Walking Together, One Step at a Time
The photographs from the Health & Wellness Ministry’s September 9 sunset walk capture a beautiful evening: orange and pink skies above the dunes, a flock of birds overhead, and people walking along the water’s edge.
The gathering began with a prayer from Fr. BJ before the group headed to the Sound side, walking approximately 1.7 miles in all. In comments included in Wendy Littlefield’s recap, ministry co-chairs Mary Carter and Debra Goughnour reported seeing schools of fish jumping in the water. Wendy also highlighted a moment with Fr. BJ and the children in the water.
There is much to appreciate about an invitation this simple: come outside, take a walk, and spend some time together.
Thank you to Mary, Debra, and the Health & Wellness Ministry for bringing our parish together in this way. By organizing these gatherings, they give us opportunities to be active and enjoy one another’s company beyond Sunday morning. Making time for that shared life is a meaningful expression of care—and a gift worth celebrating.
When Walking Becomes Prayer
Rev. Sue’s reflection on her Camino pilgrimage offers a way to consider the connection between walking and faith. Recalling her effort to keep going, she said:
“I did the only thing I could do: left foot, right foot, one foot in front of the other.”
Then that steady rhythm became something more:
“Somewhere along the way that left foot, right foot dissolved into, ‘Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.’”
Sue described a shift from depending on her own ability to becoming willing to let God accompany and lift her up. Her reflection points us toward grace rather than self-sufficiency. Faith is not simply a matter of trying harder; it also involves receiving the help we cannot give ourselves.
Her daughter’s encouragement offers another glimpse of that help. When Sue said, “Jen, I just can’t do this,” her daughter replied, “That’s funny, Mom, because you’re doing it.”
In that exchange, we can hear the value of companionship: sometimes the person beside us helps us recognize what we cannot yet see for ourselves.
A sunset walk beside the Sound is a different experience from Sue’s pilgrimage. Still, her words offer an invitation for our own walks. We might carry a simple prayer with us, give thanks for the beauty around us, or pay closer attention to the person walking alongside us. We need not measure the value of that time only by the distance traveled.
The Health & Wellness Ministry has given us an occasion to practice that kind of attention together. For the walk, the opening prayer, and the opportunity to share an evening by the water, we give thanks.
The next event is a sunrise walk scheduled for September 19 at 6:30 a.m. Look for the link and details in the weekly e-news.
Come walk with us.
Event details provided by Wendy, including comments from co-chairs Mary and Debra.
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