It has often occurred to me, having lived on a farm as a youngster, that folks who live close to the earth have a certain natural affinity for the metaphysical, the intuitive even the spiritual aspects of life and its meaning.
A long-time missionary servant to Alaska, Mercy Sister Arlene Boyd, died June 9 in Albany, New York. She was a Sister of Mercy for 59 years, spending most of that time teaching religious education and serving the poor and marginalized in Alaska. Sister Boyd lived through the earliest days of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, which was founded in 1967. Around that time late Anchorage Archbishop Joseph Ryan persuaded the Sisters of Mercy in Albany to send some of their sisters north to the new archdiocese.
The hike is open to priests, fathers and men who are Catholic, as well as those who are considering Catholicism or those who simply want to strengthen their commitment to fatherhood and family, Deering explained. The trek is not meant to be a “fathers and sons” hike, but intended to challenge adults physically and spiritually.