The People of Dark Waters

 

by Eric Diekhans 

The heartland of the Lumbee Tribe lies amid the pines and swamps of southeastern North Carolina. The Lumbee call themselves The People of Dark Waters. For millennia, their lives revolved around hunting, fishing, and farming along the Lumbee River and amidst lowlands and swamps that Europeans considered almost impenetrable.

When Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina in late September, Robeson County, where many Lumbee live, was mostly spared. But six years prior, Hurricane Florence struck the Lumbee hard. The hurricane’s aftermath brought environmental racism and the shortsightedness of colonialist exploitation of the land into sharp relief.

In his new book, On the Swamp, Ryan E. Emanuel, a tribal member and an associate professor of hydrology at Duke University, writes about how environmental injustice worsened Hurricane Lawrence's effects. Emanuel describes the hurricane’s aftermath:

 

“In the days that follow the deluge, rivers and streams swelled far beyond their banks and spilled across the flat, low-lying Coastal Plain. Typical quiet, stagnant swamps became roiling, frothing torrents. Sluggish rivers expanded into liquid superhighways that inundated—indiscriminately—pine forests, crop fields, industrialized livestock facilities, and neighborhoods. Streets and highways became eerily angular lakes. Occasionally, automobile roofs or antennas broke the dark surface. In the days after Hurricane Florence, water nearly swallowed the Coastal Plain whole.”

 

During the 18th and 19th centuries, as Europeans killed or displaced North Carolina’s indigenous people, settlers arrived and sought to subjugate nature. They built canals and dams to tame the Lumber River and drain wetlands. The projects opened up the area to more settlement and agriculture but destroyed indigenous hunting grounds and made the land more susceptible to flooding during catastrophic weather events.

Today, large commercial enterprises, many of them situated near low-income communities, cause irreparable damage to Lumbee lands. The county is home to enormous livestock operations, slaughterhouses, and meatpacking plants. When Hurricane Lawrence hit, the waste runoff from these operations poisoned waterways. 

As concern about climate change has risen, North Carolina has turned from coal to natural gas. But Robeson County has shouldered the burden for this changeover. Natural gas pipelines now cross Lumbee County, scarring the countryside and taking land from tribal members through eminent domain.

Global warming has caused other changes to Lumbee County. Emanuel writes, “Climate change has turned  the Coastal Plain into a place of extremes. It is becoming hotter and drier, and yet the risk of another catastrophic flood looms on the horizon. Decision-makers simultaneously face the challenges of planning for droughts and foods—frustrating and unenviable situation.”

For decades, the Lumbee Tribe has fought for environmental justice and respect for its culture and traditions. But they have often been stymied by the Lumbee Bill passed by Congress in 1956, when the government's focus was on avoiding the burden of responsibility to Native Americans. The bill recognized the Lumbee but forbade the government from entering into formal relationships with the tribe. Government agencies still cite the law as a reason not to consult with the tribe before approving harmful or polluting projects.

Great challenges remain in Robeson County. More hurricanes will come. Emmanuel writes, "Our homelands feel a little less like home, in some ways, with each passing year. Lumbee communities are shrinking safe havens. Flooding from human-caused climate change threatens communities from one side and industrialization from the other. The last vestiges of our formerly expansive homelands are caught in the squeeze of extraction and sacrifice. It is a perilous place to be, but we remain. We belong.”

 

Eric Diekhans’ fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and the forthcoming anthology Uncensored Ink. He is the recipient of a local Emmy for Children’s Television and an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in screenwriting. He is a member of Lake View Presbyterian Church in Chicago. (www.ericdiekhans.com)

Appreciation for Native Wisdom

By Diane Waddell

 It is good to live on and near lands where First Nation persons have lived; to walk on those lands and by those waters which were once considered sacred; these lands and waters which indigenous persons today continue to hold sacred as they work to stay in ‘right relation’ with Mother Earth. 

 Dr. Dan Wildcat speaks of this land, air, and water in his new book, On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth. It is about the importance of learning about the sacred ‘Earth-Keeping’ that Indigenous persons can share with those who take the land for granted and under whose watch a climate crisis is occurring. 

