Walk Episcopal New Hampshire
Week One - Starts (September 9th – St. Matthews Goffstown)
Theme: Basic Beliefs
Our beliefs come to us in varied ways, from childhood Sunday School classes, from life experiences, or the witnessing of others. The beliefs that are the foundation of our lives deserve our deepest thoughts. This week, reflect on a simple statement that underlies your spiritual grounding.
A suggested thought:
What our Lord requires of us is this – to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Micah 6:8
For your health:
Walking is almost always healthy. However, there is one condition that you should be aware of, as this is NOT a case of “walking through” the pain. It is called intermittent claudication. You notice it when you walk. After a certain distance, you feel a distinct pain in your leg. The pain always occurs in the same spot. When you stop and rest a few minutes, the discomfort goes away. This condition may be caused by poor circulation – narrowing of the arteries in the legs. Almost always this predictable, recurring pain, sometimes described as a cramp or a weakness, is a sign that the muscles in your legs aren’t getting enough blood to supply needed oxygen and nutrients.
Your risk of intermittent claudication increases if you:
v Smoke
v Are a man
v Are a woman past menopause
v Are at least 60 years old
v Have high blood pressure
v Have high blood cholesterol
v Are overweight
v Are sedentary
v Have diabetes
Your muscles need more oxygen when you exercise. If circulation to your legs is limited, activities such as walking or climbing stairs cause muscle fatigue, pain or aching. With severe obstruction, you may feel pain even when you are resting. Severe obstruction can lead to sores on your legs or feet that don’t heal.
If you have symptoms suggesting poor circulation in your legs, see your medical practitioner. Exercise is a treatment for intermittent claudication, but only to the point of pain. This is not a pain you should “walk through” to cure. A professional can help you design a walking program that will condition your muscles to use oxygen more efficiently and improve blood flow in the smaller arteries to compensate for arteries that have become narrow.
Week Two - Starts (September 16th Church of the Transfiguration Derry)
Theme: Health
Health means different things to different people. For some it means absence of disease. For others it may mean the ability to do certain activities. For some it means remaining young. Health, wellness, as viewed by our Walk to (wherever), is broader than mere physical attributes. It encompasses the whole of our being, body, mind, and spirit. It is possible to have health in the presence of disease, old age, or physical weakness. Health is when one is at peace with the path they are currently walking in life. This week, reflect on what health means to you.
A suggested thought: I am come in order that you might have life, and have it more abundantly. John 10:10
For your health:
Walking has been widely practiced as a recreational and fitness activity throughout recorded history. Classical and early English literature seems to have been written largely by men who were prodigious walkers, and Emerson and Thoreau helped carry on the tradition in America. Walking today is riding a wave of popularity that draws its strength from walking’s health-giving qualities.
The fundamental health benefits of walking are many. It helps control weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. Walking is the perfect complement to a sensible diet in order to lose weight and keep it off. Walking helps bones maintain their calcium density. Walking improves cardiovascular fitness. It gets the heart beating faster to transport oxygen rich blood from the lungs to the muscles. The heart and lungs grow more efficient with a regular walking regimen, reducing blood pressure and the resting heart rate. A regular walking program facilitates recovery from many ailments, including heart attack.
Psychologically, walking generates a overall feeling of well-being, and can relieve depression, anxiety, and stress by producing endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good” chemicals. A brisk walk will relax you and stimulate your thinking. Walking is associated with improved sleep, but it is recommended to walk at least an hour before bedtime to allow time for your metabolism to slow down.
How to start? If you have health problems, it is best to consult your health care practitioner. Otherwise, use good judgment. Listen to your body, using experimentation to discover the proper pace and distance for you. You should be able to carry on a conversation while walking. If you are too breathless to talk, you need to slow down.
Week Three – Starts (September 23rd St. Christopher’s Church Hampsted)
Theme: Love
Love is not something God does, God IS love. As God is in each of us, so love is in each of us. Meister Eckhart once said, “let God be God in you.” This week consider how others may see God’s love in you and how you may recognize the presence of God in those who – at first glance – appear unlovable.
A suggested thought:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like to it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39
For your health:
This week we will focus on osteoporosis. What does that have to do with love? Let’s look at it this way. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This implies that we love ourselves and care for ourselves as well as for others. One way to care for yourself is to keep your bones healthy. There, you thought I couldn’t make the connection, didn’t you? Call this segment “Love your Bones.”
