Lord of every pilgrim heart,
       You are beside me and before me on the way,
Surprising me through your Spirit at every turning on the path.
       Yet, like your disciples on the Emmaus road,
I often fail to recognize my companion.
      In this morning hour, and in whatever the day may hold,
Open my eyes to see your presence,
      That I may celebrate with you the gift of the morning,
O Lord of the unexpected.

Morning Worship, beginning with the prayer above, was celebrated each morning of the Pilgrimage, whether in a New York bagel shoppe or on a misty mountainside.  If our young people have cultivated an awareness of and built a closer relationship to the “Lord…beside me and before me on the way,” then the Pilgrimage has been a success.  What a gift to have eyes that can see God’s presence: in the homeless child, in the lofty cathedral, in the site of the terrorized Twin Towers, in trees, sunshine, starlight, streams, and in each other.

As we send this article, the J2A pilgrimage group is continuing their journey, leaving New York City and moving to a rural area of Pennsylvania . We look forward to the quiet of the country after the intensity of the city.  We were continually on the move finding our way using the New York City subway, experiencing worship in a small chapel at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, serving in two different soup kitchens (one served about 200 meals and the other 1159 meals that day), taking the Staten Island ferry and visiting Trinity/St. Paul's chapel and Ground Zero.  A 4:00 am wakeup call on Friday morning ensured our spot on a front row of the Good Morning America show and Jessie McCartney concert.  It was a full four days.  The following are excerpts from our reflection on our time in the city and where we encountered God.

I encountered God this week in the soup kitchen at Holy Apostles Church that I worked in.  I also encountered God through the homily of the preacher at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  It was something to do with the fact that the service included just our group and 2 other people.  It felt like the preacher was talking directly to me rather than a large group.  -Darden

I saw God in New York City when we revisited Ground Zero and learned about the huge response at St. Paul's Chapel that helped so much during that tragedy.  -Cary

 I found God in many places but the one that touched me the most is how much closer our group has become.  God brought us here for a reason and friendship is a huge part in what we needed in order to complete this pilgrimage.  -Alex

 I saw God in the city in many of the poor people.  Two men, especially, reminded me of the story of the 'Widow's Mite' by sticking together and giving each other all that they had to make the situation they were in better.  -Jay

I saw God in Fena who is a volunteer at CHIPS, the soup kitchen where my group volunteered.  She cared so much that she has not missed a day for 30 years. (The soup kitchen runs 5 days a week all year long.)  She (Fena) also said that she had a family but the volunteers and guests at the soup kitchen were a part of her real family.  -Sara

I saw God in the city when we were walking down Wall Street and above all the chaos and noise you could hear 'Amazing Grace' being played by church bells . -Anne

I saw God in the faces of the CHIPS (soup kitchen) workers.  -Lawson

God showed us how important it is to be compassionate and make people feel like they matter.  People feel like they are lost in such a big city and that they don't make a difference.  The soup kitchen really showed the importance of treating people like they are people, especially the hungry and homeless.  -Heidi

I didn't experience God in a conventional way.  I didn't see God in a typical Christian way.  I had to experience people to see God.  I look in someone's eyes when I talk to them and make them feel happy.  And when I see a smile form, I feel an unexplainable happiness swell out of me.  What helped me see God was not the city and I don't think itwill be the country either.  I think that what helped me see God was the friendships that were cemented.  I saw God in the smiles.  -River