Grounded Theology

The last couple of days have been interesting! I left Niagara Falls on Thursday 6/29 and rode to central Ohio where I stayed at Lake Wapusun Campground in Shreve, OH that is run by my wife's cousins, Mark & Lisa Everitt. The night there was rough!! Right after I made camp, a storm front came through about 8:30pm and it RAINED and THUNDERED until 7:00am. My little 2 person REI tent is a CHAMP! I emerged nice and dry. However, I had to pack wet again. (It seems like it's becoming routine!) -  see the reflection on packing wet       Nonetheless, the ride to Toledo on 6/30 was outstanding! The weather was not too hot, not too cool, not raining. I rode to Signature Harley Davidson, where I met up with General Manager, Kris Friar (another of Kelly's cousins). I was able to spend the evening with Kris and she took me to Tony Packo's, a famous Hungarian Food place in Toledo, OH. I stayed over at Kris' and left the next morning. Guess what... another storm came th...

I spent yesterday and today riding across (longways) the large state of New York from Connecticut to Niagara Falls. What a beautiful place. Being from the south, I was taught that "Yankee Land" was nothing but factories and garbage heaps. It's amazing how perceptions are planted in young minds. If we listen to Dr. Morris Massey, we are taught things (value programmed) about what is good, bad, right, wrong, normal, and not normal by the age of 10. The rest of our life is a evaluation/devaluation of that teaching. Needless to say, my early planted opinions of New York were made by people who never spent any time here. (You get 2 ride videos today!)         I made it to Niagara Falls, one of the great 7 natural wonders of the world (according to some lists). It is a magnificent sight! This is actually the second time I had been. I came here on a trip with my parents when I was 16. The falls were as grand as ever, spilling millions of gallons of water hundreds of ...

Today instead of continuing west I went south, through Massachusetts into Connecticut to the Mohegan Tribe reservation in Uncasville. My Uncle Donald Tantaquidgeon lives in the senior housing complex. He is my maternal gradmother's sister's husband. So technically he is my Great Uncle by marriage, so unfortunately I am not Mohegan. I haven't seen him in many years and it was great to catch up with him. I also got to see his son, my cousin Lem.        My Uncle is among the elders of the Mohegan Tribe and refers to himself as "old school" with regard to tribal customs and cultures. He took me to the Tantaquidgeon homestead, which is now a museum that teaches about Native American and tribal culture. I saw recreations of the wigwam, fire circle, and canoe making. We also rode around the Mohegan Sun Resort Hotel and Casino. It is a beautiful facility. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my Uncle Don and learned more about him and his cultural heritage. I hope to r...

It was a great morning at St. Columba's Boothbay Harbor, ME with the wonderful welcoming folks and their rector, a seminary buddy, the Rev. Maria Hoecker. Ironically it was Maria's last Sunday at St. Columba's prior to her sabbatical. She was able to score a Lily foundation grant for clergy renewal and will be gone for 4 months. I am happy for her and hope to follow her travels to Iona, Scotland, and England where she will retreat and engage in a study of Celtic spirituality.       I said that I wanted to pay attention and reflect on how I was received at different locations. The people at St. Columba's didn't know I was coming, nor did they know I was a priest. I wanted to blend in and be a visitor. I don't get to do that very often. It kind of scares me a bit... I was greeted with a warm smile and a welcome, the greeter/usher asked me where I was from. Like Trinity, they have "hand written" name tags so no one is isolated. However, they have a neat i...

Today was just short of fantastic! The pilgrimage led me to Lewiston, Maine. It started out overcast and I thought it was going to rain for a better part of the ride, but cleared up nicely! This is my main (Maine) stop before I begin my big trek across the US. Before heading west, I wanted to evaluate some things... Baggage (clothing/gear), health, stamina, etc... Constant assessment and tweaking as I go will be the key to my comfort. I am unplugged, yet I am not... Unplugged from responsibilities, routine tasks, etc. but not unplugged from electricity. Cell service has been fair, but as I head west I thing that it's going to get worse. That means "old school" maps and such. I have taken to writing the turns down on paper and putting them in the map pouch so that I can have an idea of where I'm going, but part of the process is letting the spirit guide you. I had service most of today, but I started of thinking about how cell service is about feeling "i...