 Dr. Wildcat, a Yuchi member of the Muskogee Nation of Oklahoma, is an author,  professor, and administrator at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS.  He has been a speaker at a previous PEC conference, talking about a previous book, Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge. He summarizes that book by stating that those of us who have helped create and exacerbate the climate crisis are doing everything but change our way of living to slow the crisis.

 He is passionate about the importance of learning from native people, those who consider the elements of Earth a gift rather than a resource, who see Earth as relational, and who live with mindfulness and humility.

 It is an invitation to listen, to hear, to put our ears to the ground and become aware of that sacred drumbeat, that sacred rhythm.  This is an invitation to share in gratitude Dr. Wildcat’s passion. 

 In this statement, Land Back! (Page 48) he proposes a restorative justice principle/proposal.  Hear and consider….

 Land Back!

 

Land back!

Why, where….to whom, for what?

Returned? Restored? Received? Reimagined?

Revered…Honored.

 

Land back!

Just politics, left of center,

Right of center, front and center

No, Just Centered

 

Land back!

Where we began, a specific place, a deep space,

A song, a prayer, embodied mindfulness full of grace

A grounded soaring spirit found in place

 

Land back!

Our situation brought full circle

Through prayer, song, ceremony, and direct action

A gift entailing gratitude and generosity we must share.

 

Land back!

Let’s talk, let’s pray, let’s play

Let’s forget just us and find a way to justice

In the national eco-kinship system too many have forgotten.

 

Land back!

A community restoration activity

The embodiment of right relations.

Land, air, and water — life-centered justice.

Land back!

 

                    —DRW

 Thank you, Dr. Wildcat.

Aho.

 

Diane Waddell is a leader in the JOY New Worshiping Community, Ecumenical Eco-Justice and the St. Joseph Sustainable Environment Advisory Committee.

 

Land Acknowledgements Can Act as Bridges

 

by Nancy Corson Carter

 

“The recent trend in performing land acknowledgments indicates there is interest among the wider public to understand and learn how to honor Indigenous Peoples. Land acknowledgments can be one step towards standing up and standing with Indigenous Peoples. Love Richardson [Tribal leader and enrolled member of the Nipmuc Nation and of Narragansett descent] recalls a time she witnessed a land acknowledgment in Massachusetts so powerful that onlookers shed tears, having been previously unaware of the close relationship Indigenous Peoples have with the land, ignorant to the atrocities performed by colonial settlers. At that moment, allies were created and existing allies fortified their fight. Land acknowledgments have the power to center the interconnectedness of land and people, to pay tribute to the original stewards of the land.”1      

This statement by tribal people helps us begin to understand the power of Land Acknowledgments.  When our church, The Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill, NC, studied the Doctrine of Discovery in 2018, such an acknowledgment emerged. This process was led by PEC members who had participated in the national PEC conference, “Blessing the Waters of Life: Justice and Healing for Our Watersheds,” in September 2017 at Menucha Retreat and Conference Center near Portland, Oregon.  While there we had the honor of visiting with and learning from tribal peoples in the Colombia River watershed.

We now have, as a reminder of what we learned there, this statement, which is posted permanently in our narthex, signed by our minister and by the facilitator of Earth Care:

HONORING FIRST PEOPLE AND THE LAND

The Church of Reconciliation Earth Care Committee’s 2018 study of the Doctrine of Discovery prompts us to recognize the Indigenous People who came before us on the lands we now inhabit in North Carolina.

 

The Doctrine of Discovery is a philosophical and legal framework dating to 15th-century European papal decrees. This framework gave Christian governments a false moral rationale for invading and seizing indigenous land and people around the world. Its effects, including intergenerational trauma, still linger in our legal and social systems. 

 

We confess our complicity in this sinful doctrine, and we are grateful that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), by official apologies to Indigenous People harmed by colonization, has led the way to listening and to repentance. With the whole church, we intend further reconciliation through mutual relationships of loving care and respect.

