We are less than three weeks away from our initial gathering in Birmingham on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, for the Living Legacy Pilgrimage! Please read this bulletin carefully for travel information and resources to help you make the most of our time together. All the details are coming together, and I know you will have an incredible journey. We can’t wait!
Staff and Participants
We expect to have a total of forty-three people on the bus, including thirty-seven participants and six Living Legacy Pilgrimage and Cline Tours staff members:
We’re especially pleased to welcome nine members of the staff of the Southern Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. This is an impressive commitment for an entire staff group to spend their time and resources in this way. We value their participation.
Although the majority of participants are associated with various Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations, please do not assume everyone is UU. We have people from a variety of faith traditions, including Jewish and Catholic, and a number of people who do not affiliate with a faith community. The Living Legacy Project is an interfaith initiative and we welcome all people of good faith, regardless of their beliefs. UUs, we ask that you work hard to avoid UU-speak as much as possible. Our goal is that everyone feels welcomed and included.
Our median age hovers around 57, but we range from 11-81, so we’ll have lots to learn from each other across generations!
What to Expect on the Pilgrimage
We’ll start each day with breakfast in the hotels. We’ll depart the hotel by 8:00 or 8:30 depending on the day (we’ll make sure you know what time to be on board).
On the bus, we’ll share a morning centering meditation or reading and maybe join in some singing. We’ll orient you to the day, then, depending on where we’re going, we might give you some history, point out sights along the route, tell some stories, show a video, or give you time to get to know your seatmate.
We’ll be on and off the bus a lot, but don’t worry if you have challenges with steps, we’ll assist you so you can get on and off as much as you want. We have no strenuous hikes planned, and walking is generally pretty easy. The most challenging walk is across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. We’ll give you more information about that once we’re in Selma, and if you decide it’s too much, you can ride across in the bus.
Over the course of each day, we’ll be traveling to significant sites in the Civil Rights Movement. Some of our stops will be at small town or country churches where veterans of the Movement will share their personal stories with us. Some stops will be at sacred sites like the places where the Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo were murdered.
No matter where we are, we’ll do our best to put what happened there in context for you and help you connect with the real stories that made the Civil Rights Movement such a powerful force for change in our country.
Most days, we’ll have lunches and dinners in restaurants/cafeterias, or we’ll have them catered for us at various stops. Whenever possible, we’ll be eating at African American owned businesses.
Your job on this Pilgrimage is to immerse yourself in the experience and not worry about anything else. Your staff will make sure we get to where we need to be. We know that not everything will happen as planned. Some of the best experiences we’ve had on the many Pilgrimages we’ve hosted have happened spontaneously, like meeting the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, just months before he died, and being able to thank him in person for his courageous life. That’s the wonder of this experience!
To view the itinerary, go to our website: http://www.uulivinglegacy.org/march2020itinerary.html.
Healthy habits
Over the past few days, federal health officials have advised us all to begin preparing for the anticipated spread of the coronavirus in the United States. We want to reassure you that the Living Legacy Project Board is paying close attention to this emerging situation.
At this point in time, we see no need to cancel the Pilgrimage. Currently, the CDC is recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea. The agency also says that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel to Japan. We’re not going to any of those places, and there is no recommendation to avoid travel within the U.S., so for now, we’ve moving ahead as planned.
We can best protect ourselves and one another by paying close attention to careful hygiene practices. On the Pilgrimage, we ask that you:
Because the coronavirus is spread from close, person-to-person contact, as well as contact with contaminated surfaces and objects, we’re taking extra steps to make sure you are as safe as possible. We will have sanitizing wipes available on the bus, so you can wipe down the armrests on your seat. You can also take them with you to your hotel room if you want to wipe down any surfaces in your room (especially the TV remote!).
Please know that we will do everything we can to keep you safe and informed in the days ahead. We will let you know immediately if anything changes.
Packing and Weather
We expect the temperatures to be in the low 70s during the day and 40s to 50s at night. However, we all know that could change in an instant. We suggest you pack layered clothing, a warm sweater and rain jacket, for example, to keep you comfortable in any weather we might experience.
