Pilgrimage of Paradoxes, A: A Backpacker’s Encounters with God and Nature

by Mark Clavier

Mark Clavier examines a series of paradoxes that lie at the heart of Christian faith: eternity and time, silence and words, and wonder and the commonplace. In an intellectual reflection on that overnight trek and other wilderness walks, he explores the oft-hidden connections between faith, society, and nature.



Each reflection ranges widely through history, folklore, poetry, philosophy, and theology to consider what these paradoxes can teach us about God, ourselves, and our world. Drawing on the recent upsurge in interest in the personal experience of landscapes and memory, this book invites readers to walk with Clavier in the Appalachians, Norway, Iceland, the Alps, and around Britain as he discovers the ways in which Christianity is profoundly earthed.

By weaving together nature-writing, memoir, social commentary, and theological reflection A Pilgrimage of Paradoxes uses a memorable mountain journey in the ancient landscape of Wales to draw readers into reflecting about what it means to belong.

202 pages, Hardcover

Published December 30, 2021

About the author

Though originally from the States, Mark Clavier is now Residentiary Canon of Brecon Cathedral in Wales where he also directs Convivium, an initiative to foster a vision of the Church that stands apart from consumerism.

He served for fifteen years as a parish priest in Maryland, North Carolina, County Durham, and Oxfordshire before working for five years in academia. He was Dean of Residential Training and then Acting Principal of St Michael's College in Cardiff before becoming Vice-Principal of St Stephen's House, Oxford.

Mark is regularly invited to give public talks and lead retreats in both the UK and USA. He is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio Wales programmes such as Prayer for the Day and Weekend Word.

He spends much of his free time walking in the beautiful Brecon Beacons with his wife, Sarah, and their two Spaniels Cuthbert and Humphrey.

Reviews

[Krisi Hillebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deeply nourished by the theological insights shared from Mark’s wander through the Welsh mountains. His reflections on the paradoxes of eternity and time, silence and words, wonder and the commonplace ring strikingly true amidst a culture of numbness and distraction. So much to reflect on in this book. I highly recommend it!

[Grant Klinefelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful book.