Taking Students on the Camino, May 2023

[macdonde]

Hello! I am partnering with an experience pilgrim faculty member at my university to take a small group of students on the Camino in May 2023. Looking forward to learning from everyone in this community as we prepare!

 

[C clearly]

Welcome! Feel free to ask any questions that you have. Here on the forum you can get a great variety of answers, because, well, there's a great variety of ways to do your pilgrimage.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Hello! I am partnering with an experience pilgrim faculty member at my university to take a small group of students on the Camino in May 2023.

Can you please tell us more about this? Where are the students from, and is this a faculty initiative or a religious group? Hope I’m not being rude in asking.

 

[Susan Peacock]

A few years ago I met a group from Franklin Pierce University that had been taking a group annually. They seem to have a great system. If I remember they met up every three days, doled out the money every three days and had guidelines for home many students could/should travel together. They also had assignments. If I remember correctly one of them may have been journaling. Possibly if you google Camino and Franklin Pierce University you can find a contact.

 

[Blister Bill]

Had a really nice experience on the Sanabres in May this year with a great US university group who were doing a camino as an elective for their Spanish course. It was a regular thing as well. I apologise I can't recall the university or southern state but they were great ambassadors, very polite, having a great time ! Perhaps someone will recall and can link you up but they were in Cea on May 16 and stayed May 17 at the monastery in Oseira.

 

[macdonde]

Can you please tell us more about this? Where are the students from, and is this a faculty initiative or a religious group? Hope I’m not being rude in asking.

This will be a group of students taking a course at a United Methodist-related university in Ohio. The course will explore the theme of pilgrimage in general, and the Camino in particular, and the culminating experience will be the Camino itself. So, there will be people there with a mixture of reasons for making the Way, and a variety of religious/non-religious backgrounds. I am the university chaplain, and will serve as the spiritual director for the group, and my faculty colleague will provide the academic background. Both of us will be on the Camino with the students, and will be leading lectures and discussions both before, during, and after the experience.

 

[macdonde]

A few years ago I met a group from Franklin Pierce University that had been taking a group annually. They seem to have a great system. If I remember they met up every three days, doled out the money every three days and had guidelines for home many students could/should travel together. They also had assignments. If I remember correctly one of them may have been journaling. Possibly if you google Camino and Franklin Pierce University you can find a contact.

Thank you!

 

[macdonde]

Had a really nice experience on the Sanabres in May this year with a great US university group who were doing a camino as an elective for their Spanish course. It was a regular thing as well. I apologise I can't recall the university or southern state but they were great ambassadors, very polite, having a great time ! Perhaps someone will recall and can link you up but they were in Cea on May 16 and stayed May 17 at the monastery in Oseira.

Thanks for the lead! We are also going to meet with Jeremiah Gibbs, who I believe is on this forum, and who has a YouTube channel on the Camino. He has taken several groups of students over the years, and we look forward to his excellent guidance!

 

[FrankW]

This will be a group of students taking a course at a United Methodist-related university in Ohio. The course will explore the theme of pilgrimage in general, and the Camino in particular, and the culminating experience will be the Camino itself. So, there will be people there with a mixture of reasons for making the Way, and a variety of religious/non-religious backgrounds. I am the university chaplain, and will serve as the spiritual director for the group, and my faculty colleague will provide the academic background. Both of us will be on the Camino with the students, and will be leading lectures and discussions both before, during, and after the experience.

This is very interesting. I have been a Chaplain for 40 years in defence and hospital settings and am currently a Centre Director training people in pastoral and spiritual care. One element of this is that of increasing our capacity to be spiritually discerning/aware. I have considered expanding into the area of spiritual accompaniment by engaging in training as a Spiritual Director. I have walked three Caminos and found each one to the incredibly enriching and would like to spiritually accompany others on Camino as a spiritual retreat. Our Centre accommodates all people from all faiths, no faith, those who are spiritual but not religious and a range of diverse sexualities. I hope to offer this retreat opportunity in 2023 around October/November. I would be interested in your reflections on your experience.