do you find time for church on the trail?

[Mountain Dew]

Skeemer, " Where's SMS when you need him? " --- What exactly do YOU need him for ? You seem to need/want him here in the hopes that he would ruin this thread. Don't be scared to hate on Christians all by yourself Skeemer. Be a man and speak up without needed others to do it for you.

[Skeemer]

you're always so damn defensive...I was just adding a little humor to the thread. I always get a kick out of SMS's postings, especially when the topic is religion and he brings up Abbey.

You may not believe me, but I really don't hate Christians...one of my best friends is one. Please read the thread and my posts on leaving religious materials in shelters. My contention there was to keep it off the Trail and take it to town...like what I believe this thread is about.

BTW, I I did stay in a Christian church hostel along my hike and "praised" the kind folks who provided it. Maybe this should be a topic for another thread. "Should non-christians stay or be allowed to stay in Christian church hostels?"

Bloodroot, you're probably right...keep answers simple for simple people.

[Mountain Dew]

[B]Skeemer, so basically you think it's funny when he bashes Christians. That is exactly what you said in so many words so deny it all you want. Defensive ? ok The next time somebody bashes you for whatever reason( in this case ..wanting to see Religion bashed) I want to see you sit there in silence.

Skeemer, "Bloodroot, you're probably right...keep answers simple for simple people." ---I'll make this simple and painless for you. That's not even close to what he said. Bloodroot, "The thread presented a simple question, deserving a simple response. Nothing more."--- Read said posts again and again till it makes sense or untill you have tried to comprehend to no avail. Goodnight now...

[The Old Fhart]

In 2001 I met a thru-hiker named El Perigrino (excuse the spelling) who was a catholic priest and he had a dispensation to allow him to hike the trail. While some of us had lunch at a restaurant in Atkins he told us about Easter on Max Patch. It was Sunday and he and some others wanted to hold Mass. There were some day hikers having a picnic on the summit so he went over, introduced himself, and managed to yogi a bottle of wine for the service. At first, they offered him a beer, thinking he was a typical thru-hiker, but after he produced identification proving he was a priest, they gladly gave him the wine. After the service they came over and admitted that was the most original yogi they had ever heard of.

Also in 2001, The Church Lady would try to get to a church every Sunday. I had met her at Partnership shelter as she was arranging for a ride into town.

In the late 80s I met Ruben, a Hasidic Jew, on a Saturday at Jeffers Brook shelter. Because of the Sabbath he couldn’t hike that day and at sundown proceeded to chant his prayers from the shelter. I’m sure a number of thru-hikers will remember Ruben for other reasons as well.

Besides Baltimore Jack’s excellent suggestion about attending any denomination service, you can always hold your own private service. If you carry your own religious materials, that is all you need. If you have an MP3 player or other audio system you could have a recorded Mass or other service that you could play to get more of that in-church feeling. Just be respectful of other people’s beliefs and, like cell phone use, keep it private.

[Bloodroot]

Thanks for the back-up Dew. My feel my statement was pretty self-explanitory; bare in mind though, it must take less than a simple mind to comprehend for some.

[Patco]

Catholic churches are hard to find in the south. We have 8 churches in Damascus. None of them Catholic.

While hiking for the second week with my dad (Brushy Sage) we spent a night at the Lazy Fox B&B. Sunday morning Ben loaned me a button-up shirt and we went to the Baptist church there. He introduced me to folks like I was family - everyone welcomed me - the music and sermon were a breath of fresh air. He even complemented my singing voice to Jinny upon return to the B&B. All in all, an experience I wouldn't trade.

[One Leg]

When I was in Hot Springs, the family and I decided to attend services at the Baptist church there. Sharing the same parking lot of the Baptist church is a Presbyterian church.

As we were getting ready for services, I noticed 2 other hikers I knew, Spot and Wild Man, had just hiked in. I went over to their campsite and told 'em where the showers were, offered them towels and soap. Told 'em to leave the towels & soap on the bumper of our van, that we'd retrieve them when we returned from church. Wild Man followed me back to the campsite and said that he wanted to go to church with us, so we took him along.

At the church, the prelude to services was quite lengthy, the piano player seemed to play on and on forever with no sign of the preacher. Wild Man, I failed to mention, was quite hard-of-hearing, and sat 4-5 pews in front of us, with several people in between. After suffering through the piano rendition long enough, Wild Man stood up, faced us, and in a loud voice said "I think I'll go over to the Presbyterian Church to see if they have the show on the road." So he left.

10 or so minutes later, he returned and said "Those Presbyterians know how to get it on. They've already met and got it over with!" He sat back down.(Piano player was still playing.)

Finally, the preacher emerged. Before delivering the sermon, he called the church to order, and had a business meeting right there on Sunday morning. They were voting on a new deacon. The candidate for deacon stood before the church to offer his testimony. He shared how he was on his way to church and saw a turtle crossing the road, so he brought it to Sunday School for the children to enjoy God's creation. The congregation voted him in, and the sermon began.

The pastor titled his sermon "God's Flight School" and read a passage of scripture referring to eagles. He shared how mother eagles sometimes have to pull the nest apart in order to make their young leave the nest. The connection he tried to make, but never succeeded at, was that sometimes God has to make us uncomfortable to get us motivated. The sermon lasted what seemed like an eternity.