 

We acknowledge that we live on land traditionally belonging to and cared for by  Indigenous People now formally recognized as:

 

                  Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation

                  Lumbee Tribe

                  Sappony

                  Eastern Band of Cherokee

                  Cohaire Intra-Tribal Council, Inc.

                  Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe

                  Meherrin Nation

                  Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe

 

They are our neighbors, those we are commanded to love as ourselves as we heed Christ’s call to the healing of people, of land, and all Creation.

                                         

                                         

We have found that such an acknowledgment must be validated over and over by listening and learning from our Indigenous brothers and sisters. The finest example I’ve learned of lately is being carried out by Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. In the Fall of 2024, in their quarterly, the Abbey Banner, Abbot Douglas Mullin, O.S.B. writes of Saint John’s participating in a Native Nations Task Force. Their intention is “to demonstrate a genuine commitment to rectifying past wrongs and supporting the flourishing of Indigenous communities and people.  We recognize that true reconciliation and healing require more than good intentions and nice words—they demand concrete actions, ongoing commitment, and a willingness to listen and learn from those who have been harmed.”2

We must hope that individually and collectively the Holy Spirit will help this truth to bloom for us all!

1 from CULTURAL SURVIVAL, “Land Acknowledgments Can Act as Bridges”

2”When Good Intentions Go Awry,” by Abbot Douglas Mullin, O.S.B., Saint John’s Abbey’s quarterly, Abbey Banner, Fall 2024 , p.5. 

 An extra Note : October 11, 2021 was the first time a U.S. president, Joe Biden, officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

 

Nancy Corson Carter, professor emerita of humanities at Eckerd College, has published THREE poetry books, Dragon Poems The Sourdough Dream Kit, and  A Green Bough:  Poems for Renewal (most recent) and three poetry chapbooks. Some of her poems, drawings, and photos appear in her nonfiction book, Martha, Mary, and Jesus: Weaving Action and Contemplation in Daily Life, and in her memoir, The Never-Quite-Ending War: a WWII GI Daughter's Stories. Website: nancycorsoncarter.com

A Visit to Kenya - Traditional Food Practices in Harmony with Earth Stewardship

 by Mindy Hidenfelter

Crispy chapati, fragrant mukimo, savory sauteed cabbage, grilled maize by the roadside – all of these wonderful traditional Kenyan dishes and more, created from plants cultivated in harmony with the earth.  As a vegetarian by choice for earth care reasons, I was all set to participate in a “friendship visit” to Kenya, with Presbyterians for Earth Care friends and others, and did not know how I would fare nutritionally avoiding meat during my stay.  Upon arrival, I quickly discovered that my concerns were unfounded.

Depending on the region, Kenyans have long relied upon the earth for most of their sustenance.  As stewards and managers of the land, these indigenous people have created nutritious meals from crops that dated back to before the European colonization of the African continent, as well as crops that were introduced and promoted by Europeans during times of settlement in the East African region that is now the Republic of Kenya.

Two of the native Kenyan dishes that I thoroughly enjoyed and ate just about daily during those two weeks were sakuma wiki and ugali. 

Sakuma wiki is a green known as collards in English.  As a dish, it is typically cut into thin strips and cooked with onions and tomatoes.  “Sakuma wiki” means “to stretch the week” in Swahili, named as such because the greens are readily available and affordable, helping to stretch any meal further. (Hassan, 2024) Greens are a staple in Kenyan cooking and are part of a traditional vegan meal, along with rice or ugali. 

Ugali is a stiff cornmeal porridge.  Originally made of traditional grains such as sorghum and millet, ugali is now most commonly made of maize.  British colonization promoted the cultivation of maize instead of other Kenyan grains, since maize requires less labor than sorghum or millet to grow, care for, and harvest.  While under British colonial rule (1895-1963), Kenyan workers were often paid in maize, promoting its dominance as a cooking staple. Ugali is now most frequently made with white maize (or maize flour) and water. Pieces are rolled into balls with a small thumb depression.  It is used to scoop stew instead of silverware or other eating utensils.