Plan to wear comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. You will have to lug your suitcase into the hotel and back again several of the days, so we suggest you pack lightly. We don’t care if you wear the same outfit more than once (as long as you shower regularly!).
Those of us who have spent a lot of time on the bus have found that a small day pack or tote bag works well in the overhead bin or on the floor by your feet to hold the stuff you might need during the day.
Also, please remember to pack a water bottle. We will have some bottled water for those who need it, but, for the environment’s sake, we don’t want to purchase too much of it. We’ll also have some snacks on the bus, but bring whatever you know you’ll want (or need) with you, especially if you have dietary concerns, so you’re not disappointed that we didn’t get your favorite kind.
Parking your Car
If you are driving to Birmingham, you will be able to leave your car at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport at no cost for the duration of the trip. Please make sure you ask for a parking card to place in your windshield and please park as far away from the door as you can.
Advance Preparation
We strongly suggest that you listen to the NPR six-part podcast, White Lies, about the murder of the Rev. James Reeb. It offers a powerful introduction to the journey you’ll be on. Here’s the description:
In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.
You can listen to it wherever podcasts are found and from this website: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510343/white-lies
Be sure to listen to it chronologically, i.e., Episode 1, 2, etc., which means you’ll have to scroll down the page to find Episode 1 from May 14, 2019.
Questions?
That’s all for now. We’ll be sending out a third and final communication the week before your trip.
Feel free to contact us at livinglegacypilgrimage@gmail.com if there are questions we didn’t answer for you.
The staff is looking forward to meeting you in Birmingham!
Annette
Annette Marquis
Director of Operations
Living Legacy Project, Inc.
Staff and Participants
We expect to have a total of forty-three people on the bus, including thirty-seven participants and six Living Legacy Pilgrimage and Cline Tours staff members:
- Cecelia Nanette Hayes, Musician
- Hope Johnson, Educator, Chaplain
- Janice Marie Johnson, Educator
- Julian Sharp, Educator, Trip Leader
- Joseph Selmon, Logistics Coordinator
- Clarence Jones, Driver
We’re especially pleased to welcome nine members of the staff of the Southern Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. This is an impressive commitment for an entire staff group to spend their time and resources in this way. We value their participation.
Although the majority of participants are associated with various Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations, please do not assume everyone is UU. We have people from a variety of faith traditions, including Jewish and Catholic, and a number of people who do not affiliate with a faith community. The Living Legacy Project is an interfaith initiative and we welcome all people of good faith, regardless of their beliefs. UUs, we ask that you work hard to avoid UU-speak as much as possible. Our goal is that everyone feels welcomed and included.
Our median age hovers around 57, but we range from 11-81, so we’ll have lots to learn from each other across generations!
What to Expect on the Pilgrimage
We’ll start each day with breakfast in the hotels. We’ll depart the hotel by 8:00 or 8:30 depending on the day (we’ll make sure you know what time to be on board).
On the bus, we’ll share a morning centering meditation or reading and maybe join in some singing. We’ll orient you to the day, then, depending on where we’re going, we might give you some history, point out sights along the route, tell some stories, show a video, or give you time to get to know your seatmate.
We’ll be on and off the bus a lot, but don’t worry if you have challenges with steps, we’ll assist you so you can get on and off as much as you want. We have no strenuous hikes planned, and walking is generally pretty easy. The most challenging walk is across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. We’ll give you more information about that once we’re in Selma, and if you decide it’s too much, you can ride across in the bus.
Over the course of each day, we’ll be traveling to significant sites in the Civil Rights Movement. Some of our stops will be at small town or country churches where veterans of the Movement will share their personal stories with us. Some stops will be at sacred sites like the places where the Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo were murdered.
No matter where we are, we’ll do our best to put what happened there in context for you and help you connect with the real stories that made the Civil Rights Movement such a powerful force for change in our country.
Most days, we’ll have lunches and dinners in restaurants/cafeterias, or we’ll have them catered for us at various stops. Whenever possible, we’ll be eating at African American owned businesses.
