VALPARAISO – While the Atlantic Ocean stands between St. Paul Catholic Church and Bethlehem, no one was required to walk on water as a group of parishioners set out on a 7,500-mile spiritual walk from their church to the birthplace of Christ. Since their 12-week virtual Walk to Jerusalem journey began at the end of September, they not only would have reached Bethlehem, but they also would have completed their nearly 20,000-mile walk back home on Dec. 18.
Walk to Bethlehem is a virtual journey that pairs spiritual meditation and physical exercise. “It’s a process for people to do physical exercise while they are contemplating the journeys the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph took on their own way to Bethlehem,” said John Conlisk.
Conlisk, a member of St. Paul and walk organizer, shared how participants engage in some form of exercise, either individually, as a family, or a group and submit the total miles each week. Walking, running, biking, swimming, lifting weights or aerobic exercises are just a few options that kept participants on track to Bethlehem. Conlisk explained those who walk, or run can log actual miles, other forms of exercise are calculated using the formula of 20 minutes of exercise equaling one mile.
The program is open to all, even those outside the parish. Conlisk noted even kids are encouraged to join. “To encourage kids to participate, we have a list of responsibilities they can do at home to earn a mile,” he said.
Suggestions to earn miles for youth include making their bed, leading the family in saying grace and if they lead prayer at a restaurant or in public, they get triple miles.
Conlisk credits his wife, Mary, for bringing the program to the parish 10 years ago.
Mary shared how she was on the health ministry team when she felt the need for a parish wide activity. “I was just looking for an activity the whole parish could get involved with, both physically and spiritually,” she said.
As she searched the internet, she came across the Walk to Bethlehem program through St. John Providence Health Care System. She requested a booklet from the website that guided her on how to start a walk at their parish.
St. Paul’s Walk to Bethlehem program has grown over the years, as the number of participants increased each year. The couple acknowledged the pandemic did drastically reduce the numbers. Participation has rebounded this year and the number of walkers doubled from last year’s numbers.
The spiritual part of the journey focuses on a passage from Sacred Scripture, usually the New Testament, upon which the participants can meditate.
Mary credits John for the growth of the program. “John is the real hero. He has made it so creative over the years. He spends quite a bit of time picking the theme, doing the research every week, and sending out an email video link to the saint of the place where we are going to visit that week,” she said.
Mary explained that while the Walk to Bethlehem booklet contains weekly meditations, John added another element to help with the spiritual journey. Each year, he comes up with a theme for the walk.
“Saints who encourage us to pray” is this year’s theme. John designed an outgoing route and return route with stops along the way which relate to a particular saint. St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Faustina, St. Augustine, St. Theresa of the Little Flower, and one that is close to John’s heart, Our Lady of Guadalupe, are just a few of the saints participants encounter during the 12-week trip.
John said that although roughly 100 log their miles, another 50 participate in the spiritual portion only. “One thing we emphasize is that you don’t have to do the walk if you want to just receive the meditations on the saints,” said Mary.
The miles are recorded weekly on a map, located in the church’s narthex, giving an illustration of progress made by the group. Taped to the map are several paper arrows with the week’s miles and cumulative miles printed on each arrow. Each arrow points to a star which marks that week’s destination on the journey to and from Bethlehem.
This year, so far, the group is averaging roughly 1,800 miles a week.
One year the group accumulated enough miles to circle the globe.
“Walk to Bethlehem has been a great opportunity to deepen our faith while getting exercise,” said Mary.
For more information visit the parish website, saintpaulvalpo.org/uncategorized/walk-to-bethlehem/