School of the Pilgrim

About the School of the Pilgrim

Mission:
The School of the Pilgrim is a school of thought and way of living, in which we understand and live our lives as pilgrims on a life-long, unfolding pilgrimage. This is accomplished by taking people on guided opportunities, inviting people to step outside their busy lives and undertake an intentional pilgrimage, in which we learn to use ancient and contemporary practices of pilgrimage in daily life, in order to move closer toward wholeness and a deepening relationship with God.

Background of the Mission:
This mission is accomplished when Christians come to understand that change and growth occurs when we begin to see, hear, and sense that our life together, as members of the body of Christ, is a life-long pilgrimage. Whether we are on an actual pilgrimage, or practicing the pilgrimage rituals at home, we grow in our understanding that we are but the most recent participants in a long train of pilgrims who have preceded us in life.

The mission embodies the gospel model of simplicity filled with divine mystery. First, individuals become acquainted with the tradition of pilgrimage through familiarity with the literature and resources on pilgrimage, as well as participating on an actual pilgrimage, whether at home or to a specific pilgrimage shrine. Second, pilgrims flourish through the rich interchange and journey to authenticity with other companions, both on an actual pilgrimage, and also in returning to our homes and churches, in which we can now see—in our worship, fellowship, service, and prayer life—that the Christian life is a pilgrimage.

In time, we will grow increasingly comfortable in the presence of the Holy Spirit who guides us in life’s daily pilgrimage, rejoicing in our connection to and with one another and creation on life’s pilgrimage. The School of the Pilgrim approach to educating Christians touches a fuller revelation of the Imago Dei among us.

Validated Ministry:
As a validated ministry of New Hope Presbytery (NC), the School of the Pilgrim conforms to the mission of serving God’s people, as set forth in Holy Scriptures, as well as the Book of Order and Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The School of the Pilgrim demonstrates that it is an effective witness to Jesus Christ; that it is called to assist others see changes in their lives, share what they’ve seen, and the signs of grace of the Triune God at work in the world; it equips people of God to do the work of the Gospel in their lives and the greater world; and that it strengthens the Church and the human community. The School of the Pilgrim demonstrates that we are showing the pattern of one who came to serve and not be served, and is helpful in furthering the Gospel message of love. The ministry of the School of the Pilgrim is seen as being theologically informed, giving evidence of living in fidelity with God’s Word, with the ministry being led by a person with an Midi. degree, and ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA). The ministry of the School of the Pilgrim is accountable to the Presbytery of New Hope, with yearly reviews to the Committee on Ministry. Finally, the School of the Pilgrim is called to demonstrate the Christian Gospel in the Church and in the world (taken from Validated Ministry handbook, New Hope Presbytery, 2007).

As the New Hope Presbytery now validates the ministry of the School of the Pilgrim, the School of the Pilgrim’s staff is now able to tap into the benefits package of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and will be known as a validated ministry by the larger denominational headquarters of the Church, located in Louisville, KY, able to apply to more grants and funds as a validated ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The Story of the School of the Pilgrim: Embracing the Pilgrim Life

The Foundation of the School of the Pilgrim:
In the Jewish and Christian traditions, the models for pilgrimage are Abraham and Sarah, who were called by God to leave Ur four thousand years ago. In some ways, God traveled with these nomadic people in the Ark of the Covenant. Moses and the people of Israel wandered for some time in the great Sinai peninsula, making their way to the land of Canaan. Jesus, often called the Pilgrim God, was, himself, on a pilgrimage from his very birth as his family fled Bethlehem to Egypt. Our Holy Week follows Jesus' pilgrimage in and around the streets of Jerusalem as his life came to a tragic conclusion, leading to a glorious resurrection. And Paul's mission trips were themselves pilgrimages in the ancient world as he taught and lived the Gospel in alien lands.

In earlier Christian pilgrimages, being on pilgrimage was seen as a sacred time when Christians would go on a journey for a variety of spiritual reasons, from asking for absolution of a sin, perhaps seeking a miracle, to learning to walk in a master’s footsteps. Lives were irrevocably changed while on pilgrimage as people came to embrace the unexpected God along the pilgrims' way. Coming home to their parish or congregation, the pilgrims were never the same people who left, for the experience of the Holy along the pilgrims' way, as well as reaching the destination, was life-changing.

Ways of Experiencing and Embracing the Christian Life as Pilgrimage:
As was stated in the Mission Statement, the School of the Pilgrim is a way of educating people in the intricate ways of living faithfully, as God’s pilgrim people, in this modern world. It is based upon the assumption that as people of faith we are on a life-long pilgrimage, headed toward and embraced by the realm of God's love.

