I had been trying to wrack my brain to come up with another experience or trip that I’ve taken in my life that could count as worthy of being called a pilgrimage when the lyrics to the song “Arrow” by half.alive helped me remember and think about the importance of the inner pilgrimage.  All pilgrimages involve an inner journey to match whatever outer journey is taking place, but we don’t need to go on any literal trips to undertake the daily inner journey of reconnecting with who we are and who we are becoming. The lyrics that especially caught my attention were: The hardest place to be Is right where you are In the space between The finish and the start Is the Arrow in your heart The Arrow in your heart Pilgrimages that take us out of our normal surroundings and allow us to see new sights and experience

Days after the rains the river still swells but is back within its banks. The air is crisp but gloves hold the heat and the sun promises warmth to come. Two geese are eating grass. A squirrel risks its luck and darts in front of my tire. A leashed dog squats, looks me in the eye, And takes a morning crap. The wheels turn true on the path as the rider ponders Could a commute be a pilgrimage? At the church awaits email and Zoom and the annual report and more subtleties of the Divine. Approaching High Street my awareness shifts. Any one of these cars could crush me.     A driver waves me through an intersection and smiles and soon I have arrived. Joel

This evening begins the Muslim month of Ramadan.  It’s a season of fasting during daylight hours, sharing pre-dawn and post-dusk meals with family and friends, spiritual reflection, and giving donations for the poor.  There are nearly 2,000,000,000 (two billion) Muslims in the world, about ¼ of humanity.  Columbus’ large Somali population are among those observing Ramadan locally.  Because the Islamic calendar is based on the moon, Ramadan floats around the seasons. In 2000 Ramadan happened in December.  It coincided with a semester of study in the Middle East during my senior year of college.  We were based mostly in Cairo, Egypt, but concluded our time visiting different countries, ending in Turkey.  I have a distinct memory of a homestay there where the household was observing Ramadan.  The supper table had been set for the family and us, their guests.  Food was steaming and the smells wafted through the house as

A number of these daily Pilgrimage devotionals have reminded me of these words from TS Elliot: We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time. – from “Little Gidding,” Four Quartets I first encountered this poem in my early 20s and its truth has only deepened.  I’ve experienced this both geographically and in my faith journey. Born and raised in Bellefontaine, Ohio, I needed some distance for college and headed out to Kansas.  I remember the distinct thought that I wouldn’t be living in Ohio ever again.  After a semester in Cairo, Egypt, and periods of living in Atlanta, Topeka (Kansas), St. Louis, and Northern Indiana (seminary), my first pastorate landed me back in the southwest corner of the state at Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship.  Columbus landed us right in the middle. I had an intense

For the last 6-7 years I’ve had a color printout of the 1930s-era redlining map of Columbus on the bulletin board in my church office.  Like all good maps, it serves as a useful guide for understanding where we are and how we got here.  In this case, it illuminates what areas of our city have historically received the most favorable terms for investment (green areas) and which have been denied (red areas), with race as a key determining factor.  (Blue and yellow areas were in between, considered “Still desirable” and “Declining,” respectively.)    Being a property owner has been an education in this regard.  When you’re entrusted with a loan to purchase an asset that will increase in value, like a house, you build wealth.  Over time, you can use that accumulated wealth as collateral for other investments.  This gets passed down generationally, and so on.  Housing is entangled with schools, environmental health, crime and safety, walkability and access