A Walking Retreat and Sabbatical on the Camino de Santiago

My own experience showed me that Sabbath keeping could create a certain clarity, calling me to a more robust wholehearted living. It was about tending my soul, even as I tried to do that for everyone else. -from Soul Tending: Journey into the Heart of Sabbath by Rev. Anita Amstutz

Wikimedia Commons

In July 2017, John Bulten, executive director of East Central Ministries, took a six-month sabbatical from the great work that his organization provides to the community in southeast Albuquerque (and the entire metro area). ECM is an asset to the community, providing a thrift store, a low-cost health clinic, an urban farm, a housing co-op. a community food co-op and much more.

"From July through December last year, I was on a six - month sabbatical for a time of rest and renewal, said Bulten. "This time off was an incredible and unique gift! In hindsight, 18 years of inner-city ministry without an extended time away was not healthy for me or the ministry. I am committed to keep learning and growing in health on my life journey, and this time away was exactly what was needed."

The word sabbatical is rooted in sabbath, a day of rest in the Jewish and Christian traditions. The sabbath, however, is more than just a day of rest, but also of renewal and a time to step back and connect with the Creator. "Just as joy is more than the absence of sorrow, the Sabbath is more than cessation of labor. Resting in bed all day does not amount to a keeping of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to be a delight and joy ( Isaiah 58:13-14 )," said the website Bible Tools.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

For their sabbath, John and his companion Morgan Attema, who is ECM's Growing Aawareness Urban Farm Manager, traveled through several western U.S. states and later made a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. This walking "retreat" has been taken by millions of ordinary people over the ages, and many, many books have been written about the journey.  Two come to mind: Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp and To the Field of Stars by Kevin Codd. The film, The Way (featuring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez), is based on Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route into Spain by Jack Hitt. John Bulten has not written a book (at least not yet), but he does offer a glimpse of his experience in the ECM Summer 2018 newsletter.  Here is in an excerpt.

We stayed in small towns and slept in bunk beds in hostels for pilgrims along the route. We walked an average of 15 miles a day. Every morning we drank strong Spanish coffee, and mid-day we ate a sack lunch of baguette, cheese, olives, and sardines in a church courtyard or a waypoint along the trail. It was a simple routine.

In total, we walked about 600 miles over 40 days from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Muxia, Spain. We, with people young and old from around the world, walked the same path that millions of people have walked for centuries.

Using Father Richard Rohr as a spiritual guide, the Camino was as much an inner spiritual journey as a physical one—our physical, emotional and spiritual selves are intimately connected. I found that as my body broke down through constant walking and lack of sleep, my heart and mind opened up on a deeper level. 

And here is a reflection by Morgan Attema.

Photo: ECM website

WHY? Why? Why do we walk the Camino de Santiago? What do we hope to accomplish, and what are we looking for? We walk seeking the mystery of the Spirit of God within us; we desire to become the true and intended souls that God created us to be. We walk trusting the ancient path and ancient promises and choosing to believe that the Spirit still leads, protects, and heals our wounded selves. We walk listening to the whisper of God coaxing us deeper, the song of God urging us to celebrate, and the joy of God inviting us to participate.