Across the Water
A Province VIII Youth Pilgrimage

By GJ Gordy

This summer, seven young people from Navajoland traveled with Rev. Cathlena and me to Hawai’i for the Province VIII Youth Event at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Honolulu.

 Before we boarded the plane, we gathered in Albuquerque to meet and spend some time together. One activity was button-making: designing buttons with something Navajo, meaningful, or reflecting how they were feeling. I gave them a small challenge: take these buttons to Hawai’i, make a friend, and give them one.

And that is exactly what they did.

One morning in Hawai’i, all the girls wore their Navajoland shirts and served breakfast to everyone at the pilgrimage. They greeted people as they came through the line, served food, and began giving away some of their buttons. It was a simple act, but relationships often begin that way, one person greeting another and offering something of themselves. I had also brought several things from home without knowing exactly how we would use them: a Navajo wedding basket, sash belt, hair ties for a traditional bun, a Navajo skirt, Hózhó bracelets, stickers, and small Mission Prayer cards. On the last evening, I placed those items in our young people’s hands and asked them to share what they knew.

Sunset spoke about the wedding basket; Johanna shared about the sash belt; Shanley and Twyla talked about the Navajo hair bun and teachings passed down through family. Nizhonibah spoke about Hózhó, the word printed on our shirts and bracelets, and what living in beauty and balance means to her. Ashley opened our sharing with tremendous energy, introducing herself by clan and playing a traditional flute softly as the others spoke.

One by one, they introduced themselves in Diné Bizaad, shared their clans, and spoke about what these teachings meant to them. There was no script. What emerged were the voices of parents and grandparents, teachings received while growing up, and each young person’s understanding of what it means to be Diné.

Cathlena and I watched as they stood before a cathedral full of people from places very different from Navajoland, speaking proudly and confidently about who they are. I also watched as a mother, as my young daughter built relationships in her own way, helped others, and quietly stepped into leadership when needed.

By the end of the pilgrimage, these were no longer simply seven young people who had traveled together. They had THE NAVAJOLAND BEAUTYWAY learned together, laughed together, looked out for one another, and represented Navajoland together. That was K’é. We also formed relationships with young people from across Province VIII whose homes, languages, cultures, and experiences were very different from ours. We experienced Hawaiian culture, heard the stories of other dioceses, worshiped together, and discovered how much we still had in common.

 We went to Hawai’i to learn about the wider Episcopal Church, but we also discovered that we had something to give. Our young people saw that their language, their families’ teachings, and their stories matter.

That is what pilgrimage can do. We travel somewhere new, share who we are, receive others’ stories, and return home changed by the relationships we have made. Through those relationships, our faith deepens, our understanding of the Church grows, and we discover that wherever we travel, we do not walk alone.