Bone is a constantly changing matrix with calcium continually being deposited and resorbed. During the growth years, more calcium is deposited than removed, resulting in bone growth. After the completion of puberty, the level of bone growth vs. depletion tends to be relatively constant. As we age, gradually bone resorption increases and bone deposition decreases, resulting in thinning of the bones. Because their bones are less dense to begin with, women are at more risk than men for osteoporosis. They may start developing compression fractures of the vertebrae, which cause back pain and may eventually result in a “dowager’s hump”. Fractured hips are another complication that can result in hospital stays, surgery, and long periods in an extended care facility and disruptions in family life. It is difficult for hip fractures to heal without the bone building effect of weight-bearing exercise.
Think of your bones a “calcium bank” where you are constantly making deposits and withdrawals. Adequate calcium intake and regular exercise in younger years provide a healthy balance in the bank that can see one through retirement. However, wanton spending can ruin even the best-laid retirement plan. Life long habits of good calcium intake contribute to a healthy bank balance. Never forget the benefits of a well-planned exercise regimen in stimulating the development of new bone mass and arresting bone loss. The exercise most beneficial to bone strength is walking. Weight-bearing exercise is the key, and when we walk, all of our weight is supported by the long bones in our legs and our back.
Week Four – Starts (September 30th Church of St. Peters Londonderry)
Theme: Stress
Stress is a part of our life. A certain amount of stress keeps us on our toes. Only when we allow stress to accumulate does it become dis-stress. This week, reflect on how you cope with stress in your life. How does prayer work in this process?
A suggested thought:
Have no anxiety about anything, but make all your wants known to God in prayer and entreaty, and with thanksgiving. Philippians 4:6
For your health:
Physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than more sedentary people. As knowledge of biochemistry grows, so does understanding of how this works. Activity stimulates our brains to produce a number of chemicals associated with feeling happy. Some researchers have called this the “relaxation response” in contrast with the “flight or fight” response to stress. Most obvious are the endorphins, the body’s natural opiates that relieve pain and improve mood. These are the chemicals involved in the “runner’s high.” But they are not the only neurotransmitters involved in mediating the stress response. Exercise also encourages the nerve cells of the brain to secrete other chemicals – serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine - all of which improve general feeling. Recent research suggests that norepinephrine – the mediator of the stress chemical epinephrine – may play the leading role.
The National Institute of Health has found that exercise improves the ability to relax or sleep, promotes self-esteem, enhances energy, concentration, and even memory. Linus Mundy, who writes for Abbey Press, has written about prayer walking – using the time spent walking, not to see how quickly one can reach the end of the route, but to say a prayer, a Bible verse, a meaningful phrase, repeatedly to de-stress the mind. A calming prayer you might use goes like this: “May I be filled with loving kindness; may I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease; may I be happy.” After repeating this several times, you may wish to hold another up to the Lord, changing the “I” to “you”. This may be someone you love, someone who has hurt you, or someone who annoys the heck out of you on a regular basis. The well-wishing, the repetition, the exercise of walking, all work together to change our brain chemistry to a less stressful state.
Week Five – Starts (October 7th Grace Church Manchester)
Theme: Interaction
We live in community with one another. As Episcopalians we worship in common. The Book of Common Prayer does not refer to “ordinary” prayer, but prayer we hold in common with others. We pray in community with our families and with others who share our faith. This week reflect on those who belong to your community.
A suggested thought:
How excellent are the Lord’s faithful people. My greatest pleasure is to be with them. Psalms 16:3
For your health:
It has been well known for some time that those attend worship services on a regular basis are healthier and live longer than those who do not. Part of the reason for this fact is the system of social support that a faith community provides. People need people; our families, our friends, our church community, all surround us -offering many types of support.
None of us could have walked (5900 miles in twelve weeks) all by ourselves! (That’s over xx miles a day) This is an endeavor of community where each can make a contribution at a level that makes sense to them. (Now this is sounding like a stewardship letter.) Which, of course, it is. Practicing stewardship of our physical, mental, and spiritual health is every bit as important as having a role in the fiscal health of the parish community. Whether you exercise alone or with family or friends, your participation in this project makes you a member of a community effort. We have a common goal and each of us has a role in achieving that goal.
