Stories

This spring, JST faculty member Dr. Kathryn Barush delivered a lecture in tandem with the Borsch-Rast Book Prize for her recent publication, Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience (Bloomsbury; paperback edition published 1/26/23).   Dr. Simon Coleman, Chancellor Jackman Professor at the Department for the Study of Religion at University of Toronto, was the respondent.  They enjoyed a full house and lively discussion that ranged from the idea of the 'sense of place' to how the work points to a wider engagement with pilgrimage practices and publics.

Following the launch of the book, Dr. Barush recently founded the Berkeley Art and Interreligious Pilgrimage Project, which seeks to link sacred landscapes the world over to neighborhoods, gardens, and backyards as a way to connect with each other and our ancestors, and to serve as a catalyst for spiritual healing and physical recovery.  Advisory board members include Dr. David Zucker, MD PhD, a clinical oncologist from the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, who brings his expertise on walking and recovery.

Harnessing the energy around both book and project, Dr. Barush is looking forward to collaborating with Eric Asimov, the wine critic for the New York Times and fellow faculty member Christopher Hadley, SJ to offer a curated dinner with wines that can be found along the Camino Ignaciano route.  The event will take place this October at JST.  With a focus on terroir, sustainable growing practices, and the idea of communitas-through-culture, the dinner will offer the opportunity for a delicious, prayerful, and joy-filled vicarious pilgrimage through the sacred landscapes of Spain, filling the soul through the senses!