Many other Kenyan dishes, especially the plant-based ones, are examples of indigenous food cultivation in harmony with the earth. For indigenous people around the world, the food grown and integrated into their daily meals helps maintain an important connection with the natural environment in which they live.

Hawa, Hassan. In Bibi’s Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean [A Cookbook]. 2024. Ten Speed Press. 282pp.

 

Mindy Hidenfelter serves as the Coordinator for Presbyterians for Earth Care.  She holds degrees in forestry/wildlife science and natural resource management and has experience in urban forestry as an ISA Certified Arborist in both state government and the non-profit world.  Mindy currently serves as an elder at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church in North Carolina, and enjoys running and exploring national parks with her family.

Visits with Local Schools and Agriculture Projects - Kenya Post #4

 

Obwolo Secondary School student assembly

Obwolo Secondary School was our first stop on our Wednesday visiting tour of several public schools who have participated in God’s Green Resourceful Earth tree planting projects on their campuses. We were overwhelmed by the gracious hospitality of the school staffs and the earnest attentiveness of their students.  

Renja Secondary School

Nyakakana Secondary School

Bishop Tom has worked with more than 30 secondary schools in the Nyanza Area to teach the students about caring for God’s creation.  Discussion of the importance of trees came up at each school assembly we attended.  Kenya currently has forest cover of only 8% nationwide, but established a goal in 2022 of 30% forest cover within ten years. The school students clearly understood they are the hands and feet of God in achieving this goal.

On Thursday, our group loaded the van and headed into the countryside, where we hiked to the six acres of land being cultivated by GGRE for sugar cane, maize, and vegetables.  Through a grant from the Power of One non-profit organization, the land has been leased as a regenerative agriculture demonstration site.  

One acre of the leased land is located adjacent to the

Nyando River, which will be a source of water for a vegetable garden once a new water pump is installed. The vegetables harvested from the garden will be donated to the local elderly population, as well as sold in the market so that profits can be reinvested in additional seeds.

A visit to beautiful Lake Victoria for a meal at an adjacent restaurant completed our day.

Visiting the Projects of GGRE - Kenya Post #3

 

Obugi Church in Kisumu, Kenya

Sunday, Sept. 8th began with our visiting group’s

attendance at the weekly worship service at Otieno Oyoo High School boarding school for boys on their campus in Kisumu, Kenya.  Several hundred boys in attendance

 welcomed our participation as we worshipped with exuberance and thanksgiving for all that God has provided.

Obugi Church was our next stop, where we were welcomed with open arms to worship with their close-knit congregation with time for scripture, singing, and praise. Having previously met under a tree, construction of their new sanctuary has not quite been completed, but the structure that exists was filled with the Holy Spirit during our time together.

We were blessed with the hospitality of Ruth, who welcomed us into her home to share a delicious lunch prepared by several of the women of the congregation following worship. We broke bread with the church pastor and several of the church’s elders.

A visit to the thriving God’s Green Resourceful Earth tree nursery, located on the

grounds of the African Inland Church (AIC) Nyanza Area Bishop’s Office, kicked off our second full week in Kenya. We had the opportunity to see in person the successful work being done to plant and nurture trees of many species for sale and distribution.  Many will be given to farmers, landowners, and schools.

We met the Bishop of the Nyanza Area AIC, Rev. Phillip Osenya, as well as the team that leads GGRE. The Bishop led us all in the dedication and laying of hands on the truck that was recently purchased for the GGRE program with the assistance of a generous donation from Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, TN.  The trucks makes possible the essential task of transporting of trees, plants, and materials for the GGRE program.

Our afternoon travels brought us to the Kenya Forestry Service at the Kenya Forest Research Institute in Maseno. We learned all about the tree seed and reforestation program managed by Joyce Cortina, leader of seed distribution, who has worked with Tom Ochuka and GGRE to help mitigate climate change through planting seeds for trees.

GGRE maintains a reforestation and regenerative

agriculture demonstration site at a farm owned and managed by Tom’s family in Awasi, Kenya.  On Wednesday, our group had the opportunity to visit the farm and learn about the trees, abundant vegetable garden, numerous chickens, and thriving apiary located on the property.  Much of what we observed was made possible through fundraising done through the GGRE partners in the United States. Tom’s family welcomed us graciously and provided a meal made of eggs and vegetables from the farm, such as sukuma wiki and cassava, for us all to enjoy

together.   We closed out our visit by planting passion fruit along the apiary fence line, envisioning its future blossoms will provide nourishment for the bees in their production of honey.

 

Masai Mara Safari - Kenya Post #2

 

From L to R: Tom Ochuka, Rick Randolph, Damar Ochuka, Joan Ochuka, Jo Randolph, Mindy Hidenfelter, Trisha Tull, Sajal Sthapit, Mark Lynch, Dennis (guide)

The third day of our friendship visit to Kenya began with a devotion led by Rick Randolph, with a focus on a reading from Isaiah 1:17 and a discussion about the injustice of environmental problems disproportionately affecting our economically disadvantaged brothers and sisters in Christ. We then headed out into Nairobi for another day of exploration.

A visit to the Nairobi National Museum in the morning gave us all some background on the rich history of the people of many tribal cultures who comprise the country of Kenya. From the brutal British colonization period to the present day fierce independence of a nation struggling to develop a unified identity, we were all given some important context for our time spent here over the next two weeks. 

In the afternoon, we were off to the Karura Forest for an ecotour of the forested oasis in the middle of a bustling city. In 1900, much of the native forest was cut down for fuel and then replanted with nonnative eucalyptus, pine, and cypress trees. Today, 64% of the forest has been restored to native species and work continues to remove the nonnatives. Animals making their homes in Karura include antelopes, monkeys, bush babies, jackals, Angolan fruit bats, bush pigs, and a variety of bird species. We were also given a tour of the adjacent tree nursery, where trees are grown from seed to plant in the forest restoration process.

A full day’s drive west brought us to Olkenyei Tent Camp, on the outskirts of Masai Mara National Game Reserve. This brought us to the location of our next adventure- a jeep safari on Friday.

In awe of wonderful creatures so nearby, there are no words to appropriately describe our experience in the 1510 sq. km. of Masai Mara. Here are a few of our group’s collective photos:

Masai giraffe at sunrise

Wildebeest

Thompson’s gazelle

African elephant

Lion cubs

Zebra

Water buffalo

God’s Green Resourceful Earth - Friendship Visit to Kenya

 

From L to R: Rick Randolph, Jo Randolph, Trisha Tull, Mindy Hidenfelter, Damar Ochuka, Sajal Sthapit, Tom Ochuka (not pictured:Mark Lynch)

Welcome to the next several Blog posts to follow our journey as a friendship trip to the beautiful country of Kenya. To learn about the God’s Green Resourceful Earth partnership’s background and mission, please read recent posts on the Inhabiting Eden blog written by Trisha Tull HERE. Presbyterians for Earth Care has been a supporter of the partnership since its inception in 2016, and now both PEC Treasurer Jo Randolph and PEC Coordinator Mindy Hidenfelter have joined the group of six traveling to Nairobi and then on to Kisumu, the location of the conservation projects carried out by the staff of GGRE.

Monday & Tuesday (Sept. 2-3) : Nairobi

Our week began with breakfast and our daily devotion. Trisha read to us from Psalm 139 and suggested that we come to the country of Kenya with receptivity, as everyone we we will meet is “fearfully and wonderfully made” and a gift to us in friendship. This set the tone for our stay in a culturally rich nation whose past includes the unfortunate influences of the paternalistic intentions of colonialism. Rev. Tom Ochuka and his wife Damar would be our gracious hosts during our stay in their country.

Our first stop was a visit at the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). We learned from the staff of very friendly and accommodating experts of fascinating work being done in agroforestry gene banking, soil analysis, and conservation. A “Food Trees” project, developing portfolios of trees and crops for farmers for year-round fruit production, has proven to be especially successful. The “champions” are the extension workers who work directly with farmers throughout Kenya. These individuals are supported by non-government organizations, not the national government.