I am trying to do things on my sabbatical that take my mind off the millions of things I deal with in my normal routine. What I have noticed, so far, is that I am a creature of habit. I like routine. I appreciate rhythm. So, what happens is that I get into the rhythm for the task... Packing, riding, cooking, camping... it's all a process. What most people probably don't realize is that I like to camp. Kelly and I like to camp. Kelly grew up camping. I grew up camping (thanks mom & dad who are in there 70s and still camp). I also like to ride. However, motorcycle camping is much different. It's like fast backpacking! :) That's the closest description I could come up with. It is a it out of the comfort zone (intentionally). But, I'm getting the hang of it.       We do what we like to do, but we should always push the boundaries a bit... Get out of the comfort zone. I'm not sure it was easy for Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave the fishing trade and...

Woke up wet!! There was a big rain storm last night so I had to pack wet. The tent kept me nice and dry. The morning I had to rig for rain, but ended up being a great riding day. The trip to NY was great. When I got to Gilbert Lake, I was excited that there was no rain in the forecast, so I opened up and hung everything out to dry. I decided to sleep under the stars... I bit nippy to do that at 51 degrees.     I have often said that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. What we do on the journey, the people we encounter, the way we act, the lives we touch, the lives that touch us, the roads we travel, all have a formational piece to them. Our Christian life is about the journey (and sometimes we have to pack wet - knowing the soggy mess will be with us at the next destination.) So much for mixing metaphors. I have the versus in Exodus rolling around in my head every time I put up and take down a tent. The Israelites were a nomadic people when they ...

I left this morning about 8am. My first stop was Starbucks for some coffee and a nut bar. However, that's not the point of my reflection today. My reflection is packing and re-packing... I will probably pack two or three different times until I get it right. I'm not one to leave my creature comforts at home, so I took as much as I thought I needed. I am sure that I will end up sending some back home.     I found this scripture fitting. “Then Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out with no money bag, or traveler’s bag, or sandals, you didn’t lack anything, did you?” They replied, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now, the one who has a money bag must take it, and likewise a traveler’s bag too. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘ And he was counted with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me is being fulfilled.” So they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” Then he told...

Before embarking on my pilgrimage, Kelly and I decided to spend the weekend in North Carolina. My maternal grandmother is 96 years old and lives in Edenton and my mother and father live in Hertford, NC. It is so tough to get down to see them because of my work schedule. So, Kelly and I thought that it would be an important part of my journey to go down and connect with family. (After all, it was Father's Day weekend and Friday was my sister's birthday) At Trinity this past year, we have claimed that we are "ONE family under God." I have spent the better part of that year trying to decide what that means. Family is sometimes a messy conglomeration of personalities, ego, and ideas about what is good, bad, normal, and not normal. Families grow together and apart... but the one thing that keeps it all together is love. Love gets us through it. The scripture says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor...

I now realize that preparation for a long journey is just as important as the journey itself. I have been preparing the trip, getting the gear together, making sure that I have the right amount of the right stuff. Kelly and I were talking the other night, and I expressed my worry about forgetting something. She reminded me that if I continuously worry about forgetting something, I probably will. I have used guidelines posted by other motorcycle riders and campers when making my list, so hopefully that will pay off. I want to be "free" to experience the pilgrimage "by the Spirit," so I think it's important not to plan every segment of the trip. However, I have planned out a general route that begins here in Towson and goes North into New England then across the Northern US to Chicago then down historic Route 66 to California, Up the coast of California and then diagonally back across the US down through the Rockies toward Louisiana then down into Florida and...