Hanover, NH - On June 17-18 four Upper Valley Episcopal churches will be participating in a Connecticut River pilgrimage: River of Life 2017, "from the source to the sea." The event-which includes both water and land events-began when kayaks set in at the Connecticut Lake on May 31 near the Canadian border and will end 40 days later in the Long Island Sound. Kairos Earth (http://kairosearth.org/river/), the principal organizer of the Pilgrimage, sees the journey as deepening a sacred relationship with nature.

Vermont activities are scheduled to coincide with the arrival of paddlers in Norwich, Vermont, on Saturday, June 17. For land-dwellers, a mini-pilgrimage by car will follow the Ottauquechee River from Killington to Hartford, Vermont, on Saturday morning. The mini-pilgrimage will be led by the Rev. Norman MacLeod of St. James Episcopal Church, Woodstock.

Public activities on Saturday will include an afternoon at the Montshire Museum with noted Vermont storyteller Willem Lange presenting River Tales: Celebrating the Connecticut River. Additionally, CRREL Hydrologist Gabrielle David will present an environmental view of the river and its watershed. St Barnabas Episcopal in Norwich will also hold an outdoor service and potluck at 6:00 PM that day.

On Sunday, the churches will have space reserved at Kilowatt Park in Wilder, Vermont, with kayaks available for rent from LL Bean. Refreshments will be provided.

On Sunday morning, three New England Bishops will be crossing the river in another interesting way: The Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Ely, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, will be in the pulpit at St. Thomas in Hanover, New Hampshire, and the Rt. Rev. Robert Hirschfeld, bishop of the New Hampshire diocese, will lead worship at St. Barnabas in Norwich, Vermont. Finally, retired Massachusetts Bishop Suffragan Bud Cederholm will lead services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in White River Junction. The bishops and the Rev. MacLeod will unite on Sunday afternoon to bless the Pilgrimage at Kilowatt Park.

About River of Life 2017

The River of Life pilgrimage is sponsored by the Episcopal Dioceses of New Hampshire, Vermont, Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine, in partnership with Province I of the Episcopal Church, the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Kairos Earth. People of all faiths, beliefs, and paths are welcome for any/all of the Pilgrimage. Learn more at http://kairosearth.org/river/.


Posted 3/24/17