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March, 2023 to Current – Newsletter Archives
January to March, 2023 – Newsletter Archives

Camino Reflections

Rev. Éric Hébert-Daly spent June and July 2024 walking the Camino del Norte, the Camino Lebaniego, the Camino Primitivo, the Camino Inglés and the Camino Muxia/Finistera as part of his sabbatical. He walked 1458kms carrying his backpack across mountains, fields and coasts while holding communities of faith and ministry personnel in prayer. Éric will share some insights of his journey over the coming months.

Reflection 1: Alone: As many will have heard, my decision to walk the Camino was rooted in a need to strengthen my ‘solitude muscles’ and to find balance with my normal extraverted tendencies. During my process to becoming a minister, the psychologist who did my assessment qualified me as a ‘galloping extrovert’ beyond anyone he had met in his 40 years of service. He warned me of the importance to develop some resilience in times of solitude. The Camino seemed like the right place to hone these skills when it came time for my sabbatical. I even chose the lesser traveled paths in an effort to keep me focused on this goal. To continue reading, please click this link.

Reflection 2: Encounters: “Walk your own Camino” was a refrain I heard from many folks before I left for Spain. It didn’t take long for me to realize the importance of that. Some people naturally walked faster or slower than my natural pace. Sometimes I would adjust my speed in the interests of engaging with them, but walking at a pace that is not your own is uncomfortable, regardless of whether it is faster or slower. To continue reading, please click this link.

Reflection 3: Mud … There are times when walking the Camino that the conditions were less than ideal. Walking the Camino del Norte from the Spanish/French border meant that my first day of walking included 32kms and 1000m of climbing and another 1000m of descending. It was a bit of a baptism by fire, not having been able to spend a lot of time climbing mountains in my part of the world. But my most difficult day wasn’t as a result of the mountains, it was related to the rain and mud. To continue reading, please click this link.