Treading on Sacred Ground—Not the Promised Land but the Promised Pilgrimage
The famous Irish theologian, Bono, said that “it’s more likely that church is not a place but a practice… There is no promised land. There is only the promised pilgrimage.” With much thought, prayer, discussion, and awe, Joanne Jenkins and I stepped out in faith to travel alongside others from Saint Peter’s in a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage with a goal to transform what we know, convert our hearts, and guide our hands to what might, could, or can be when we look at our long and deep history of systemic racism.
The participants, pilgrims on this journey, examine through reading, videos, discussion, worship, and prayer the price paid for our country’s history. This is not about placing blame or shame, rather it is to see and learn our burdensome history. The foundational events and decisions continue to have a cost that all of us share. Sacred Ground shows us how to say together that, as Christians, we cannot stand aside in silence, for silence is assent. Are you willing to trust in a journey, a pilgrimage, that will take you to new places, understandings, relationships, and, most importantly, reconciliation.
The eleven sessions (customarily bi-weekly) are scheduled on Sundays after the 11:00 a.m. service. Joanne Jenkins brings her gifts and experiences as a counselor, community organizer, and person of deep faith. I bring a commitment to justice’s redemption that is at the heart of the Gospel. The next offering of Sacred Ground starts on Sunday, March 19; and a third offering will start in September 2023.
If you have questions, are interested, then please contact me at frmurdocksmith@gmail.com or 704-607-5025.
Fr. Murdock Smith, Affiliated Clergy at St. Peter’s
