A Community of Trust
Patrick and Rachel, Warmshowers hosts, Boise
When I took my first pedal pilgrimage, a 4,000-mile trek through the Western U.S. in 2011, I spent thirteen nights with complete strangers. Eleven of those nights were through the Warmshowers network, a network that pairs touring cyclists with hosts. What makes it work is that sometimes you play host and sometimes tourist.
I still relish the approximately thirty nights that cyclists stayed with me in Yachats, Oregon during the summer of 2013. I lived right on the Pacific Coast Cycling Route and hosted cyclists from all over the world over a four-month period. I didn’t know any of the cyclists, but by the next morning I had newfound friends.
The other two nights on my 2011 pilgrimage complete strangers struck up a conversation with me which resulted in an overnight stay with a comfortable bed, a good home-cooked meal and engaging conversation.
I write at the end of a week that has me disturbed and shaken. Two incidents that have been termed “wrong house shootings” took the life of one teenager and critically injured another. It points not to an increase in violence in our culture (although that is true as well), but to a tragic decrease in trust. Put two things together—lack of trust and presence of guns—and we have a recipe for escalating “unintended” disasters.
I know that I cannot solve this. This is so much bigger than my teeny weeny little life and ambition. But I do think the project I am currently working on is one small attempt to break through the suspicion and distrust of our culture.
The Pilgrim Hostel project is based on a culture of welcoming the stranger. The project assumes that people can be trusted. It assumes that bringing people who do not know each other together is not a recipe for disaster, but rather an opportunity for connection, mutual understanding, celebration and growth.
This is what I experienced during my 2011 4,000-mile pedal pilgrimage. After a long sweaty day of cycling nearly a dozen times strangers opened their homes, shared their shower, provided a soft warm bed, and celebrated the communion of humanity around a table of really good food ( and usually beer!).
Having played both host and cyclist, I can tell you that the gifts of hospitality are shared equally. It really isn’t about who is giving and who is receiving. It is about connecting, trusting and celebrating our common humanity.
Staying at Monastery Stays in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, 2014
This week a mirror was held up to us Americans. The stories of two teenagers, victims of “wrong house shootings,” tell us that while guns may provide the fatal bullet, it is a lack of trust and growing suspicion that is killing us.
Churches have a long history of providing sanctuary to those seeking connection, community and compassion. The Pilgrim Hostel movement is not the whole answer. But it is one place where being strangers isn’t a threat, but an opportunity to discover our deeper humanity, care for each other and celebrate what we have in common.
Pilgrims, hikers and bikers should never be concerned about showing up at the “wrong house.”
In fact, no American, no person should ever fear driving up the wrong road, knocking on the wrong door, or showing up at the wrong house.
Let’s build a community of trust.
Fewer guns. More hugs!
Brian Heron
Religious Innovator and Spiritual Pilgrim