[Gocamino] A Gathering of Pilgrims

[Patricia Rush]

Thank you, Richard.  I'm sorry I could not attend, and very glad that the 
next Gathering will be on the east coast.  This will make it much easier for 
many of us easterners to attend.  Patricia
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <peregrino at att.net>
To: "Gocamino Listserver" <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 11:32 PM
Subject: [Gocamino] A Gathering of Pilgrims


>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
>
>
>
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