A Spiritual Journey to Ireland
Youth on Pilgrimage
Hello, I'm Regan from Old Donation, and today we visited the city of Londonderry. We started off the day with a visit to St. Columb's Cathedral where we had a quick prayer and then were taken on a tour of the Cathedral. The interior of St. Columb's Cathedral was beautiful and unique, and included an original United States of America flag from the 1940's with only 48 stars. One aspect of the Cathedral that captured the attention of a lot of the pilgrims were the hand carved pew caps, each with its own individual design.
After the visit to the Cathedral, we were taken on a tour of the walls of Londonderry. Our tour guide, Tony, was amazing at keeping all the facts and tidbits exciting. The tour of the walls lasted about an hour and forty minutes, and we gained an insight into what it was like to live in the city durning the "troubles". One thing that stuck out to me was that during the troubles, you were either Roman Catholic or Protestant. These were the two "camps" people divided themselves into, however, the main conflict between these two groups wasn't over a difference of religion. The main issue was about human rights and a difference in politics. The city has overcome a lot of the problems and issues that plagued it during the late twentieth century, and now the most talked about issue is over what to call the city: Derry or Londonderry! Our tour guide argues that his favorite name for the city is: LEGENDDERRY. Hello, this is Izabelle Shelton and I go to Eastern Shore Chapel. I learned so much from this experience today that I didn't know before. The architecture was so beautiful and breathtaking, nothing like I have seen before. They did not have the best living spaces back then due to the harsh rent and class equality, you were either dirt poor and working everyday for 16 hours or you were middle class / high class, and still having to work so you can provide. People started setting out to the US to look for the new living or 'Irish American dream,' the love they had for their family and desperate need to get them out was so strong, that they would use all the money they had to send their kids to the US for a better life and so they can carry on that name. They would end up with no money and eventually pass away from no food. Very sad and harsh times, however, there was still love and faith that guided them.
Hello, my name is William Bibeau and I'm from Eastern Shore Chapel. I saw God today in the kindness and love everyone showed. I remember when we got to the coffee shop outside the Ulster American Folk Park, a lady didn't have the right currency to pay for her meal. Thankfully, one of our own pilgrims, Izzie Shelton, stepped in and paid for her. Furthermore, later tonight, we went out for some ice cream with Father Bob. We couldn't find anywhere to eat, so some locals helped us find our way to a McDonalds. In return, Father Bob bought them ice cream too! One takeaway I had from today was that no matter where you go, there you are. Many of the locals made us feel at home, and who would have expected to see a McDonalds in Northern Ireland? Another thing I learned was that if God is love, both He and love must be everywhere. Whether it was the friendly smile of our bus driver, the welcome nature the locals showed us, or the gratitude we received, someone was always there to pat us on the shoulders and warm our hearts. Hello! I'd Mary Reins, a proud member of All Saints'. Today and throughout this trip, I've been so delighted and honored by the kindness and closeness of God. I've been so happy with the connections and people I've had the chance to meet for the first time thanks to this trip. What I've truly loved is how open I've felt about my faith. There have been so many instances in the past where God has stood out to me, but I wasn't comfortable enough to say so. Here I feel like I can be more openly faithful and find a balance between the intimate nature of a relationship with God and the shared joys of it. I noticed God's beauty in the faith of those enduring harrowing living conditions and religious conflicts in Old World Ireland, yet how they still held close to God's comfort and serenity. Today's reflection was special, as they all have been, because Reverend Melody mentioned a parallel between the resilience and struggle of hiking Croagh Patrick and sailing to America in substandard living conditions. I realize that God sees it for all of us, even those who didn't reach their traveling goals in either case, and that is an act of worship. Ultimately, with hardship comes ease, a truth that I've felt with the blessing of being here. Thank you for making it possible! This is Thomas Bibeau from Eastern Shore Chapel and Day 3 was easily the best so far. This obviously doesn't mean a lot considering the past two days were dominated by plane rides and long trips on the bus. We awoke at around 8am and ate a light breakfast, then it was on to Coragh Patrick. Before I knew it we were at the base of the biggest mountain I have ever seen. It towered over everything around and I instantly understood why Saint Patrick set his eyes on this one for his climb. The gravel roads wrapped around the rolling green hills up to the peak which seemed impossibly steep. Sheep were scattered about the base along with some white horses. No matter how hard I tried I simply couldn't picture myself making it up. Without hesitation however, Riley, Ryder, Jack, and I set off with a spry pace up the first part of the hike. It was the most challenging hike I've ever been on, making anything I had done in Shenandoah seem tiny. We pushed as hard as we could and as a group we took the peak before anybody else. I first felt god on this hike when we reached the top. I felt refreshed immediately, the second I stepped onto level ground. I felt him again when I saw the view of the blue bay and the Atlantic, I marveled at the nature he had created for a while before we headed back down. Finally, I really felt God in the interactions I had with my group walking up, and talking to random hikers from all over the world who we passed on the way down. Also, I tried drinking water from a river so we'll see how that settles.
