[Gocamino] A Gathering of Pilgrims

[Richard Ferguson <peregrino@att.net.]

A Gathering of Pilgrims

I attended the Gathering of Pilgrims, sponsored by the American Pilgrims on the Camino, which was held in Boulder Colorado the weekend of April 1st.  I thought that some of you might be interested in the impressions of a first-time attendee, with no connections to the organization.

I enjoyed the gathering, and enjoyed being in the company of pilgrims, people who have been there and understand.  For me, my camino experience is not easy to talk about, but listening to others made me realize that my experience was not unique.

The program topics ranged from the practical to the spiritual.  Practical topics included Novice Q&A, First Aid for Pilgrims, Packs, Boots, Bicycling the Camino, Volunteering as a Hospitalero, and Alternate Pilgrim Routes.  We also received a view of the Confraternity of St. James in the UK from Marion Marples of London, and information about the history of the Camino in Paris, including many churches and hospitals that no longer exist.  The talk on publishing a book was an eye opener.  Marion brought samples of many of the publications that the Confraternity sells; it is always nice to hold the book in your hand before you buy it.

The spiritual aspects of the camino were only the focus of one talk, but prayer was included throughout the program.  I was a little surprised by how often God was mentioned.  Sometimes on the internet groups, one gets the feeling that God is out of fashion, that it is not politically correct to mention Him.  The gathering was followed by a retreat, which I did not attend.

There was a lot of social time, which was good.  Often the most valuable information from a conference comes from informal discussions.  It was also nice to put a face to some of the people who I have only met on the internet.

>From the practical aspect, I was most interested in alternate routes.  I felt like I received a good overview, and have pretty well decided to go to Le Puy next time.  There were enough people there with enough experience that you felt that you could ask any question related to the camino and get an answer.

The next gathering will be held in March 2007, in Williamsburg Virginia.  I would encourage people to consider going.

Richard Ferguson
April 2, 2006