Day 5

Today was our first day full day at the Pathways Pilgrimage. We had a somewhat early start, waking up at around 7:20 or 7:30, and eating at 8. There is no possible way to describe Sonoma State's cafeteria with words. There are about 10 different places to actually get food, including salad bars, pizza places, barbeque places, and a frozen yogurt bar (the highlight of my day). We spent every meal in this cafeteria. After breakfast we start our morning worshiping, mainly consisting of religious songs. After, we started our discussion about global warming and the effect it has on our planet. We learned about the effect big fires like the ones in Santa Rosa have on our community. We started to come up with ways that we can help the health of our planet, such as using less plastic, recycling more, eating less meat, and so on. We then had a speaker from the Church of the Incarnation, in Santa Rosa, who talked about her experiences with others that suffered from the fires in Santa Rosa. She talked about taking an old couple (both in their 90's) into her home and personally taking care of them. She also explained how she used funds from their church to pay for a hotel room for a man that lost his house. From these stores, we learned about the benefits of helping others, and that both little and big deeds can be a huge help to people that have little to nothing. We then had former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori come in to talk to us about the how science and religion can walk hand in hand, something that I (Bo) have had trouble understanding up until then. Dinner came right after, and I spent most of it in the frozen yogurt bar with Camilla, using all the crazy toppings. This was a great ending to a busy day. 

The main things that we took from the day were how we can better take care of the planet, and how our deeds can have a big effect on other people's lives. Saving our planet is something that our generation is able to do, which is why it is so important that we listen to the people that know how to do it. We all listened and took to heart what these speakers said. Learning about the fires was extremely important because it showed us how quickly things can change in our lives, and how some events can have impacts on the people around us. Hearing personal stories about helping others really inspired all of us to do the same. We get to hear about the positive impact it has on our life, and more importantly, the people you're interacting with. 

Bo