Coming to believe that the Christian life is a life-long holy trek may be experienced in various ways. First, we may come to see that life is a holy pilgrimage in our daily life in the context of where we live and worship. Through a structured pilgrimage event, sponsored by the School of the Pilgrim, in home churches or religious communities, people of faith may come to the realization that we are all on a pilgrim journey with God.

Second, there is also the option, through a School of the Pilgrim weekend or five day retreat, where Christians may go on an actual pilgrimage, which will mean leaving our homes and churches to a place that we are not familiar with. Yet at the end of this time, it is important to process together as a group with the goal of assisting people to be aware that we are participants in a life-long pilgrimage to the realm of God’s love.

Third: through the auspices of the School of the Pilgrim, participants are welcome to be part of an actual pilgrimage to a holy place, space, or people, spending anywhere from ten days to two weeks on pilgrimage with other pilgrims. Yet what is still important is the act of process and translating the experiences of being on an actual pilgrimage into the daily-life we participate in as members of the body of Christ.

Either way that one participates in the pilgrimage life—whether it in our home congregations, on a weekend retreat, or visiting a holy site—the goal of the School of the Pilgrim is to enable the people of God to realize that the totality of our human life, as members of the body of Christ, is a life that can be structured and perhaps best known as a holy pilgrimage. For in the School of the Pilgrim, we believe that it is by following Jesus Christ, our Pilgrim God, re-appropriating the classic metaphor and ancient practice of pilgrimage in our daily life, educational activities, fellowship opportunities, service projects, worship, and prayer-life, that we will come to envision that the Christian life is a life-long pilgrimage.

Implications for Church Life and Education in the Church with the School of the Pilgrim:
The challenge for the School of the Pilgrim is as follows: first, to enable people in congregations and parishes to embrace and identify that we are God’s pilgrim people through one of the experiences mentioned above. Second, once a group of people have participated in an actual pilgrimage, the next task is to introduce, develop, create, and provide support in incorporating a systematic way of utilizing some of the old and new practices of pilgrimage in the daily and weekly life of church members. After all, the basis for this vision is in the Greek-based word “parish,” which means “pilgrims’” or “sojourners’ house.” Our parishes are houses of prayer, rest, and nurture for modern day pilgrims!

So how does one initiate and incorporate practices and a vision of a church as a gathering of fellow pilgrims? The staff of the School of the Pilgrim will be incorporating old practices and rituals of pilgrims, along with creating new rituals, prayers, songs, and other artistic and creative practices that will reveal how we may all live a pilgrim-life right where we live. The hope is that the lives that are changed for the good through pilgrimage moments with other pilgrims in this modern world, encouraging others to embrace the pilgrimage practices right where we live, both as individuals and as members of religious communities. The School of the Pilgrim is inclusive of all people: young and old, rich and poor, of all ethnicities, nationalities, and heritages; of those who are able-bodied and those with disabilities; of people of all sexual orientation, women and men. We hope to include in the future not only all denominations within the Christian tradition but those who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or practice Shinto traditions. In a very real sense, the ancient practice of pilgrimage is a meeting place for the world's religions as most of them have included pilgrimage as a core practice in their respective faith traditions.

Where the School of the Pilgrim is In Accomplishing this Vision:
To date, the School of the Pilgrim is experienced through various ways: first, sermons and paper presentations made by the Director and Founder, Brett Webb-Mitchell, and also through joint pilgrimage experiences with friends of the School of the Pilgrim. For example, the School of the Pilgrim has hosted a pilgrimage experience with the annual meeting of the United Methodist Church's national gathering of Christian Educators' Fellowship (CEF), hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains for four days in autumn 2006. More recently, the School of the Pilgrim was hosted by St. Georges College in Jerusalem, Israel, with Dr. Henry Carse, exploring the ancient pilgrimage sites in the Middle East.

In the past, Dr. Webb-Mitchell has worked with various pastors, religious educators, and non-profit leaders in hosting experiences of the School of the Pilgrim. Later in 2007, Dr. Webb-Mitchell will welcome staff to be part of the School of the Pilgrim, and, with the staff, we will continue to work with groups of pilgrims in congregations and parishes, retreat centers and pilgrimage sites, as well as creating a place in which the practices of pilgrimage that may be used in churches and other religious contexts, which will be developed and distributed to various communities of faith in the proposed book Practicing Pilgrimage.

