A Season of Pilgrimage

The Wisdom School at Saint Mark’s offers this suite of pilgrimage experiences in the coming year as we ponder the theme, A Spirituality of Place: A Celtic Pilgrimage to Ireland, An Intergenerational Racial Justice Pilgrimage to Georgia & Alabama, and Compline Choir Pilgrimage to England’s Historic Cathedrals

There will also be local pilgrimages to significant sites in our region, such as St. Andrew's Parish and the Bainbridge Japanese-American Exclusion Memorial, The Northwest African-American History Museum, and the Duwamish Longhouse. (More information about the local pilgrimages will be posted here when it is available.)

These offerings are designed to present a range of touchstones—points of connection, locally, regionally and globally—trusting that we all have opportunities to discern what sort of travel as pilgrim makes sense at a particular time in our spiritual journey. This is transformative work—experiential, mystical, and incarnational—drawing on ancient wisdom and innovative design. It is the experience of finding one’s resurrected self and finding union in Christ and community, so that the transformative conversion of life that flows from the effort may be a gift that nourishes the soul.

An Intergenerational Racial Justice Pilgrimage to Georgia & Alabama

JULY 2–JULY 9, 2024

Registration closes: APRIL 4, 2024

Co-leaders: Canon Wendy Claire Barrie & The Rev. Linzi Stahlecker

This pilgrimage is grounded in our commitment to racial justice and our faith that calls us to “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” We’ll learn about the history of racial inequity in the United States and examine the Civil Rights Movement to help us understand and find our place in the continued and current struggle. We’ll have opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate Black culture, achievement, and joy.

Pilgrimage stops include the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the APEX Museum, and the Smith Plantation (Atlanta and Roswell, Georgia); the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, and the Gaston Motel (Birmingham, AL); the Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site, The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Rosa Parks’ Bus Stop, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (Montgomery, AL); the National Voting Rights Museum, Edmund Pettus Bridge, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Selma, AL).

This trip is open to those ages 14 and older. Pilgrims will participate in pre-trip preparation including three local mini-pilgrimages (see page 1) and orientation meetings, and post-trip reflection and response events.

More information and a detailed itinerary can be found in the pilgrimage brochure here. 

To register, visit: portal.myfaithjourneys.com Group Number: 24028

A Celtic Pilgrimage to Ireland

Compline Choir Pilgrimage to England’s Historic Cathedrals

AUGUST 1–19, 2024

Full information and registration instruction can be found on the Compline Choir website here.

Join the Compline Choir as a companion pilgrim to three of England’s most storied and historic cathedrals: Saint Alban’s, Saint Paul’s in London, and Canterbury. Canterbury Cathedral is especially significant because it served as a spiritual home and place of learning for the Choir’s founder, Dr. Peter Hallock, during his formative years as a leading musician in the Episcopal Church. During Compline Choir’s last pilgrimage in 2019, they were invited to sing the service of compline in the crypt.

Drawing on Benedictine values and pilgrimage rhythms, our time together will include daily prayer, study, community building, rehearsals for the Choir, and group excursions to Windsor (including St. George’s Chapel), Oxford, Cambridge (including King’s College Chapel), and Canterbury (including St. Augustine’s Abbey and St. Martin’s Church), with ample free time to explore the many sights and attractions in London on your own or in smaller groups. We hope to deepen connections with our Anglican heritage, share music unique to the Pacific Northwest and Saint Mark’s Cathedral, and establish lasting relationships with the people we encounter, while forging bonds among us who make this trip together.