When it was all over, Wild Man stood up, and in a voice loud enough for all in attendance to hear, said "Well we certainly learned a lot about eagles today, didn't we?"

Back at the campground, Spot came over to see how things went. Wild Man said "It was great, Spot. Bring a turtle to tonight's service, and they'll make you a deacon!"

It was the funniest church experience I've ever had.

[Footslogger]

Well ...this may sound a bit hokey but I spoke with the god of my understanding every day and didn't make a special effort to find churches along the way.

Regardless of your faith or religous affiliation you gotta admit when you're out there on the trail that you are among the most fortunate people on earth. I just made an occasional "thanks" to the higher power a regular practice.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[Mags]

I have a feeling that most Catholic churches will found in the northern portion of the trail. You may want to look at one of the various AT town guides (be if Wingfoot's or ALDHA's) and then use this lin to find churches in the town: http://www.thechurchfinder.com/ (The power of Google!)

You can find churches by denomination as well. Just as in experiment, I tried Williamstown, MA (right near the AT) and came up with this info:

ST PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
54 SOUTHWORTH ST
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA

PH (413) 458-4954
Driving Directions

As others have noted though, sure most (if not all) churches will welcome you to worship regardless of your denomination.

Hope this helps.

Mags
9 yrs (K-8th) at St. Vincent De Paul School in Coventry, RI.
5 yrs as an altar boy
30 yrs or so of Catholic Guilt ;-)

[Julia]

Some great posts on the hiking, fellowship with other hikers and "church". I have usually found more kindred spirits in the great outdoors, than in some stuffy building. If we could just cultivate grateful attitudes while hiking, I think we wouldn't feel the need to get "right with God" as the Bible thumpers put it.

[Mags]

Some great posts on the hiking, fellowship with other hikers and "church". I have usually found more kindred spirits in the great outdoors, than in some stuffy building. If we could just cultivate grateful attitudes while hiking, I think we wouldn't feel the need to get "right with God" as the Bible thumpers put it.

Well, for some it is a communal act. As some hikers perfer a more social hike, some worshippers prefer to worship in a group.

Mind you, being a "born again atheist" haven't been to church in years! (Funerals and weddings excepted)

[RockyTrail]

Sometimes on Sunday mornings, you will run across a Scout troop on the trail holding an 10-15 minute inter-denominational service. Some of these are relatively sophisticated, with hymns, responsive reading, etc. If you walk up on one or happen to be camped nearby, they are open to all, it can be interesting if you've never attended one.

[Bolo]

Sometimes on Sunday mornings, you will run across a Scout troop on the trail holding an 10-15 minute inter-denominational service. Some of these are relatively sophisticated, with hymns, responsive reading, etc. If you walk up on one or happen to be camped nearby, they are open to all, it can be interesting if you've never attended one.

The 12th point of the Scout Law....."A Scout is Reverent."

[Rain Man]

Sometimes on Sunday mornings, you will run across a Scout troop on the trail holding an 10-15 minute inter-denominational service.

The 12th point of the Scout Law....."A Scout is Reverent."

I was never a Boy Scout, so I don't know the answer to this question. And please take it in the spirit intended. Please.

"Inter-denominational" implies denominations of one religion. A denomination is a sub-set of a religion.

So, my question is, do the Boy Scouts have inter-religious services, or "only" Christian services?

JUST CURIOUS.

Rain Man

.

[Footslogger]

I was never a Boy Scout, so I don't know the answer to this question. And please take it in the spirit intended. Please.

"Inter-denominational" implies denominations of one religion. A denomination is a sub-set of a religion.

So, my question is, do the Boy Scouts have inter-religious services, or "only" Christian services?

JUST CURIOUS.


Rain Man

.

=========================
Might vary by troop based on it's make up. The troop in which I was an Asst Scoutmaster was comprised of Christian and Jewish youths/adults. When we camped on weekends there was typically a service before we broke camp on Sunday morning and headed home. Scouts of all faiths were encouraged to lead the group in prayers or readings of their choosing and everyone participated in all of them as they chose.

'Slogger
AT 2003

[Pooja Blue]

I attended Mass where I could along the trail; sometimes I just attended services with whatever other Christian hikers were trying to make it to services, they weren't always Catholic services. I'm a lifelong Catholic but when I couldn't make it to Catholic church, I enjoyed the services at other churches and was always made to feel welcome. I was always a bit self-conscious about not being dressed "up" and I tended to go only if I had had a recent shower, but no one overtly gave me a hard time about anything. Certainly God didn't mind.

My thruhike was a powerful spiritual experience, particularly the second half of my flipflop when I had a lot of solitude to pray and meditate.

[grandview]

good thread

[beartrack1]

Church is wherever you want to make it.
I'd rather have a true relationship than religion.

[superman]

I hiked behind Hokey Pokey in the early part of my 2000 thru hike. On Easter I got to the top of that mountain coming out of the NOC. There was a piece of notebook paper flapping around under a rock. I was due for a break anyway so I took off my pack, ate a snack and read what Hokey Pokey had left for anyone to read about Easter. It was nicely written and a good thing to find on a good day on the trail. I'm not a particularly religious person but I enjoyed it. The only other notes I bothered to read were BEEs ->

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea.....Church is in the head and heart out there. If you need a social church, go to town, anywhere on Sunday. Church is there. Good Worshiping.KZ@