When we walk with another we may listen to their concerns and offer support. Many times, when we listen to another, they find that they are able to talk through the issue, arriving at their own solution. They may listen to us and offer perspectives from their own experience. Knowing that we are loved by others, as well as by God, gives a boost to our immune system. That’s the healthy body piece. Planning ways to walk our part of the journey is the healthy mind piece. Treasuring the company of others along the way is the healthy spirit piece.
Week Six– Starts (October 14th Faith Episcopal Church Merrimack)
Theme: Wisdom
Wisdom is more than knowledge. Wisdom is what you do with your knowledge. Wisdom is fitting new knowledge into what you knew before so that it makes a unified whole. Wisdom is knowing what it is you don’t know. Wisdom is knowing that there is often more than one right answer. This week reflect on the wisdom you have acquired thus far.
A suggested thought:
For when wisdom finds a welcome within you, and knowledge becomes a pleasure to you, discretion will watch over you, reason will guard you. Proverbs 2:10-11.
For your health:
In the rather male oriented Bible, Sophia, Wisdom, is female. Interesting. The Scrabble Dictionary defines wisdom as, “the power of true and right discernment.” That has a nice ring to it! This week we are going to apply our knowledge of cholesterol metabolism to the power of true and right discernment in the role of walking or other exercise in our lives.
Exercise has been shown to reduce total blood cholesterol, raise HDL (the good cholesterol), lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) and reduce triglycerides (blood fats associated with cholesterol deposits in arteries). However, the reduction in total cholesterol and LDL is only an associated factor with weight loss. Once weight loss has stopped, these substances return to their former levels. So moderate exercise, such as our walk to the Holy Land, actually “only” raises the good cholesterol and lowers triglycerides. Exercise also increases fibrinolysis (the body’s ability to dissolve small clots that form continually in the body).
HDL is the good cholesterol because its role is to scavenge the vessels, carrying cholesterol back to the liver to be made into other things. Exercise increases HDL, as does alcohol (in moderation), and estrogen in pre-menopausal women. The alcohol must be consumed in moderation – usually defined as one drink a day for women, two for men – because the liver needs to be in top shape to break down the cholesterol the HDL carries to it.
Exactly how much exercise we need in order to obtain these benefits is unclear. Frequency seems to be important – 5 to 7 times a week is ideal, but benefits have been seen at 3 times a week. Duration is another factor. 30-45 minutes at a time seem to give the best benefit, but breaking this down into 10 or 15 minute segments also appears to work.
Week Seven – Starts (October 21st Church of Our Savior Milford)
Theme: Witnessing
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day, I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way.” This familiar poem by Edgar Guest reminds us that we witness to what is important to us by the way we live our lives. This week, reflect on what your life tells others about your values.
A suggested thought:
Be affectionate in your love for the brotherhood, eager to show one another honor, not wanting in devotion, but on fire with the Spirit. Serve the Lord. Romans 12:10-11
For your health:
By walking to churches in NH, we are witnessing to our belief in exercise, health, and the community of the church. When you wear your walking shoes , you are witnessing to all of these things. But this is a self-limited project. When the end date comes, it will be over. Which is not to say we might not do it, or something similar, again. How will you carry on then? Research tells us that some who participate in a formal group exercise program continue to exercise when the program has ended, many of these will have already had a personal exercise program before they started, and others will immediately go back to their former habits.
As a country, we are increasingly sedentary. Our children are playing on computers instead of on playgrounds. Schools, in some cases, are cutting out physical education classes in favor of more formal classroom time. Many of us do not live where we can walk to the store, so we take the car. It soon becomes such a habit that we take the car to our neighbor’s house also. Even if we did live in reasonable walking distance to work or church, we don’t want to arrive all hot and sweaty, or with wind-blown hair, etc.
Most of us try to witness to our children and grandchildren how we feel about honesty, faith, responsibility to others, and love. We may encourage book reading over television. How do we witness concerning exercise? Do we set a good example? Do we engage in physical activity with our children and grandchildren, or just send them outside to play? Paul may not have meant physical exercise when he told us to be “on fire with the Spirit,” but he certainly walked about a good bit!
