Thursday 12 November 2015 at 20:28

Au Revoir, Italie

by Yeb Saño,

Last week we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, signaling a new stage in our journey to Paris. One where we had to say goodbye to Italy, a county that had become very dear to us.

But this sadness of leaving Italy was helped by the incredible welcome we had from the people and organisations of Geneva.

We were hosted by Geneva’s Ecumenical Centre where the Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance all have their headquarters. The leaders of these organisations welcomed us to Geneva, which was a huge honour for our group.

A local welcome of The People's Pilgrimage; Alex Price/OurVoices

Meeting with these groups reminded us of the central spiritual dimension of our journey. Both our own spiritual growth, but also the spirituality at the heart of so many of the people and organisations who have helped make our walk possible.

Geneva was particularly special for the Filipino members of our group since we were hosted by an amazing Filipino family

For the first time in over a month, we Filipinos got to enjoy Filipino home cooking!

We also had a chance to walk to the United Nations Office at Geneva. It was a stark reminder to all of us of why we are walking. But seeing our diverse group of pilgrims in front of the UN also filled me with hope — hope that irrespective of what our leaders produce from Paris, ordinary citizens around the world are committed to working together on every level.

Across the globe we are working as communities and cities, as faith groups and organisations, and as pilgrims, walking to together out of love, faith and hope that we can build a better future together.

Header Photo by Lutheran World Federation