The next day was full of unique Kenyan wildlife and cultural experiences.  At the Nairobi National Park, we spent our morning enjoying a visit to the Elephant Nursery, where orphaned baby black rhinos and baby elephants are cared for until they are ready to be returned to the wild.

Afterwards, a quick visit to the Giraffe Center allowed us to experience a close-up view of the Rothschild giraffes which are cared for as part of a species breeding program.

We rounded out our second day in Nairobi as a group with a cultural experience at Bomas of Kenya. A series of traditional dances from the many ethnic communities throughout all the regions of Kenya, from the coast to the western parts, were performed to the beat of live drums. Each dance was explained to us in interpretation of traditional lives of Kenyans

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Salt Lake City, Utah during PC(USA) 226th General Assembly (June 15-July 4, 2024)

 by Fred Milligan

First Presbyterian Church, downtown Salt Lake City

Gun to Gardens cutting up firearms (First Pres. After worship anti-violence program)

street-side sculptures

Salt Palace Convention Center – location of General Assembly plenary sessions

A nearby mountain seen from SLC street

Photos of Utah landscapes displayed on wall of Hyatt Regency hotel lounge

Scottish bagpipes participated in the opening of the 226^th meeting of the PCUSA General Assembly

PEC Advocacy Co-Chair Fred Milligan, Mission Delegate to GA Mark Hare, and Young Adult Advisory Delegate to GA Andrew Hill

Fred Milligan is a PC(USA) minister member of Highlands Presbytery in North Central New Jersey in the territory of the Turtle tribe of the Ramapo people and the Ramapo mountains but resides in New York City in the historic land of the Linape people along the Hudson River. Fred has been sensitive to ecological issues since his youth when the mayor of Strawberry, Arkansas recruited him to become his town’s first “garbage man” and only later was confronted with the dilemma of where to put it. He has been involved with PEC since 2005 when he served on the General Assembly staff as Associate for Stewardship Education and supported the start-up of the Eco-Stewards program. He then served on our steering committee until 2014, when he moved to Chile as pastor of a congregation there for six years. In 2021 and 2022, Fred represented PEC at COP26 in Glasgow and the follow-up meetings in Bonn, Germany and supervised the writing and editing of our overture to the last General Assembly entitled “The time is now . . . “ Fred is currently serving as co-facilitator, with Jenny Holmes, of the PEC Advocacy Team.

Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage: A Photo Essay

 

by Rev. Mary Beene

Rev. Kate Clayton, pastor of San Geronimo Presbyterian Church in San Geronimo, CA, “wanted to share this rainbow as kind of EARTH blessing. The weather was unusually cold and rainy at the beginning of our Camino Frances. many folks we met commented on loving this double rainbow.”  She was taking the route over the mountain at St. Jean Pied-de-Port in France.  Many pilgrims start their Camino in France. 

 Rev. Stephanie Ryder, pastor of Redwoods Presbyterian Church in Larkspur, CA, commented that “walking 13 miles a day for 7+ days helped me realize I could do a lot more walking and a lot less driving once I returned.”  

She also noted some commonalities between places as she compared this amazing picture in Spain to our beloved San Francisco region.  Even as ecosystems are different, there are commonalities that connect us all. 

Kate also wanted to celebrate the community aspect of walking such distances together.  “A quote I really loved, or rather an image, was from a young Polish newlywed person whom we met early on, and met several times until we stopped seeing him and his bride. He had mentioned to another person in our cohort that ‘the Camino was like a village moving along together between stops.’  

“It’s not uncommon to keep seeing the people you began with, but eventually they start moving faster or slower than you. If you are a person who likes to stay at the end stage cities, you are more likely to see others you’ve seen before.”  

She also noted that “when it wasn’t feeling like a village, it felt like a genuine world community, although Africa was under-represented, except for South Africa.”  And of course, the community is over time, as well as we walk with pilgrims through the ages. 

