Interfaith Pilgrimage in Our Own Backyards

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

We’re just visiting places of worship in Lancaster, right? Why is it called a "pilgrimage"?

A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, through sacred place and in sacred time, with the opportunity to be changed in how we think and live. This is what we plan to do together, by traveling through four sacred sites in our own backyards. Together, we will form a diverse group of seekers, who will learn from one another by being travelers together.

As such, we ask for your help and commitment in forming our interfaith traveling group: to attend at least one full weekend (or two services), and hopefully all five ‘stops’ of the pilgrimage.

What should I expect when visiting an unfamiliar place of worship?

When you commit to participating, you will receive a booklet to accompany your pilgrimage, containing a guide of what to expect offered by each of the four sites of worship. We will also gather a few minutes ahead of each service to go over what to expect in person.

How is this different from just showing up at a service?

Although you are always welcome to visit any of the four congregations named, this journey goes deeper than just a visit. By traveling together as a group of people from different faith backgrounds, we hope to foster relationships between our various faith communities as much as to ignite a sense of holy curiosity about other traditions. And we offer resources to do this: a booklet to accompany your journey, facilitated conversations to debrief each visit, and opportunities to celebrate and reflect together.

Why do you ask for a donation upon registration?

As you might imagine, it takes resources to put together this series of events. As much as to help defray costs, our hope is to raise funds to create future events and resources to help foster a greater sense of curiosity and friendship between our rich faith traditions.

Who receives the funds?

The Islamic Community Center of Lancaster is the Lancaster Interfaith Coalition’s fiscal sponsor, so donations will go through ICCL; the funds will go directly to the LIC to help with costs of this venture and to prepare for future work. Donations happen one of two ways: selecting the paid amounts for your ticket and donating online, or mailing a check for any amount, made out to ICCL with "Lancaster Interfaith Coalition" on the memo line, to: 275 Hess Blvd #201&202, Lancaster, PA 17601.

Although you are always welcome to visit any of these four congregations, this is a journey of a deeper kind. We call it a pilgrimage because it is a spiritual journey through sacred sites with the opportunity to deepen our understanding of our own spiritual lives and those of others. We hope with this pilgrimage to form a diverse group of seekers, who will learn from one another and be travelers together.

Therefore, we ask you to commit to attend at least one full weekend (or two visits), and hopefully all five ‘stops’ of the pilgrimage. All are especially encouraged to attend the opening dinner and the reflection celebration. You must register by March 6th in order to participate. Click the "Tickets" button to select your ticket type.

This event has costs associated with it. We ask for a donation of $40 to participate in the full pilgrimage, or $25 for a single weekend (and opening and closing activities). Your contribution will help the Lancaster Interfaith Coalition offset costs of this event and grow our capacity to offer future programming. That said, all are welcome to participate, so we are also making 'pay what you can' tickets available if cost is a barrier (select "free" and, if you can, mail a check for an amount of your choosing, made out to ICCL with "Lancaster Interfaith Coaltion" on the memo line, to: 275 Hess Blvd #201&202, Lancaster, PA 17601). All funds go to the LIC, processed by our fiscal sponsor, the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster (ICCL).

We look forward to journeying and learning with you.

This March, join the Lancaster Interfaith Coalition for an intentional journey through the sacred spaces and practices of four of Lancaster's distinct faith traditions, over the course of two weekends. Together, we will explore what it means to be good guests and good hosts to our neighbors of different faiths, seeing beauty in our own traditions and others’.

The pilgrimage begins with a getting-to-know-you session and dinner, followed by visits to the worship services of four different faith traditions, with opportunities to share fellowship and curiosity at each stop along the way. We will end with a gathering to reflect and celebrate our journey, featuring the River Crossing Playback Theatre troupe to help us share stories, reflect, and think about the future. Our pilgrimage will take us to the following sites: