By Mimi Keel
When you think of going on a pilgrimage, what comes to your mind? I picture myself going to a distant land and walking many miles each day on the same path as a saint from long ago with the hope of hearing from God along the way.
Oxford defines a pilgrim as a person who journeys to a sacred place for a religious reason. But what if we reimagined the idea of pilgrimage? What if we became backyard pilgrims and explored the holy ground outside our front doors, in our neighborhoods?
What if our lofty ideals are obstructing our everyday experiences of God in our midst?
Pastor and author, Matt Canlis writes and shares about this idea in his documentary video, Godspeed: The Pace of Being Known and his book, Backyard Pilgrim. In his documentary, Canlis shares how God shifted his perspective on his work and daily life through his time in a small village in Methlick, Scotland. He’d come from Vancouver where he lived a fast paced lifestyle, in graduate school and pastoring. When he arrived in the Scottish village of Methlick, he asked the bishop where his office was. The bishop pointed to the homes down the lane. That’s your office. What? What was he saying? The bishop was inviting Canlis to walk and get to know the people in their homes. Canlis had the sudden realization that he didn’t know how to walk. He knew how to run and how to drive from place to place, but he’d forgotten how to walk.
Japanese theologian, Kosuke Koyame, author of Three Mile An Hour God writes about how humans walk roughly three miles an hour and how walking at this pace allows humans to process the things on their minds and the experiences they are having. Koyame suggests that God walks at the pace of humans, three miles an hour. Koyame says, if we slow down, we might be able to catch up with God. Jesus walked that pace through the villages and countryside of Israel.
The idea of Godspeed is walking at a human pace…roughly three miles per hour. The people of Methlick, Scotland lived the idea of Godspeed. Matt Canlis’ and his family’s life changed by getting to know the people of Methlick and the beautiful pace and their way of living life.
In the Godspeed documentary, N. T. Wright joins in exhorting us to step outside our front doors to “unearth holiness right where we are” to notice what God is up to right there on our sidewalks, neighborhoods, and familiar places. What glorious glimpses of who God is, where God is, who we are and how people reflect God when we go out for a walk.
When I think of the idea of Godspeed, I think of a family I have known for 25 years. They’ve made a practice of walking outside most days. For them, they head out on a walk first thing in the morning. Their dog, Sherlock, enjoys this daily practice. Most often they walk in their neighborhood, but sometimes they’ll drive to the river, an outdoor conservatory or park. When asked about what they liked about their walks, one family member said that conversations flow more naturally when they’re outside walking together. Another said that the fresh air was invigorating and refreshing. When they got home, they felt that it put them in a much better head space for school work. One said, “Days we’d skip our walk, things didn’t go as well in our school day.” Another family member said, “I enjoy noticing things that I don’t normally notice when we drive the same route to different places and it’s fun to stop and climb trees.”
We all have different play personalities. The terrific thing about going for a walk is that it engages the kinesthete, the explorer, the artist, the collector, the naturalist, and the relational personality in both kids and adults.
Matt Canlis invites us to consider shifting our pace to Godspeed and to step outside into our own neighborhoods to become backyard pilgrims. I am excited to accept his invitation this Lenten season to walk at Godspeed and experience the familiar through a new lens.
If you take a walk with your family, consider using these conversation starters to stir some rich dialogue about the experience.
- After a walk, invite everyone to share one thing they noticed on the walk.
- How did the walk make you feel?
- During your walk, ask what is something you’ve been thinking about a lot lately?
- In creation, after God made each thing, God would say, ”It is good.” What was one good thing you saw on our walk?
- Take a sound walk. Wait til you get home to share what you heard.
- On your walk, ask the question, “Where are you God?” When you get home, share where you sensed God was.
- What do you think Godspeed is?
About Mimi Keel: Mimi serves as the children’s ministry pastor at Jacob’s Well Church in Kansas City, Missouri. She works with her team to create environments that capture the imaginations of children with the kingdom of God through innovative pedagogy, healthy relational community, and classic spiritual formation practices. She also enjoys life with her husband Tim, their adult children, and grandchildren.