Week Eight – Starts (October 28th Church of the Good Shepherd Nashua)
Theme: Forgiveness
To often we think of forgiving as something we do for others. But in reality, we do it for ourselves. Holding on to grievances hurts us far more than the person we are not forgiving. It is another of those stress chemical things! Our forgiveness from God depends on our forgiving “those who trespass against us.” This week, reflect on how forgiveness, or the lack of it, has featured in your life.
A suggested thought:
If you have a grievance against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your offenses. Mark 11:26
For your health:
We not only can receive forgiveness from God and neighbor, but also from our bodies. When our bodies have been mistreated by poor eating habits, lack of exercise, smoking, or other less than optimum choices, it will forgive us if we repent and amend our ways. After stopping smoking for a number of years – the exact number depends on who you ask- lungs show no signs of damage and are no more likely to develop lung cancer than those who never smoked. Weight can be lost if we have over-indulged; and gained if someone is cured from an eating disorder. Muscle can be built up; flexibility and stamina can be increased. Cholesterol levels can be reduced, blood pressure reduced, and blood sugar stabilized by life style changes.
Exercise plays a role in this amendment of life process. Receiving forgiveness usually is the result of changing behavior. If your neighbor forgives you for keeping him up with a loud riotous party, and if you continue to have such parties, you may find the police at your door. When we ask God for forgiveness, we also promise to try very hard to do better in the future. When we ask our bodies to forgive us, this forgiveness also comes with the necessity for improvement. Our body, unlike God and our neighbor, is unwilling to forgive based on promises and sorry alone. We can’t say, “Look, body. I need to loose five pounds by this weekend, and once the party is over, I will go on a diet.” The body wants to see a change of behavior up front. This is the eighth week of our walk. Have you done enough so that your body is forgiving you?
Week Nine – Starts (November 4th St. David’s Church Salem)
Theme: Expectation
This week, lets consider our expectations for the end of our walk. The stores have been preparing for this season far in advance. – swim suits in January, wool sweaters in August, always expecting what lies ahead. We also are making plans for how we will spend the times of our life after the walk. Those of us participating in this project have been moving toward the end of this 12 weeks as a preparation for a habit for the rest of the year. As you walk this week, think about how your expectations for where God might lead you in days to come.
A suggested thought:
I will lead my blind people by roads they have never traveled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough places smooth before them. Isaiah 42:16
For your health:
The message of preparation for any holiday or season (at least in the media) is one of frenzied joy. But for many, markers of time’s passage may be a stressful time. There may be a reminder of losses in the past year or even longer that impact expectations for the coming season. Some think back on pleasant memories that cannot be repeated because of the absence of one of the central persons. Some think back on unpleasant memories and dread their happening over again. Some are distressed over their inability to meet all of the expectations of this time – their own expectations and those of others.
Expectations. Are some of yours due for a change? I know Episcopalians are not noted for their eagerness to change, but change happens anyway. The curve in the road is only dangerous if one fails to make the turn. Sometimes we need to create new rituals to replace ones we no longer can practice.
Focus on the meaning of the Christ. It is so easy to become lost in the business of our lives. Think on the innkeeper in Bethlehem. She is over-booked and more and more people are showing up wanting accommodation and food. Her family members are busy with their own concerns and are not very helpful. She is doing her level best to cope, but just cannot do it all. Many of us can relate. But in the confusion, she turned away the Christ. Do not let expectations make you too busy for Jesus.
Week Ten – Starts (November 11th All Saint’s Church Peterborough)
Theme: Healing
Healing, like health, can have several meanings. To heal can be equated with to cure. A broken leg is healed when it is all-better. But a broken heart may be healed when new perspectives allow one to find peace after a loss. We each have need for healing from our own less than perfect behavior. This week reflect on areas of your life that need healing. Christ asks us, “Do you want to be healed?”
A suggested thought:
I waited patiently for the Lord, and he paid heed to me and heard my plea. …And he set my feet upon a rock, establishing my steps, and he put a new song in my mouth. Psalms 40: 1-3
For your health:
Imagine yourself at the end of your life. If you knew you had only a short time before earthly death, what would be your concerns? Your joys? Your regrets? One thing that causes a great deal of anxiety around end of life is that of unresolved issues. These can be acts of omission – not telling someone how important they have been to you, not healing a quarrel, not making adequate plans with wills, advance directives, funeral and remembrance requests. These omissions not only cause anxiety to the person dying, but also to the family members and other loved ones left behind. Healing at the end of life often consists of resolving these and similar issues.
