Encounter

Encounter is experienced through proximity - it occurs through making a connection that is close, intimate, and personal. Pilgrims will encounter places and people with a posture of listening and receiving, being open to the work that God might do through the places they enter.

Reflection

Reflection allows us to work beyond quick assumptions, reactions, and biases. It is a gift from God that lets us step away from the noise and be silent in God’s presence where we hear God’s still soft voice. Throughout the pilgrimage, there will be space for both individual and group reflection.

Place

Our lives make an impact on the place we live, although it is often overlooked. The Pilgrimage will help participants see the stories and culture that have been formed in places throughout our city, and see how God is forming them through the concrete realities of place. 

Transformation

Throughout the Biblical story, God meets people where they are and leads them to be transformed. God’s Word always challenges, confronts, and stirs us to become restored and renewed. The Pilgrimage is not a mere “experience” that will entertain like a historical tour. It is not a service project where there is a clear distinction between those serving and those being served. The goal of the Pilgrimage is transformation. Through it we hope to see participants changed in the way they understand themselves, the way they live in the city, and in the way they know God.

Story

The Pilgrimage is an opportunity to hear individual stories in the context of the larger narrative of Raleigh. Pilgrims will reflect on how these stories relate to God’s overarching story. We hope that participants will see their lives as a journey that does not end with certain experiences; we hope it will spark a sense of pilgrimage in everyday life as each person’s story unfolds.