Your job on this Pilgrimage is to immerse yourself in the experience and not worry about anything else. Your staff will make sure we get to where we need to be. We know that not everything will happen as planned. Some of the best experiences we’ve had on the many Pilgrimages we’ve hosted have happened spontaneously, like meeting the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, just months before he died, and being able to thank him in person for his courageous life. That’s the wonder of this experience!
To view the itinerary, go to our website: http://www.uulivinglegacy.org/march2020itinerary.html.
Healthy habits
Over the past few days, federal health officials have advised us all to begin preparing for the anticipated spread of the coronavirus in the United States. We want to reassure you that the Living Legacy Project Board is paying close attention to this emerging situation.
At this point in time, we see no need to cancel the Pilgrimage. Currently, the CDC is recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea. The agency also says that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel to Japan. We’re not going to any of those places, and there is no recommendation to avoid travel within the U.S., so for now, we’ve moving ahead as planned.
We can best protect ourselves and one another by paying close attention to careful hygiene practices. On the Pilgrimage, we ask that you:
- Wash your hands fully (for a minimum of 20 seconds) at each restroom stop.
- Keep your hands off your face, particularly your mouth, nose and eyes.
- Disinfect your cell phone, camera, and other electronic devices with electronics wipes. And remember, the cleaner your hands, the cleaner everything you touch.
- Avoid hugging or touching other people, including hand-shaking. Feel free to greet others by pressing your palms together, holding your hand over your heart, or giving a friendly nod.
- Notify the LLP staff immediately if you start to have cold symptoms or feel sick in any way.
- Don’t go on the trip if you are feeling sick.
Because the coronavirus is spread from close, person-to-person contact, as well as contact with contaminated surfaces and objects, we’re taking extra steps to make sure you are as safe as possible. We will have sanitizing wipes available on the bus, so you can wipe down the armrests on your seat. You can also take them with you to your hotel room if you want to wipe down any surfaces in your room (especially the TV remote!).
Please know that we will do everything we can to keep you safe and informed in the days ahead. We will let you know immediately if anything changes.
Packing and Weather
We expect the temperatures to be in the low 70s during the day and 40s to 50s at night. However, we all know that could change in an instant. We suggest you pack layered clothing, a warm sweater and rain jacket, for example, to keep you comfortable in any weather we might experience.
Plan to wear comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. You will have to lug your suitcase into the hotel and back again several of the days, so we suggest you pack lightly. We don’t care if you wear the same outfit more than once (as long as you shower regularly!).
Those of us who have spent a lot of time on the bus have found that a small day pack or tote bag works well in the overhead bin or on the floor by your feet to hold the stuff you might need during the day.
Also, please remember to pack a water bottle. We will have some bottled water for those who need it, but, for the environment’s sake, we don’t want to purchase too much of it. We’ll also have some snacks on the bus, but bring whatever you know you’ll want (or need) with you, especially if you have dietary concerns, so you’re not disappointed that we didn’t get your favorite kind.
Parking your Car
If you are driving to Birmingham, you will be able to leave your car at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport at no cost for the duration of the trip. Please make sure you ask for a parking card to place in your windshield and please park as far away from the door as you can.
Advance Preparation
We strongly suggest that you listen to the NPR six-part podcast, White Lies, about the murder of the Rev. James Reeb. It offers a powerful introduction to the journey you’ll be on. Here’s the description:
In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.
You can listen to it wherever podcasts are found and from this website: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510343/white-lies
Be sure to listen to it chronologically, i.e., Episode 1, 2, etc., which means you’ll have to scroll down the page to find Episode 1 from May 14, 2019.
Questions?
That’s all for now. We’ll be sending out a third and final communication the week before your trip.
Feel free to contact us at livinglegacypilgrimage@gmail.com if there are questions we didn’t answer for you.
The staff is looking forward to meeting you in Birmingham!
Annette
Annette Marquis
Director of Operations
Living Legacy Project, Inc.
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