person.

Ahhh the magic of the Camino.

Happy Feet

Joop posted about the feet pins on his site. It is so wonderful to hear him talk about our friendship. He's a wonderful man and was one of the "special people" who kept me going.

http://gaviota.shareyourstory.nl/verhalen/Happy%20Feet

Buen Camino little feet.

Much love to you Joop - you're wonderful!

The Boys!

Two of my wonderful Camino companions got together a couple of weeks ago for a little reunion. The photo is beautiful -to see them both together again. It makes me laugh though to see them both with hair and sitting in a kitchen!

The last picture I had of them together was on a plaza major in Pamploma!

These guys mean so much to me....we crossed paths every few days for about 3 weeks.

Here's what they wrote about me:

Ended with a good glas [sic] of real cognac and a BIG sigar [sic]. While enjoying these earthly products, we remembered ourselves how lucky we are to have a heavenly girl friend, Angel Theresa. (Remember Joop is Dutch - English is his second language).

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up!

A wandering woman writing from Spain!

Here is a wonderful pictoral journey of what I saw (many of the same types of pictures I took - and haven't yet posted) while on my Camino. This is beautiful and well worth the time.

http://wandering-woman.blogspot.com/2008/01/one-pereginas-camino-de-santiago-slide.html

Grab a cup of coffee or a bottle of good Spanish wine, take a seat and take this splendid journey!

2007 Camino Statistics

I've underline and emphasized those that represent ME!!

There were 114,026 Compostela recipients pilgrims in 2007 (100,377 in 2006).

Pilgrims with purely religious motives were 43,581; religious-cultural 60,944 and non-religious 9,501.

104,568 pilgrims came from Europe. The largest number of non-Spaniard pilgrims came from Germany, 13,837, followed by those from Italy, 10,257, those from France, 6,982, those from Portugal, 4,001, those from the United States 2,229. Those from Canada 1,850, those from the UK 1,696: those from Austria, 1,686; from Holland 1,655; from Brasil, 1,395; from Belgium, 1,332: from Switzerland 1,136; from Ireland 1,090........ and the rest in verying numbers from more than 100 countries.

47,246 of the pilgrims were women and 66,780 were men.

Pilgrims under 15 years of age were 4,858; 16 to 35, 44,239: 36 to 65, 58,631 and 66 to 100, 6,298,(4,843 in 2006).