1 Week & 1 Day

One week and one day until we leave on our pilgrimage to South Africa. We are meeting as a group on Wednesday evening to distribute clothes, books and other items that we have collected for the children. Each Pilgrim is responsible for taking an extra suitcase packed for this purpose.

The dates of the pilgrimage are July 11 to 23. We plan to begin each day with Morning Prayer and spend time in group reflection in the evening. Some of the highlights of the trip, in addition to our visit to the Children's Home, will be:

• Visiting the Diocese of Johannesburg, and spending an evening with Bishop Brian Germond;
• Touring Soweto with our former sabbatical priest Thato Molipa and his family;
• Visiting the Diocese of Durban and attending lectures at the University of KwaZulu Natal;
• Visiting Robben Island Prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and where he crafted his vision of a race-free South Africa.

One other item on my agenda is that we get a chance to see the South African Penguins.