Hey guys this is Ryder Thum typing from Ireland. I go to All Saints Episcopal church and I have to say that this is the most fun I have ever had away from home. Though we did stay awake for more than 24 hours it felt like nothing, at least it felt like nothing once we went to sleep. When we woke up for the third day in Ireland we ate breakfast and then headed straight to Croagh Patrick. I got to say, walking up 2506 feet into the air first thing in the mourning was hard at first but like everything else it gets easier as you go. It felt like it got progressively harder, I mean my legs were burning and churning and they still hurt a little bit as I am typing right now. In Ireland all of the strangers are really nice to talk to, and it is nice to see the how diverse the hikers were. When we climbed up we talked to people from England, the U.S., Ireland, and more. What was also cool was the fact that for the most part of the hike was on private farm land, so there were lots of sheep. Where the sheep were walking was grassy, but where we were walking it was rocky. Father Bob told us to be careful because he said once he slipped on the rocks and set him back. I will be honest we did slip up a couple of times, but nothing we could not recover from. It felt like it did not take long but in our heads we know it took hours. We eventually made it to the top. Thomas was the first one to the top, Davis was the second, and I was the third to the top. It was funny to see a few old ladies acting like it was just another walk for them as we are panting. The view was breath taking, even if you are out of breath. You could see the Clew Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at the same time. I did not count them but you could see the majority of the 364 islands in the Clew Bay. After hanging out at the top for awhile Thomas, Davis, Jack, and I started our descent back to the start. On our way down we ran out of water so we were thinking about drinking the running water right next to the trail. One guy that was walking told us that it was more than safe to drink. We did not know if he was messing with us, but regardless we drank it. None of us have dysentery, so if it is not brown you can drink it. We got down and Father Bob was nice enough to buy some of us ice cream. We got down just in time before it started raining. Some other people were not as lucky though. As we were waiting for some people we had a nice discussion with the bus driver about England and Ireland. Then we went back to the Hostel hit the town for some food and for fun. Now we are getting ready to eat, say prayer, go to sleep, and get ready for a three hour drive to our next destination in Ireland. Hello this is Brenna from ODEC. We have had a pretty exciting first day at Clonmacnoise in Offery County, Ireland. While there we learned about the monstariys rich history and the importance it played in helping to spread Christianity to Ireland. Established by St. Cieran in the 6th century. There we were able to see some of the oldest and most import high crosses in Ireland. When we were driving up to the site my eyes immediately went to the graveyard. It was so incredible, the amount to craftsmanship that went into building this settlement was amazing. Walking around and being able to see the remaining buildings and crosses were a reminder of how much these monks dedicated their lives to Christ and how powerful their faith was.
Hello this is Kell from ODEC. I survived the 7 hour flight to Ireland! And from Fr. Bob -- the youth cooked supper last night and it was terrific! We are all happy, healthy and enjoying the Emerald Isle! Sunday, June 18, is "blast-off" for this wild adventure. We've been trading emails and texts about what to pack and what is the routine for our departure day.
Everyone will attend worship in their own church and then hit the road to Dulles airport. We are targeting arrival at the Aer Lingus check-in counter for sometime between 5:00 and 5:30. It's getting exciting!!
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