A Spirituality of the Road
Dear Pedal Pilgrim Readers,
It has been over five years since I have had any meaningful connection with you. I write this post to let you know that the long interruption is over. Some of you may know that I accepted an executive position with oversight of nearly 100 churches five years ago. The position required me to have a singular focus on the transformation of a church system. I set aside my Pedal Pilgrim writing during that time in favor of blogging specifically to the church culture. I wrote for four years under the Holy Breadcrumbs blog title.
The Prairie City, Oregon, Methodist Church that is now a community center, From 2011 pilgrimage.
I am now returning to the writing and the work of Pedal Pilgrim. I will be concluding my work for the Presbytery of the Cascades on March 31 and dedicating myself full-time to the work and life of Pedal Pilgrim.
What does this mean, exactly?
I have this deep sense that a whole new culture is emerging around what I would call “a spirituality of the road.” Adventure treks and pilgrimages are growing around the world. The Camino de Santiago in Spain, a historically Catholic pilgrimage, is drawing greater numbers of pilgrims who don’t have a specific religious identity, but who do understand the power of a pilgrimage to serve as the catalyst for personal transformation and deeper soulful discernment.
Eastern Colorado, 2011 pilgrimage.
Various movies are capturing this cultural movement. The 2021 movie, Nomadland, took best picture honors that year as it followed Fern (played beautifully by Frances McDormand) out on the road during a period of profound grief in her life. The movie Wild captured Cheryl Strayed’s courageous trek on the Pacific Crest Trail as a young woman dealing with her mother’s death and trying to find her place in the world again. The movie, The Way, chronicled Tom’s (played by Martin Sheen) journey on the Camino de Santiago as he sought to honor the life and legacy of his son who died on the same route.
Something is clearly happening. This is not just the growth of a recreation economy. This is the emergence of something profound and culturally significant. People are using the road to heal, connect, learn and grow in the same way they have used churches and therapist’s offices. To those of us who know a little about religious history this seems to be a resurgence of the ancient practice of pilgrimage.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be updating my website to reflect this new and re-launched work. Once it is up, I will be inviting you to shift your subscription to my blog to the new platform. I will still be writing under the Pedal Pilgrim name, but current subscribers will need to sign up on the new platform. I promise I will make it simple—just the click of a button!
More to come, I promise. I have been building toward this moment since 2014 and there is all kinds of catching up to do in the coming weeks.
Glad to be back with you all!
Brian Heron, the Pedal Pilgrim