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      CONTENTS

      Every Step a Prayer

      OneTeach Me Your Paths

Walking Suggestions

Questions for Further Reflection

      TwoPrime Mover

       Walking Suggestions

       Questions for Further Reflection

      ThreeMoving to a Larger Rhythm

       Walking Suggestions

       Questions for Further Reflection

      FourOn the Road

       Walking Suggestions

       Questions for Further Reflection

      FiveComing Home

       Walking Suggestions

       Questions for Further Reflection

      SixGuide My Feet

       Walking Suggestions

       Questions for Further Reflection

      Notes

       EVERY STEP A PRAYER

      Everyone was in a good mood at the August church council meeting. Jenni reported on the successful Fourth of July walkathon that had raised funds for Habitat for Humanity. Mike announced that he would coordinate the annual CROP Walk for Hunger. Betsy expressed excitement about the church’s participation in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The church’s team had already exceeded the fund-raising goal.

      LaToya commented that she and her friends go to a shopping mall and walk its hallways. Luis remarked that he too had been walking. He had marched at the state capitol to protest cuts in the social services budget. Claude added that his son and daughter-in-law were doing a lot more walking. Clogged expressways and bumper-to-bumper traffic had left them too exhausted to enjoy their suburban home. So they had sold it and moved back into the city. Now they walk to work and to go shopping.

      Joy jokingly suggested that our church council might like to adopt her boss’s latest approach for staff meetings. Since walking increases people’s creativity, they now walk around the building for Monday staff meetings.

      As I listened to everyone’s comments, I began to think of all the people in my congregation who were taking to their feet. Marta has a new dog and gets up to walk her puppy. Kate and Jack recently joined our congregation because their home is within walking distance of the church. Committed environmentalists, they walk as much as possible to reduce their carbon footprint. Each summer Candace walks sections of the Appalachian Trail with her friends. Several members drive to a wellness center, have their vital signs checked, and walk a treadmill under a nurse’s supervision. Max coordinates a senior high adventure camp that features hiking in Colorado during July.

      Despite our North American romance with automobiles, walking is making a comeback. Six in ten Americans report that they walked for fun, transportation, or exercise. More than 145 million Americans say they walk for health. In the last five years, the number of people who walk for exercise has increased by 6 percent.

      Walking also plays a role in funding many national and local charities. American charities and congregations annually sponsor almost 40,000 fund-raising walk/run/rideathons that attract millions of participants. In recent years the top thirty such events raised a total of $1.6 billion. Members of my congregation walk or run in charity fund-raisers every year.

      Americans also walk in protests, parades, or marches that seek to shape public opinion, influence the political process, or celebrate their heritage or identity. The National Park Service annually issues approximately 3,800 permits for marches on Washington DC’s National Mall.

      I am an avid walker. Walking trails lace the woods surrounding my family’s home, and every morning and evening I walk our family dog, Spenser, along them. On vacation, my favorite activity comes in walking through urban and rural landscapes, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. Some of my favorite childhood memories include walks with my grandfather to hunt for mushrooms or to dig sassafras roots for tea.

      Until that August church council meeting, however, I had never considered all the opportunities for walking that our congregation’s ministries build in. Nor had I realized the extent to which members integrated walking into their daily routines.

      Beneath our society’s renewed interest in walking lies a yearning to slow down in a 24/7 world; to reconnect to the natural world in a crowded, technological society; and to express our protest in a political climate where many people feel they have a vote but not a voice. This deep

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