Pilgrimage – Trinity 2008
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In the midst of this world’s busy pace, we need, more than ever, to slow down – and give thanks –
For each breath, for the gift of each new day, and for the beauty around us
We need to give more time, not less, of each day, to God –
- In praise of God
- To give thanks to God
- And to be mindful of God’s presence in all that we do and are
And so we are thankful for the chance to be part of a pilgrimage –
One that helps to renew our hearts, our spirits and our souls.
This is a brief journal of the pilgrimage taken by 10 people – Five from Trinity Episcopal Church in Grand Ledge, and five friends of Trinity, or of our Interim Priest, J. Nixon McMillan and his wife Ann. Four of us have reviewed this “journal.” We hope that we have not omitted anything important! Let me say that this account does not attempt to describe the depth of spiritual and emotional experiences of the various pilgrims, but highlights some of our daily activities. Photos and post cards of some of the places we visited are also on this web site.
I thought it was important to note that Fr. Nixon and Ann, and others, led us in worship, both in informal and formal settings, giving us the opportunity to incorporate spoken worship into our daily lives, so that it was as natural as breathing.
We left Trinity’s parking lot on Sunday, May 25, 2008, after the 10:00 a.m. service. We arrived safely in Toronto at about 5:00 p.m. at St. John’s Convent. The Anglican Sisters of St. John the Divine made us welcome. We shared the supper meal and conversation with them, and afterward some of us visited the Chapel where the Sisters worship, or walked the stone labyrinth outside the Convent, explored the nearby hospital and rehabilitation center where some of the sisters work, or admired the lilacs around the Convent. Around 8:00 p.m. we held an Evening Prayer service, maintaining silence after that.
Next morning we ate breakfast in silence with the Sisters, and said a Morning Prayer service before leaving for Montreal.
The lilacs were in bloom profusely all along the highway, and gave us a second chance to enjoy these fragrant and beautiful flowers after their season in the Greater Lansing area had ended. Along the way we also said a brief noonday service in the van.
We arrived at McGill University Residence (dorms for the music students) in Montreal on Monday afternoon May 26. After checking in at the dorms, some of us wandered in downtown Montreal, where we found a bookstore (for a pocket sized French dictionary) and a restaurant named Boccacino’s. The waitresses at Boccacino’s accommodated us by bringing our meal more quickly so we could get to the symphony that evening.
The Montreal Symphony, led by Conductor Kent Nagano, was magnificent, and their performance of the two pieces that night outstanding. The piano soloist for the Beethoven Emperor Concerto played sensitively and dramatically. The second work that evening was the Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, which depicted the 900 day siege of Leningrad that began in August 1941. Shostakovich wrote the first three movements of the Symphony, while he was in Leningrad during the siege. The music was moving, dramatic, and ultimately triumphant.
The next day, Tuesday, May 27, we visited St. Joseph’s Oratory with a tour guide, and there was an opportunity for Julia Walton to play the carillon afterwards. Julia said that she has often wished she could play a carillon on the other trips she has taken, but it has never worked out for her to be able to do so. This time, either due to the excellent planning by Fr. McMillan and Ann, or divine intervention, or both, Julia was able to sit on the carilloneur’s bench and make wonderful music.
At the Oratory we held a brief Eucharist in one of the small chapels there. One of the most remarkable stories about the Oratory is that of the man who was primarily responsible for it coming into being on Mount Royal. Brother Andre ( b. 1845 – d. 1937) was a man of great faith, whose healing ministry cured thousands. Many of the crutches of the people who had been cured were on exhibit at various places throughout the Oratory. If you visit Montreal please be sure to visit the Oratory!
As part of the tour we stopped briefly in the Crypt church, which was built during Brother Andre’s lifetime. We were also able to enter the choir loft of the modern main chapel to see the console and organ that is used today.
We had a short time to visit the Creche Museum housed in the Oratory, and wished we could have spent more time there viewing the 250 interpretations (from all over the world) of beautiful, intricate, and exotic Nativity scenes. Someday we hope to revisit that museum.
After the Oratory tour, the seven women traveled to the Abbaye Sainte Marthe des Deux Montagnes (about 30 minutes from Montreal), and the three men traveled to the Abbaye Saint-Benoit du Lac, (about 2 hours east of Montreal). We followed the monastic schedule for meals and services while we were at the abbeys.
St Marthe de Deux Montagnes is a Roman Catholic abbey where the sisters wear old habits and live in silence. Guests are requested to respect and maintain the silence. The cloistered Sisters sang the services in Latin and French. Thankfully our liaison, Sister Magdalena, who was good-humored and patient, sat with us for the services, so we knew when to sit and stand.
The seven of us in the women’s abbey ate our meals in silence in a secluded area near the dining area for the priest and other guests. The women’s abbey also had a gift shop with beautiful icons, crosses and cards, that we admired and/or purchased. Fr. Nixon selected a purple vestment at the men’s abbey made by Pere Robert Bissonette, and all 10 of us agreed to contribute to this gift to Trinity Grand Ledge.
From the introspective setting of the abbeys, we traveled back to the secular world on Thursday, May 29. We stayed at the Auberge (inn) Handfield, located along the Richelieu River, which flows into the northern end of Lake Champlain in New York. The accommodations were luxurious and the food exquisite. The setting of the inn, across the road from the lodging, was comfortable and convivial. Fr Nixon and Ann had stayed at this Inn 32 years earlier on their honeymoon, in part because of its excellent cuisine rating. The delicious evening meal, followed by a brief Evening Prayer service at the table, and wonderful breakfast the next morning, left us all wishing we had more time to spend at that inn. We are grateful that Fr Nixon and Ann were willing to share this very special place with us.
Before we returned to Montreal on Friday, May 30 we observed Morning Prayer in the gazebo outside the Auberge.
Back in Montreal we toured the Anglican cathedral of Christ Church, escorted by a Canon of the cathedral, Joyce Sanchez. Later in the afternoon some of us went to a famous yarn shop, or antique store, or the vestment specialist shop (Desmerais and Robitaille ) which was located just down the block from Notre Dame cathedral. Most of the group went to the ballet at the Place des Arts that evening (the same location as the Symphony earlier that week), our last night in Montreal.
Saturday, May 31, we left Montreal, in the midst of a downpour that lasted until we were two or three hours west of that great city. We stopped briefly to make a small contribution to the Canadian economy at a Canadian Tire store.
We ate our final supper together in London, Ontario. Fr. Nixon treated Ann with a small birthday cake (Ann’s birthday falls on the Feast of the Annunciation) and all the rest of us to dinner. Ann and I had earlier said a brief Morning Prayer service while on the road between Montreal and Toronto. After leaving London, Ontario we also had an Evening Prayer service in the van.
We arrived safely back at Trinity at about 10:30 p.m. that Saturday evening.
We thank God for the opportunity to make this pilgrimage, for our safe journey to Montreal, our time in reflection and worship, and our safe return.
We also owe many thanks to Fr. Nixon and Ann, for their upbeat attitude, in-depth knowledge of the places we visited, and their skill and patience in shepherding us around the cities, towns and country. They selected the most beautiful and meaningful places to visit and shared them with us.
Thank You God for the many blessings of this journey!
God’s Peace be with us all.
(Written by Diane Britt; reviewed and edited by Fr. Nixon, Ann and Ellen Wiehl)
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