School of the Pilgrim's Accomplishments to Date:

Opened office of The School of the Pilgrim, 300 W. Weaver St., Ste. 200, Carrboro, NC 27510
Created website: www.schoolofthepilgrim.com
Established Post Office Box: School of the Pilgrim, which is P.O. Box 572, Carrboro, NC 27510-0572;
Received first grant for School of the Pilgrim: $8,600.00 from Lilly/Valparaiso Practicing the Faith Grant program for 2006. Funding will lead to developing and publishing the book, Practicing Pilgrimage: Becoming a Pilgrim Church (publication forthcoming)
Created a PowerPoint presentation on the vision of the School of the Pilgrim, Summer 2005
Spoken at many conferences, lectures, workshops, and sermons, inlcuding Presbytery of the Cascades Summer School (Summer 2005)
Conducted workshops on School of the Pilgrim: Growing Together, Presbytery of New Hope (Fall 2004)Presented lectures: Union-PSCE, Richmond, VA, Spring 2005
Conducted weekend hikes/pilgrimage with other groups, including Wilderness Trails, Virginia, Autumn 2005 and October 2006
Wrote and published book entitled School of the Pilgrim published by Westminster/John Knox Press, April 2007
Wrote and published book entitled Follow Me: Discovering the Life of Pilgrimage, published by Seabury Press, September 2006
Received approval for 501(c) 3 status as non-profit organization, July 2007
Established a Board of Directors. Fall 2006

School of the Pilgrim's Plans

Short-term Plans:

Conduct fundraising activities: Apply for other grants, e.g., Lilly, Ford Foundation
Meet with and invite individual patrons and donors to support the School of the Pilgrim
Create brochure/pamphlet: This brochure/pamphlet will include the items in this “Plan”

Long-term Plans:

Buy land and create a physical space and building called “School of the Pilgrim”. This will include the following: a chapel and building created by people working with the School of the Pilgrim; a building with studios for writers, poets, liturgists, musicians, potters, visual artists, dancers, and other participants to work; designing and building a labyrinth on the grounds; building a retreat center to house and feed retreatants.
Recruit staff/faculty/pilgrim guides to create activities, rituals, and other practices for churches that are interested in including the vision of the School of the Pilgrim. This will include but not be limited to: writers, poets, dancers, dramatists; musicians, potters, other visual artists, liturgists, cooks;
Design, create, and establish three sessions that pastors, priests, religious community members, Christian educators, counselors, youth ministers, catechism instructors, church musicians, liturgical dancers, et al., will be able to take over a years-period of time in learning how to bring the vision of the School of the Pilgrim to a congregation or parish, or religious community.
Sponsor pilgrimage tours to: Santiago de Compestela, Spain; St. Patrick’s Purgatory and Croagh Patrick in Ireland; El Cristo Negro in Esquipulas, Guatemala; Lourdes, France; Chimayo, New Mexico; Lindisfarne and Canterbury, England; Rome, Italy; Jerusalem and the Middle East. Also, we would explore pilgrimages in Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, China, and Japan.

School of the Pilgrim's Director:

The founder and director of the School of the Pilgrim is excited about exploring and creating a new approach to educating Christians in the world today.

Dr. Webb-Mitchell taught at Duke Divinity School in Christian education for over a decade. He is currently an interim pastor at Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church; and he is an oblate of St. Benedict Monastery in St. Joseph, MN.

Dr. Webb-Mitchell has written several books. The first three books addressed the place and presence of people with disabilities in the Church. The latest books are CHRISTLY GESTURES (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003) and THE SCHOOL OF THE PILGRIM (Westminster/John Knox Press, April 2007) and FOLLOW ME: CHRISTIAN GROWTH ON THE PILGRIM'S WAY (Seabury Press, 2006). There are many more articles and essays addressing the place and presence of people with disabilities in the Church in particular, and education in the Church in general.

The School of the Pilgrim is an approach to educating Christians that will draw on the new and creative ideas of a people who are well grounded in the traditions of the Church. It is an approach that welcomes young and old, of all economic classes, of various faith heritages, women and men, those with disabilities and those who are able-bodied, and all ethnic heritages and nationalities. Currently, the School of the Pilgrim is experienced in workshops and conferences, in which the participants become pilgrims as we take pilgrimages in whatever place the workshop or conference is being held. The School of the Pilgrim is also experienced through lectures and keynote presentations in the sharing of stories from the lives of many pilgrims.

In the future, the hope is creating a year-long curriculum with other pilgrims that can be used in congregations and parishes that yearn to become God's pilgrim people, wherever the people of God live. Along with bringing the School of the Pilgrim to congregations and parishes, there are plans for creating an actual School of the Pilgrim, becoming a creative space in which people may continually learn the way of the Pilgrim.

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