Journey to Adulthood

IRELAND | SCOTLAND | ENGLAND

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to talk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope’s true gage
And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage.

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618)

About Journey to Adulthood

Our Journey to Adulthood pilgrimage tours are not sightseeing trips, but impeccably planned, program oriented and spiritually based experiences that will open the minds and hearts of both youth and adult leadership.

Our daily itineraries incorporate fundamental structural elements of the Journey to Adulthood program and are written and developed by our in-house team, which includes current Episcopal church youth leaders and teachers who teach the curriculum and serve on our Journey to Adulthood pilgrimage design teams.

Every day of each itinerary contains a quote or scripture that is relevant to that day’s pilgrimage destination, background and specifics on each destination, time set aside for journaling and for quiet time/personal reflection and suggestions for services, activities, talking points, and prayers.

Our staff is familiar with and has received training in the Episcopal Church’s “Safeguarding” policies. We understand the needs and challenges of upholding safe church policies when traveling with youth and strive to meet the highest standards for housing accomodation, group transportation, and personal care needs.

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Itineraries

Ireland
8 Days / 6 Nights

Dublin: Panoramic Dublin City Tour, St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Glendalough: Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough/St. Kevin’s Monastery, Hiking on St. Kevin’s Way
Dublin: Trinity College (Book of Kells, Long Room), Small group exploration of Dublin
Galway/Clonmacnoice: Hill of Tara, Clonmacnoise, Galway
Inis Oirr Cliffs of Moher: Morning Prayer, Inis Oirr, Cliffs of Moher, Limerick/Clare
Bunratty: Morning Prayer, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Medieval Banquet

England
8 Days / 6 Nights

Windsor/London: Windsor Castle, St. George’s Chapel
London: Changing of the Guard (Buckingham Palace), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London
Canterbury: St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral
Coventry/Cambridge: Coventry Cathedral, Cambridge Free-Time
Cambridge/Norwich: King’s College/King’s College Chapel, Norwich Cathedral (optional Champing opportunity)
London: Free Day

Scotland
8 Days / 6 Nights

Glasgow: Stirling Castle, Glasgow Youth Group Fellowship
Isle of Mull/Iona: Ferry Ride to Isle of Mull and Iona, Iona Abbey
Loch Lomond/Edinburgh: Bracklinn Falls Bridge and Callander Crags Hike, St. Mary’s Cathedral
Edinburgh: City Tour, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral, Arthur’s Seat Hike
Rosslyn Chapel/Lindisfarne (Holy Island): Rosslyn Chapel, Holy Island
St. Andrews: Morning Prayer, St. Andrew’s Castle, St. Andrew’s Cathedral

England
9 Days / 7 Nights

Windsor/London: Windsor Castle, St. George’s Chapel
London: Changing of the Guard (Buckingham Palace), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London
Canterbury: St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral
Coventry: Coventry Cathedral (Optional Champing opportunity)
York: York Minster, Jorvic Viking Museum
Durham: Durham Cathedral
Edinburgh: Guided City Tour, Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile/St. Giles, the High Kirk

Sample Itinerary

Day 4: Canterbury
“Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.” – St. Augustine

Today, we are visiting the spiritual capital of not only England, but of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. In the morning, we load our coach and take the short ride to Canterbury. The city is the site where, in the 6th century, St. Augustine first established a stronghold for Christianity in the British Isles. Canterbury has been a leading destination for pilgrimage for nearly 1000 years and is the destination of the travelers in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”. As we travel to Canterbury on our pilgrimages, we should have time for Morning Prayer, to write in our journals and reflect upon our expectations and fears.

Upon arrival in Canterbury, we will visit St. Augustine’s Abbey. Now in ruins, it was founded in 598 A.D. and houses the gravesites of two Anglo Saxon kings of Kent. While at the site, we can celebrate Eucharist in this ancient and holy site. During our service, we should have special time set aside for prayers, focusing on asking God to give us eyes and hearts to understand what we have seen and what it means. Remember, people, like you, have been praying in this spot for 1,400 years!

After the service, we enjoy lunch and have some free time to explore Canterbury, in small groups. Be sure to remember to use the six skills we’ve learned in the J2A program: Active Listening, Negotiation, Assertion, Research and Information Management, Partnership and Leadership.

In the afternoon, we walk through Christ Church Gate, as countless pilgrims have done before us, and enter into Canterbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion and home of the Thomas Beckett Shrine. Founded in 602, Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest Christian sites in England and has played a big part in the history of the country. The Cathedral rose to prominence as a place of pilgrimage after the martyrdom of Bishop Thomas Beckett in 1170. We will enjoy a guided tour and have some time for silent reflection and writing in our journals while surrounded by the soaring arches and vibrant stained glass windows of the Cathedral.

In the evening we return to our London accommodations for dinner and a service of Compline. Tonight, before we go to sleep, we might want to say a special prayer to help us have the strength and vision to put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), as we consider what Augustine might have gone through bringing Christianity to the pagans of England.