Everyone is not given time at the end of their life to correct these commissions and omissions. A heart attack, a car accident, can suddenly take any one of us on to our eternal reward. This is one reason why healing should be a day-to-day activity. An even larger reason is the joy and peace we will find in living when our child, parent, spouse, or other knows how much we love and appreciate them. Healing a relationship while there is still time to enjoy it is preferable to a more last-minute repair. Letting family members know what provisions have been made, what decisions you would want made in your behalf is healing to both parties. Saying we are sorry when appropriate brings us as much, if not more, healing than it brings to the other person.
Healing can be of the body, mind or spirit. It can be of a relationship, of an addiction, of a way of living. Sooner is better than later. Do you want to be healed?
Week Eleven – Starts (November 18th St. Andrew’s Church West Manchester)
Theme: Faith
Faith – To believe in something without tangible proof. It is a word we are accustomed to use in relation to our religious beliefs. To be faithful means to be loyal, to stick by someone or something. Walking is a little like this. We do not see much improvement in just one session, we don’t lose weight after forgoing one candy bar. We need faith to continue, to be faithful to good health practices. This week reflect on the faith - or lack - that you show in your actions.
A suggested thought:
Therefore I tell you, whenever you pray or ask for anything, have faith that it has been granted you, and you shall have it. Mark 11:24
For your health:
One of our reasons for walking (or other exercise) is for heart health. At times we use “heart” as a symbol for faith. We have a heart-to-heart talk, take something to heart, and believe in our heart-of-hearts. When we are glad, our hearts are light, leap for joy, or sing. When we are sad, they are heavy, they ache, and may even break; when we are frightened, they are in our throats. When angry, our hearts become hard; when giving and forgiving, we are soft-hearted. The pure in heart are to be emulated; the big-hearted are generous; the faint-hearted cowardly; and the stout-hearted are faithful and brave.
How is your heart? Here are the classic signs of a heart attack:
v Pain, discomfort, pressure in the chest or center back (back pressure more common in women than men)
v Spreads to the left arm, neck or jaw (arm more common in men, jaw – or ear or tooth – more common in women)
v Discomfort in the epigastric region (between breastbone and navel)
v Shortness of breath
v Nausea
v A sense of doom or dread
If you or someone you are with has these symptoms, persisting for 15 minutes, call 911 immediately. If the ill person can take aspirin, have them chew one adult (325mg) tablet. If they have nitroglycerine prescribed, take one tablet and repeat twice more at 5-minute intervals if pain persists. They should lie down, as nitroglycerine can drop blood pressure suddenly. If symptoms abate within 15 minutes, call the health care provider for advice.
Twelve– Starts (November 25th Holy Cross Church Weare)
Theme: Joy
Joy is a central theme of our walk’s end for the 1st 12 weeks.. The journey to the Southern Convocation is complete. Let us promise to continue to exercise and to pray, to lend a helping hand to one who could use a boost up, an offering of our bodies, minds, and spirits to the work of God. This week reflect on the gifts you have joyously brought to the Christ.
A suggested thought:
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10
For your health:
Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. If sorrow shared is halved, joy shared is doubled. Here is a vocabulary word you may not know: gelotology is the physiological study of laughter. Laughter and humor are two different things. Laughter is how our bodies respond to humor. A description of the exact physiologic changes is rather scary, and makes one wonder if this can possibly be good for us! But there is strong evidence that laughter can actually improve health and help fight disease. The chemical effects of laughter inhibit the fight or flight response, so this makes sense.
Laughter may indicate trust in one’s companions. We are more apt to laugh when we are in a group where we feel comfortable. And the more laughter there is, the more bonding that occurs within the group. Laughter is contagious and we laugh 30 times more in social situations than when we are alone.
Laughter shuts off the flow of stress hormones that suppress the immune system, increase the number of blood platelets, and raise blood pressure. When we are laughing, natural killer cells that destroy tumors and viruses increase, as do T-cells and B-cells and gamma-interferon (a disease fighting protein). Laughter also increases the concentration of salivary immunoglobin A, which defends against infections entering through the respiratory tract. The average person laughs 17 times a day – researchers have found that laughing 100 times is equal to 15 minutes on an exercise bicycle. This, sadly, will not count on our walk.