This Sunday, October 27, Transformational Journeys will hold its annual Open House in Sweetland Hall from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome! Drop in anytime and discover the mission and vision of the ministry; see photos of past TJ’s; learn about upcoming trips, local and international; meet trip leaders and past participants. And enjoy raffles, food and music!
Here is an article by Linda Critchfield from the October 2019 issue of Saints Alive:
Transformational Journeys:
Building Community in Unexpected Places
It’s a challenge that exists even for parishioners who have been at ASC for years. How do you build lasting relationships in a church of this size? The answer may lie in the most unexpected of places.
My interest in Transformational Journeys began in 2015, when a friend mentioned that the ministry was planning a trip to Tibet. As a child, leafing through issues of National Geographic, Tibet became the land of my dreams. For most of my life, it remained an elusive dream- a destination few tour operators traveled to due to a myriad of reasons: difficult to get to, lots of red tape. But the Transformational Journeys committee was undeterred, and the trip was scheduled for spring of 2016. My application might have been the first submitted, but I was nervous. Not because of the language barrier or the possibility of altitude sickness, but because I had not traveled with a group of strangers in thirty years. For most of my adult life, I have been a solo traveler; this was stepping out of my comfort zone.
It should be noted here that this is part of the mission of the Transformational Journeys ministry. The program plans local and global journeys that challenge participants to get outside of their comfort zones to encounter people of different cultures, many of whom may live in challenging circumstances. It also encourages participants to learn about our history, and to gain an understanding of other forms of spirituality and worship.
Our group met several times in the weeks that preceded the trip. Over a series of dinners and presentations, the community building began. By the time we departed for China, friendships had started to form. Some of the participants had known each other for years, while others were brand new to All Saints.
Within three hours of landing in Lhasa, Tibet, we had a step out of our collective comfort zone when five of us got stuck in a hotel elevator. Using the emergency phone was all but useless due to the language barrier. Texts were sent to other members of the group, who summoned help from the hotel staff. The doors were pried open, and as it turned out, we were stuck between floors. Thankfully, we could see our rescuers, who were about four feet above us. Gail Gunther’s son Eric said “I’m not leaving until everyone is out of here!” He gave the rest of us a boost up, and we were back on solid ground. The Gunther family are definitely people to be around in an emergency!
Gail Gunther and I recently had another bonding experience, when our luggage was lost in Narita Airport in Tokyo. As minutes ticked by toward our connecting flight, smiling, helpful airport staff left no stone unturned in the arrivals terminal. After a stressful forty-five minutes during which we each vowed to not abandon the other, we were reunited with our luggage and on our way to Hiroshima.
Since embarking on my first Transformational Journey, many people have asked, “How were you transformed?” Transformation takes many forms. For some it may be facing our nation’s legacy in Southeast Asia. Perhaps it is coming face to face with the shadow of homelessness in our own city and learning how to create change. It may be realizing the dream of a lifetime to turn prayer wheels at the foot of the Potala Palace, or to walk in the footsteps of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa.
Past journeys include destinations in the neighborhood to around the world: Goodwill Industries, Hsi Lai Temple, San Fernando Mission, Manzanar, Malawi, and the Holy Land. Upcoming journeys will visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, Judson Studios in Los Angeles, Navajoland, and the UK. Come build community and be transformed.
Click on photos below to enlarge them.