Another friend, Rev. John Chase from First Petaluma Presbyterian Church in Petaluma, CA noticed the toll that thousands of pilgrims take on the route each year. “I was quite disappointed to see so much trash along the Portuguese Camino. Much of this was along roads, and were undoubtedly thrown out of car windows, or by other non-pilgrim pedestrians. Portugal in general was not the cleanest country I've been to in terms of roadside trash.” 

“However, I also observed a lot of trash along sections of the pilgrim route that were away from roads--trash that was clearly left by pilgrims. For example, during one stage, a man came running out from his shop to give us a plastic bag that included two apples and a cold bottle of water. He had walked the Camino many years ago and he had these bags made up and stored in his shop's refrigerator to give to weary pilgrims as they pass by. Very thoughtful. This sort of thing is common on the Camino. What was a bit surprising and disappointing to me though was for the next mile, I spotted dozens of those exact plastic bags and empty water bottles on the side of the trail, clearly from pilgrims who ate their apples or put them in their packs for later, drank the water and simply tossed the bag and bottle into the bushes. As I walked, I actually thought about the idea of doing a trash pickup Camino. Ask pilgrims to pick one stretch of Camino and do some trash pickup.”  

He continues: “It's common for people on the Camino to carry a stone as they walk as a symbol of a burden they are carrying. Then, at some point along the way, they lay that stone down as a way to symbolically lay down that burden and continue on. Some stones are carried briefly, maybe an hour or a day. I knew someone going through a divorce who carried her stone for the entire Camino and set it down when she got to Santiago de Compostela. 

Carrying stones didn't work for me, so I started picking up strips of ribbon, hair bands, bits of fabric. I would carry each one and pray for a particular person while I carried it. After an hour or two or more, I would tie it onto my walking stick. I even found two discarded bandanas that I washed, sometimes used to block the sun around my neck, and also tied them onto my walking stick. I repurposed the trash to use as a spiritual practice. I even found a rubber tip that had fallen off someone's trekking pole. It fit perfectly on the tip of my bamboo walking stick and significantly cut down on the sound my walking stick made when it hit the ground.”

"Walking gets you closer to the ground, and you notice more than you would zipping by in a car. I do a lot more walking now here in Petaluma, to the store, to work, etc., and I notice more trash on the side of the road, but, as on the Camino, I also notice the beauty--blooming trees and flowers, lizards, birds, the feel of the sun on my face on a cold morning, a cool breeze on a hot day. Occasionally, I would help small creatures, like snails, caterpillars, and snakes that I found in the middle of roadways, at risk of being hit by cars. You only see that if you're walking. 

 "The Camino provides" is a common saying you hear when you are a pilgrim. It is a way of acknowledging one's dependence on nature and others (pilgrims and non-pilgrims) when on the Camino...no one is ever truly alone when walking the Camino.” 

“I remember times when my water was low, and I came to a public fountain just when I needed it, or to a cafe, or some stranger invited me to pick an orange or two off their tree, or simply met me at the roadside and handed me a snack for the road.” 

“This was also the case when, for example, I shared bandaids with another pilgrim who had run out, or shared a granola bar with a fellow pilgrim during a rest. I also discovered fruit trees along the way, in public spaces (not on privately owned property), mostly loquat (or Nêspera in Portuguese) and orange trees (but also mulberry trees and wild strawberries) that I would pick and either eat on the spot or put in my pack for later. For me, this was another example of the Camino providing. I would only harvest what I needed, what I could carry in the small front pocket of my backpack, leaving the rest for other pilgrims.”

The Camino is both an opportunity to care for God’s wondrous creation and to damage it by overuse and lack of concern.  As we learn profound spiritual lessons on our pilgrimages – wherever they may take us, we must also take care that our footprint is as light as possible. 

Rev. Mary Beene is the pastor at Windsor Presbyterian Church in Windsor, CA and a contributor to EARTH NEWS.  She is excited to walk her Camino from July 17-24, 2024 along the Portugues/Coastal route.