A Thousand Miles

L-R Grad Retraces Martin Luther's Steps

When it comes to walking in another's footsteps, L-R graduate Sarah Hinlicky Wilson '98 isn't afraid to go the extra thousand miles. This fall, she and her husband Andrew made a pilgrimage from Erfurt, Germany, to Rome, Italy, retracing the steps of Martin Luther's two-month, 1000-mile journey exactly 500 years ago.

They hoped that by physically connecting the two cities, they could symbolically connect Protestants and Catholics and make progress toward healing a division that's half a millennium old. It's a mission that Wilson calls, "Connecting our churches, step by step."

For Martin Luther, the journey began as a simple business trip. But the Catholic friar's historic visit to Rome was the first step toward one of the greatest rifts in Church history. Upon his return to Germany, Luther continued to be troubled by the doctrine of his faith, and to grow in his desire for reform within the church. Seven years later, he nailed his legendary "95 Theses" to the church door in Wittenberg. By 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, and the Protestant movement was officially born.

Five hundred years after his journey, on August 22, Sarah and Andrew Wilson set out on foot from the Augustinian priory in Erfurt, Germany, where Luther lived and studied. They spent the next 70 days retracing his path, arriving in Rome in time for Reformation Day on October 31.

In all, the couple walked 1001.7 miles. Their journey took them through half of Germany, then Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and half of Italy.

The couple quickly adjusted to this new adventure, and their bodies and minds soon found a rhythm. In addition to their backpacks with basic hiking gear, they carried a smartphone for securing that night's lodging, a camera for documenting the journey, and a laptop for writing and posting updates online. They kept hats and sunglasses handy for protection from the sun. And as for shoes? Wilson wore Keen sneaker sandals that she replaced once, and her husband made the trip in a single pair of Crocs.

As Sarah Wilson writes, "To have a future together, the churches have to face the past." In her meditations, Wilson views each step of the journey through a lens of unity, focusing on the shared history that unites all Christians and the progress that has been made toward healing old wounds. Each day, she chose a scripture passage that illuminated how Church unity was a challenge from its very birth. And her eloquent writings reveal a heart and mind eager to take lofty ideas and bring them - literally - down to earth.