The Road is Made by Walking
My spouse Elizabeth’s company is called Camino Public Relations. Camino from the poem “Caminante, No Hay Camino” by Antonio Machado. One translation of the poem begins “Traveler, there is no road, the road is made by walking.” When Elizabeth was starting the company, the poem came to mind as we were talking about what it would mean to build a company that could take the long view on doing good.
We feel like travelers again today. The movers have come. Stella and Carlos, the Springer Doodles, look concerned. There are many insignificant details to take care of so that we can do this journey right. This particular journey only gets us to somewhere before the starting line of joining you at St. Luke’s in August.
I am so excited to join you all. St. Luke’s has been in my prayers for over a year now, as I have been listening to who you are; what you worry about; and what you are dreaming of for your future together. By all accounts, you are a community that has been richly blessed with faith, people, skill, and vision.
For me, the past year and a half has felt like standing still while the winds conceal all of the paths ahead, the ones we had planned to follow, and sometimes even the ones behind that we had just travelled. We have been forced to make a new way, and I wonder if there isn’t some blessing in that The profound divisions and injustices at the heart of our lives together seem to have been revealed by those same winds. We have what feels like a once in a generation opportunity to create new and better ways to be in community.
I hope we can take the time to learn well from the year that has passed, remember, grieve, and move forward with courage, curiosity, and maybe some joy towards that unknowable future. If the road is made by walking, I am happy to be on this journey with you to mark a path as wide and welcoming as the table of God’s grace.
The Rev. Winnie Varghese
Rector