The Blueberry Patch

[Skyline]

There aren't many places to attend Mass near the Trail, at least not until you get further North.

Mass is performed by the Jesuits in Hot Springs, tho I'm not sure if this is done daily. Also, Bob and Pat Peoples of Kincora Hostel will happily take you to Mass if you're there on Sunday. There is also the Catholic Church hostel in Pearisburg.

There is a church in Waynesboro also. And, there's one in Harper's Ferry that is open for prayer, but services are no longer performed.

It gets easier as you head North: Duncannon and Stroudsburg (near Delaware Water Gap) have churches, as do some of the New Jersey and New York communities near the Trail. And after you enter New England, there are Catholic churches all over the place; Cheshire, Mass in particular.

Here in Hanover, St. Dennis, my church, welcomes hikers of all denominations; it sits directly ON the Trail as you head North out of town.

In my experience, thru-hikers have been welcomed at any church they choose to attend, regardless of whether or not they are observers of that particular faith---I've been to Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Church of Christ, Unitarian, you name it, and I've been welcomed at all of them.

Keep an open mind, participate in the services as much as you choose, be respectful of others, and try to clean up as much as possible before going, but by all means go if you feel like going, regardless of what type of church it is.

No, there aren't many places for Catholics to worship on the Trail, at least not down South, but by all means , attend services elsewhere. The phone might appear a bit different at first, but I assure you the calls all go to the same place.

There are also Catholic churches in:

Elizabethton TN (Sacred Heart), Johnson City TN (St. Mary's), Abingdon VA (Christ The King), Marion VA (St. John's), Elkton VA (Holy Infant), Luray VA (Our Lady of the Valley), Front Royal VA (St. John's), and Waynesboro PA (St. Andrew's). Some of these are not towns immediately adjacent to the AT (though some are) but are next to adjacent towns and not that difficult to hitch to.

[KG4FAM]

I am defiantly staying at the blueberry patch this year.

Not defiantly, but definitely. Damn spell check and public education.

[Skidsteer]

Not defiantly, but definitely. Damn spell check and public education.

I dunno. 'Defiantly staying' at the Blueberry Patch has a certain zest to it.

[Appalachian Tater]

There are also Catholic churches in:

Elizabethton TN (Sacred Heart), Johnson City TN (St. Mary's), Abingdon VA (Christ The King), Marion VA (St. John's), Elkton VA (Holy Infant), Luray VA (Our Lady of the Valley), Front Royal VA (St. John's), and Waynesboro PA (St. Andrew's). Some of these are not towns immediately adjacent to the AT (though some are) but are next to adjacent towns and not that difficult to hitch to.

Can't Catholics use Episcopal churches in a pinch?

[GGS2]

Can't Catholics use Episcopal churches in a pinch?

Not according to the current Pope.

[KG4FAM]

Can't Catholics use Episcopal churches in a pinch?

I am Baptist and use Episcopal churches as my second choice. Confuses the heck out of those Episcopalians, but I lived in a Episcopal school gym for a couple of months so it is quite normal for me.

[Lilred]

Can't Catholics use Episcopal churches in a pinch?

Noooooo it's a sin for a catholic to go to any other church

[The Weasel]

Can't Catholics use Episcopal churches in a pinch?

People of all faiths - Catholics, other Christians, even non-Christians - are always welcome to join us in Episcopal Churches. In many, the service is similar to that in Roman Catholic Churches, and many Catholics feel very comfortable with that. But everyone - every age, every belief, every race - is welcome in our Church. Church rules formally provide that any baptized Christian can join in the communion feast, but many - if not most - Episcopal churches welcome anyone to the communion rail, and no one asks a visitor in advance what their faith is.

Catholics can 'use' our church even when it's not 'in a pinch'.

TW

[Jan LiteShoe]

Gary and his wife are the best kind of Christians, whose words are few and whose actions are kind, and this is a quiet side of Gary that is a wondrous thing, and not to be avoided. "I was a stranger and you gave me shelter" isn't just a verse in a book read on Sunday to them.

The Weasel

I spent my birthday under Gary and Lennie's tender care. I'd had some upsets at that point in my thruhike, and their tender goodness - just their natural way of being - rearranged my thinking about things.
I wrote about that here, although don't read if you are hungry:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=27991

Some people try to change you with words; others LIVE their truth, and let the chips fall where they may. To say I was impressed with them is an understatement.
The Peoples at Kincorra are another set of such understated people living their convictions. Inspriations, all.

[The Weasel]

Of all of the places I stopped in '00, I have the warmest feelings for Gary and Lennie. If you don't mention it, you will never know that it is their way of living Matthew 25:35. I found that out by accident, and it has warmed me ever since.

TW

[Cherokee Bill]

yOOOO, Jumpstart, think you'll ever do another "Thru-hke?

[minnesotasmith]

Of all of the places I stopped in '00, I have the warmest feelings for Gary and Lennie. If you don't mention it, you will never know that it is their way of living Matthew 25:35. I found that out by accident, and it has warmed me ever since.

TW

But, I find it hard to put the BP above Pine Ellis in Andover, ME (where they CARED), or Miss Janet's, where when I collapsed from illness, I was HOME when I got back there.

It's so great we have multiple wonderful people like these making up part of the Trail community. People are what make the AT.

[Sly]

There's all sorts of fine folks on the trail that run hostels, and I don't like choosing one over another as being the best, but if I had to, it would have to be Kincora.

PS No smoking on Blueberry property.

[The Weasel]

There's all sorts of fine folks on the trail that run hostels, and I don't like choosing one over another as being the best, but if I had to, it would have to be Kincora.

PS No smoking on Blueberry property.

Sly and MS are right, of course. I don't mean to minimize others' kindness. I do note, however, that Gary seemed very surprised when I mentioned to him, after watching what he was like for a couple of days, that it was a 'mission' for them. I think that's something people aren't supposed to notice, and it was warming to see someone living their religion to people they did not know, without mentioning it. I have no doubt there are others the same way, and that's a wondrous thing.

TW

[tenn_hiker]

i stayed there on Wednesday to ride out the storms.. im glad i did.. it was a great experience, i loved the breakfast.. i just wish i had more to donate to them.. i will definalty stay there again when i thru hike!
thanks for the awesome hospitality Gary!

[LittleBearK]

I looked on the hikerhostel website and it says donation for cost to stay at blueberry patch, those that have stayed and had breakfast, around how much did you donate?

Thanks!!!

[Tinker]

Sly and MS are right, of course. I don't mean to minimize others' kindness. I do note, however, that Gary seemed very surprised when I mentioned to him, after watching what he was like for a couple of days, that it was a 'mission' for them. I think that's something people aren't supposed to notice, and it was warming to see someone living their religion to people they did not know, without mentioning it. I have no doubt there are others the same way, and that's a wondrous thing.

TW

I stayed there in '06 specifically because I'd heard that they were Christian. They don't push it on anyone else and really do live their faith. They pray over the food, but that's all the "religion" you'll get out of them unless you ask. Wonderful people. I wish them well.