Wesley Granberg-Michaelson - Without Oars: Casting Off into a Life of Pilgrimage

Reading Wess remarkable pilgrimage, I found myselfsomewhat like John, imprisoned on the isle of Patmos in the Biblecaught up in the Spirit, there in the story, in the insights, in the wisdom, in the pilgrimage. I found myself lost in wonder, love and praise, as the old hymn says. I sensed what the Bible calls the joyful liberty of the children of God. Wow!

Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

This book is really special. Its an adventure. You get all of Wess great ideas, stories, and theology, but this time you feel like you are walking alongside him on the Camino. And hell be inviting you to let go of some of the extra baggage so youre a little freer to enjoy the journey. This book will help you declutter your soul.

Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and co-founder of Red Letter Christians

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson describes the promise and joy of casting off into a life of pilgrimage in ways that make us want to start walking. A wonderful book.

Fr. Richard Rohr, director, Center for Action and Contemplation

Compelling and beautifully written, Granberg-Michaelsons writing invites us into a deeper reality. Take the journey of reading Without Oars and experience the spiritual transformation and blossoming of the soul that await.

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, author of Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age

Up until now, when you think of spirituality and prayer, you may think of churches, sermons, organs, and words, words, words. If you dare to read this beautiful, courageous, and truly unforgettable book, you will think of feet, dirt, water, food, and dancing. As I read, I saw my past in a new light, and my present and future as well. This book stands out and gives extraordinary gifts.

Brian D. McLaren, author of The Galpagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey

Wess pilgrim journey invites us into places of disruption, uncertainty, even surrender. Hes a wise guide for this necessary journey. I commend this book to anyone who is open to discovering the treasure found in the detours and disruptions of an authentic faith journey.

Chuck DeGroat, Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality, Western Theological Seminary

Without Oars is a lovely reminder that walking with Christ is a pilgrimage where we are accompanied and nourished in ways that touch the body and soul. This book is soothing and centering without ignoring the hard truths of our lives.

Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra, Professor of Development Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary

In Without Oars, Wes Granberg-Michaelson shares the deep wisdom he has gained as a lifelong and contemplative pilgrim whose spiritual practice leads him to strong and effective social action for justice. This book is a genuine must-read for anyone who wants to apply faith to public life. I cant recommend it highly enough.

Jim Wallis, Founder and President of Sojourners

This enchanting book takes readers on a journey into the ancient and sacred terrain of Christian pilgrimage. Here we learn that pilgrimage is both a be-wilding, external journey and an interior, mystical one.

Cheryl Bridges Johns, Professor of Spiritual Renewal and Christian Formation, Pentecostal Theological Seminary

Without Oars takes readers on an inspiring journey of rethinking Christian discipleship as an embodied reality rather than just a belief in beliefs. There is no better guide for this excursion than Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, with his deep wisdom, pastoral sensitivity, and gift for storytelling.

Dr. Kristin Colberg, College of St. Benedict/St. Johns University

Writing a foreword for a book is a strange literary convention. One author adding words to another authors words is an awkward task at best. It is rather like designing a wedding invitation. The card that arrives in the mail, no matter how graceful or beautiful, how thoughtfully it expresses hopes and dreams, only beckons to the real eventthe marriage celebration itself.

Without Oars is a celebration of spiritual maturity. I hope that does not seem stuffy or conservative. Sometimes talking about maturity can carry a whiff of finger-wagging superiority, especially toward those who are in a different place on lifes journey. Yet the Christian tradition holds up spiritual maturity as the goal of life. It is a call to know the fullness of God. But what is it, really? And how does one get there?

There is a beautiful paradox in Christianity about the fullness of Godthe paradox comes from the life of Jesus, the one who taught that we find our lives by losing them, and then drove the truth of the matter home through his own passion and death. Maturity comes by way of letting go, through loss. Fullness, depth, wisdomwhatever one calls itis not a grim thing, however gloomy this paradox may seem. The letting go is a precursor to life. Christianity offers many paths to understand thisreading Scripture, contemplative prayer, serving ones neighbor, or the sacramental life of the church. But one of the most richly experiential ways into Christianitys central paradox has been the practice of pilgrimage. Pilgrims leave the comforts of home in order to find their true home. In Without Oars, Wes Granberg-Michaelson revisits this ancient practice by sharing his journey of walking the Camino de Santiago, a thousand-year-old pilgrim path in Spain.

What emerges in these pages is a sort of map, a way of letting go to find something new. I say sort of map because these chapters are not like a GPS, or an old-fashioned TripTik prepared by the auto club, and this is certainly not a how-to or ten steps to book. For the fundamental truth of the pilgrim is always the same: there might be a mapa route to a destinationbut maps and guidebooks tell you little until your feet are on the ground. Ultimately, it is impossible to chart what the ancient Celtic saints called wandering for the love of God. You have to walk to understand. Get up and go.

So what kind of map is opened in these pages? Without Oars does not tell you what particular road to take or where to turn. Instead, it shares what you can expect as you walk, like markers you see on some roadsides. How pilgrimages start with restlessness, how we are not really who we think we are, that patience is a gift, what we think makes us secure actually imprisons, faith is far more than we think, the Spirit is reckless, grace is always surprising, turning our backs on injustice is necessary on this road, and the end of all is love.