The image above was taken this summer on our last leg of a sabbatical journey. I gave  the sabbatical a name: “Beloved Community: A Pilgrimage.” The lake is Lake Chautauqua, the Chautauqua Institution being one of the communities we visited during what was a 9500 mile pilgrimage around our country. I have only begun to put the experience into words. Recently, I gave an hour-long presentation at St. Paul Lutheran Church, where I serve, to try and report on what I discovered along the way. For this short entry, first, all the beloved communities we visited had a commitment to non-violence. Second, all that they did together was aimed toward healing, healing the world, their neighbors, the people living within their communities. Third, the visionary expectation of these communities was very simple–every loving act or word we offer the world in our daily life and work, wherever and whoever we are, those acts of love in speech and action, bear the fruit of peace. During the trip, I thought often of Jesus’ beatitude: “blessed are the peacemakers.”

Often in the evenings wherever we were, we took time to sit and review our days, recollecting in the prayerful sense of the word what we’d seen and experienced, talking softly, as we watched the sunset. Here, on the shore of Chautauqua, we were nearing the end of our journey. As we sat in the quiet, a family of geese swam slowly around the shore in the evening light. The geese stayed close together, goslings following their parents’ stately lead, defenseless on a shining lake. They knew they were safe there, from human beings, for the time being, so they didn’t flee when they saw us. I had been thinking about what is necessary for beloved community to arise. One thing is simple: one has to feel safe. And if safety isn’t present, the community needs to work toward it. Beloved community is built on trust.