Twenty-five pilgrims worshipped at Schiller Power Plant in Portsmouth, NH at the start of our pilgrimage. Near a quaking aspen tree, and near the Piscataway River we sat under strong sun on the grass. We had a few messages interwoven with bird song. great excitement built as we walked over 9 miles to Dover Friends Meeting.

After a reviving meal by our dear hosts, over 20 Friends settled into Worship-sharing. What is moving us to join with others on a pilgrimage? Here people shared their testimonies.

• I’m here because I work most days and many nights to stop the worst of climate change effects. There is much to do. “God does not require me to do all the good, but He does ask that I do all the good that I can do.” What do I do next?
• I realize that the pesticides is killing us. God is in grief of how the planet species are dying.
• The is an experiment in truth.
• We need to practice a way of living differently. I was going to visit friends this week but decided to come here because the words rang true, “we are in complicity” with climate change. The only way I can transform my complicity is to be in community where we recognize that love undergirds us all.
• Am I enough for the task at hand? No, I’m not. Only God can do it. This walk is a way of plowing my heart, breading me open whether it’s blisters or bugs. Not my Will, but Thy Will be done.
• This pilgrimage is moving forward with good intentions. It feels right, even though a pilgrimage is not enough, but at this time it’s just right.
• Pilgrimage is a place to practice being perfect. When I say perfect, I mean one specific thing. All that we do is to speak and act in love.
• We walk to live into the Yes. We refuse to let fear take over. All actions are out of faith. What does embodied love look like in their moment of history?
• We need to shift away from ownership, and form competition. Climate change is a spiritual problem.
• When I first heard of climate change I didn’t know whether to join. Do I really need this pilgrimage when I’m doing a lot already. On this walk I’m looking for two things that are still needed- 1. Courage 2. Speak out when many are silent.
• We all need communities of deep hope. The pilgrimage shows resilience, and is an incubation to discover deep hope.
• I’m on the pilgrimage because it’s the only place I want to be.