Pilgrimage: Acadia

The Program

In 2019, the Office of the Chaplaincy offered Pilgrimage Acadia, a Fall Break hiking and camping pilgrimage that invited participants to explore the tremendous beauty of the Acadian region of coastal Maine. Home to the Wabanaki people, this area has offered a site for spiritual reflection and renewal for at least the last 5,000 years. The Wabanaki or "People of the Dawnland" find deep meaning in this land and its majestic beauty and we will explore this sacred site during a four-day, three-night pilgrimage within Acadia National Park.

This pilgrimage included a six-week small group study that considers the intersection of spirituality, wellness and our connection to nature in order to explore fundamental questions of meaning and purpose. We relied upon meditation and mindfulness practices as primary modes of reflection and gained insight from the spirituality of the Wabanaki people and other wisdom traditions.

Leaders

The Pilgrimage was led by Jamie Lynn Haskins, Chaplain for Spiritual Life, and Waleed Ilyas, Muslim Chaplain.