Five weeks from today we should be leaving from Irun, Spain to make the 500-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela along the Camino del Norte. This will be part of my 3-month sabbatical from pastoral ministry. Below is a copy of the FAQs I shared with my congregation for those interested in learning more about this.

I have heard of the Camino before, but what is it exactly?

The Camino de Santiagohas been a very popular pilgrimage route for Christians since the middle ages, second only to Jerusalem as a destination. GoogleCamino de Santiagoand you can learn about its rich history, and you will also learn that there are four major Caminosin Spain that all end up at Santiago de Compostela, the capitol of Spain’s Galicia region in the northwest corner, and supposedly the resting place of the Apostle James. We will be on the less-traveled Camino del Norte, which begins just across the French border in Basque country, and then follows the northern coastline of Spain for much of the way.

How long will it take you to walk 500 miles?

Our plan is to walk about 15 miles per day, so if you do the math, that works out to 33 days. We also plan to have periodic “0” days to rest, as well as savor the experience of being in this beautiful country. We bought round-trip tickets in and out of Paris allowing for 7 weeks (May 29 – July 17). We plan to begin the Camino on June 1, and finish in time to get back to Paris so that we can spend at least a couple of days enjoying that city.

Why did you decide to spend 7 weeks of your sabbatical walking 500 miles?

The short answer is that God led me that way over a series of weeks and months. One of the things I heard Him say was that He wanted me to share this gift of time away from pastoral ministry by investing in Caleb. Caleb just turned 13 in April, and for many cultures, that is the age when rites of passage and exploring what it means to become a man happens. Our western culture frankly does a horrible job with this sort of thing, relegating it to markers such as getting your driver’s license or graduating from high school. Caleb and I have had some great conversations on this topic during the past few weeks of our training walks together. Since Caleb loves to hike, I think the Camino will be the perfect liminal experience for him, and what a blessing for me to have the privilege of sharing it with him!

Do you have spiritual hopes for this pilgrimage?

Part of my last sabbatical in 2011 was spent exploring Celtic Christianity, which I really appreciate for its emphasis in bringing God into the “everyday” and “everywhere” aspects of life. Said differently, Celtic Christianity reacts strongly against the compartmentalization of an approach that says Sunday morning belongs to God and the rest of the week belongs to my work, my play, my family, or my whatever. As I grow closer each year to Jesus, I realize how important is it to embrace the fact that He wants to do all of lifewith me and me with Him!

Pilgrimage is a way of disconnecting from the distractions of all our routines in order to focus intently on that very thing. Regarding pilgrimage, the Celts did not see their travel as achieving a previously understood goal but rather that ‘pilgrimage is whatever happens along the way.’ Over and over as I have read memoires and blogs of people who have walked the Camino – the resounding refrain is, “The Camino will change you.” I want to be open to how God wants to uniquely use this experience in my life, as well as Caleb’s and Thomas’s.

What about Heather and Micah? What will they do, and how will you spend the remaining 6 weeks of your sabbatical?

As it turns out, they will be joining Heather’s sister on a 10-day trip to Israel! This opportunity fell in their laps shortly after Caleb’s and my plans were made, and the cost was such that they could not refuse it. After that they will likely spend time with that same sister at her home in Nashville.

Once we all get back to Colorado, our next goal is to find a place to live! We sensed earlier this year that it was time to put our small 3-bedroom home on the market, and are now under contract, set to close on May 18. My mom lives in Parker, so all of our stuff will be put in storage, and we will be with her until we find a little bit larger place for us to live (hopefully still in Highlands Ranch). We have had a lot of fun approaching this move as a family, and see that adventure continuing together during the latter part of my sabbatical.

What will things look like around CCC while you are gone?

I’ll begin by saying I hope that I am missed JHowever, I know that strong ministry will continue in the areas of Worshipand Communicationsat CCC. I have been working closely with my ministry teams and leaders in recent weeks to prepare them for this time while I am away. Kris Thulson, who served as our Worship Intern last year, will be overseeing the coordination of our Worship Team and interfacing with our Preaching Team. Some other key people will be Katrina Sailers and David Russell, overseeing the website and other “techy” things that I do, and then Jim Golden has agreed to be on-call for any graphic design tasks, like creating new bulletin covers, etc.

Is there a way that we can pray for you and even get updates from you while on your journey?

Yes! Please do pray for me, not only while we are on the Camino, but throughout this time away. I am not going to make any promises about how frequently we communicate while on the Camino, but I am taking my camera, and I hope to be able to chronicle and share from time to time as we go. The best way to stay updated would be to follow my blog https://daviddillon.wordpress.com

I am truly grateful to my community at CCC for the gift of this time away from pastoral responsibilities. This coming fall marks 25 years of ministry for me at CCC. That type of longevity speaks volumes to the love and support that I have known here!