Pilgrimage to the Sacramento River Delta, October 24-26, 2008

Our journey, guided by Rev. Deborah Lee and FST professor Dr. Joanne Doi, included:

  • Visit to Native American sacred sites
  • Walking tour of Little Manila in Stockton, CA, led by the Little Manila Foundation
  • Visit to the Stockton Gurdwara, the oldest Sikh temple in North America
  • Visit to Walnut Grove and the Walnut Grove Japanese-American Historic District
  • Visit with residents of Locke, California, the last remaining historic Chinese rural town
  • Ritual to honor the ancestors who lived and died in Sacramento River Delta

See full itinerary below.

Academic credit was available  to GTU students via Fall 2008 course (STRS-1392) online here. 

Course Dates & Pilgrimage Preparation Sessions

Five Saturdays and one Friday, 2:00- 5:00 pm
Plus three-day weekend pilgrimage.

Session #1: “California Immigrant Histories and Theologies.”

September 13, 2008
PSR Mudd building Room 103
Speaker:  Dr. Joanne Doi

Session #2: “The Latino Community & Immigration Today”

September 20
Visit to San Francisco Mission District. Meet at 3106 Folsom Street (at Cesar Chavez Ave) in San Francisco.
Speakers: 
Francisco Herrera of Caminante Cultural Work
Bette Canton-Self of Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights

Session #3, part 1: “Understanding the Impact of the Gold Rush on California Native Peoples”

September 26 *Note! This session meets on a Friday 2:00-5:00pm, not Saturday.
PSR Mudd building, Room 103
Speakers: Educators Corrina Gould and Zoe Holder
(See notes from previous pilgrimage.)

Part 2: “Religious Life of Immigrant Communities in the West”

PSR Mudd building, Room 103
Speaker: PSR professor Dr. Randi Walker

Session #4, part 1: “History of the Chinese in the Sacramento River Delta”

October 11
Meet in San Francisco Chinatown, at the Chinese Historical Society of America, 965 Clay Street, 94108
Speaker: historian Lucky J. Owyang

Part 2: “Filipino Farmworker Stories”

Speaker: Staff of Manilatown Center

Pilgrimage to the Sacramento River Delta

October 24-26 
Depart from PSR on Friday at 2:00pm, return Sunday 6:00pm. See full itinerary below.

Sessions #5 and #6: “Promise and Return”

November 8 and 22
PSR PANA House


Sacramento Delta Pilgrimage Itinerary: October 24-26, 2008 

(be advised that on pilgrimage, things may change)

Friday:  

1:30 pm  
Please gather at 1:30 pm for loading. Pacific School of Religion (1798 Scenic Ave. Berkeley, CA 94709)

2:00 pm
Depart Berkeley

4:00 pm           
Arrive in Stockton – Opening & Group Process at the Central United Methodist Church (3700 Pacific Ave.)

5:30 pm           
Ritual of Remembrance at Stockton Elementary School where 22 Cambodian schoolchildren were shot in 1988

6:00 pm           
Potluck dinner with Cambodian church communit

7:30 pm           
Presentation
and story of the Native peoples of this land – with representatives of
the Ione Community & Silversprings Rancheria

9:00 pm           
Closing Ritual

Saturday:

9:30 am           
Presentation in Little Manila in Stockton

12:00 pm         
Visit and lunch with the Stockton Sikh Gurdwara

2:30 pm           
Ritual stop at the Franklin Cemetery- where many Chinese are buried

4:00 pm           
Walking tour of Walnut Grove Japantown

6:00 pm           
Dinner at Walnut Grove Presbyterian Church

7:00 pm           
Small group reflection time & sharing of creative presentations

Sunday:           

9:30 am           
Presentation in Locke

12:00 pm         
Flower Ritual on the Sacramento River “Remembering the Ancestors of the Delta” (+ lunch on Boat)

3:00 pm           
Closing Reflections and Closing Ritual

6:00 pm           
Arrive at Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley

"The pilgrimage was an amazing opportunity to meet and listen to people whose individual lives and larger communities have been profoundly shaped by experiences of discrimination in the Delta region. Their stories of painful suffering, mourning, solidarity, pride, and healing were inspiring and heartening." -- pilgrim Zamira Ha, PSR Student '11