Other Guides

Backpacking in the desert has one problem before all others: water. When doing long solo hikes, it was not really possible to carry all that one person needed for more than a couple of days, at least it was not for me. So I had to have water sources out in the backcountry. I would go to see Curly.

I met Curly at the Arizona Hiking Shack back in the late 1990s. He gave me advice and guidance, but he provided an invaluable service for twenty dollars that I have never seen anywhere else. Curly would take my USGS topographical map, mark out known water sites with ratings gathered from local sources, and then draw concentric circles in pencil around them, marking out half-mile increments. I was never sure who he called exactly, but he had always been right before.

The first time he was wrong, it nearly killed me. I was alone in suddenly hotter and drier temperatures than expected, and water source after water source was dry. I covered more miles than I thought possible and started writing letters to my loved ones and leaving piles of gear along the trail, hoping my body would be found.

Sometimes you do not have a guide. It can be hard to find a spiritual director, but there are measures you can take to ensure your safety in the spiritual life. Guidebooks and filters.

We have a rich and deep spiritual tradition that provides great guidance on where to find the living water, from Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Benedict, and Francis de Sales, to more recent writers. Read deep. Recently, there have been several good guides to older works. My parish in Paradise Valley read Mansions of the Heart by Thomas Ashbrook, a great guide to Theresa’s Interior Castle.

Your priest may provide you with some resources if you ask. Church libraries are a great place to look. There are some tremendous works to offer ways for the easy paths and longer expeditions in the spiritual life. Robert Mulholland has a classic in his Invitation to a Journey and its follow-up volume if you are just getting started.

Nothing really beats having someone with you along the way, though. If you cannot have a spiritual director, I highly commend joining or starting a small group. Choosing a book or course to do together will help keep the group from becoming a supper club or a happy hour group. The Episcopal Church offers “The Way of Love” free at episcopalchurch.org. There are dozens of excellent ones out there.

If you belong to a congregation, let your priest or deacon know what you are doing. They can be your Curly, helping to navigate the good sources and providing advice and counsel. They can pray for you. Going alone is a good way to get into trouble!

As Archbishop Rowan Williams has affirmed in several places, spiritual life is a landscape to be explored, wondered at, and enjoyed. Your priest can help you sort the maps, and guides can meet you along the way and point you down the path, but no one can walk the Way for you.

You have to take up your pack and follow the One who is all our Guide. I will see you out there.

+ Daniel



Last week, Bishop Richards was at the Living our Vows Residency as part of the College for Bishops. A big part of the training was media training, learning how to engage the media to spread the Word. The bishops also study the interior and exterior work of being a bishop with colleagues from around the Episcopal Church and, this week, around the Anglican world.

We had big news this week about changes to General Convention. The Convention is usually a two-week plus event every three years when thousands of representatives who make up the House of Deputies meet concurrently with the House of Bishops to legislate the Episcopal Church’s life together. There are months of preparation, and an even larger circle of people gather to support, lobby, share resources, and display available goods to the gathering. It is one of the largest denominational gatherings in our country.

Like many things, it was delayed by Covid to this summer in Baltimore. After a few outbreaks and some concerns, the General Convention Office and Executive Council have dramatically reduced this summer’s time frame and scope. Please pray for the Church and our delegation, who have been preparing for months as we all scramble to make the best of this decision.

Click here to read the Letter to The Episcopal Church from Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies: Recommendations from May 17 meeting of Presiding Officers’ General Convention Design Group.

The Bishop was at Trinity Cathedral this weekend to preach, preside, and confirm.

We want to take a moment to recognize some of our youth and young adults graduating from their current leadership roles. Five youth members are ending their service on the Diocesan Youth Leadership Committee: Jack Purkerson (Holy Trinity, Clemson), Ike Meacham (St. John’s, Columbia), Karissa Horn, Sam Nixon, and Elizabeth Davis (Christ Church, Greenville). Sam and Karissa also served as Happening Lay Rectors this year. We also have four graduating Canterbury Peer Ministers: Jake Daniels (Furman University), Christine Scott (Clemson University), Lamar Buchanan, and Lane Poteat (Wofford College). We thank these young people for their contributions to their respective communities and this diocese.