Episode #66: Clara Letter six - Pilgrimage

Jan,16 2026

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April 18, 1993

To the Fellowship,

It has been several years since I last wrote in an official capacity. I must begin with an apology: I promised to prepare my grandmother Myriam's letters for publication, and I have not yet done so. Life has moved more slowly than my intentions. I am not sorry, however, that I have been replaced as leader of the conference, for the time now belongs to quieter work.

I congratulate Kendrick, the first to hold this office without sharing the blood of our family. This is a good and necessary step, and I welcome it with relief.

Many of you know Kendrick only as the man now entrusted with our common future. I remember him as a young traveler of twenty-one who arrived in our town with a single suitcase and a stubborn faith. He came to pray where Christopher had prayed and to thank my grandmother for her long conservation of our tradition.

He reached us on the day of her burial.

Instead of the few days he intended, Kendrick remained two months. He helped organize the resort while our family learned how to breathe without the woman who had steadied us all. He carried boxes, repaired steps, listened more than he spoke.

During that time he sought Christopher's grave. Not because it was marked, but because it was not. He said he listened to the leaves, followed the shape of the wind, and felt certain that no other ground could have been chosen.

He promised to keep this knowledge to his grave, even from the wife he would later marry. We believed him. We trusted him, though not enough to tell him he was mistaken.

He was not the first to guess, nor the last. But he came the closest. Had he known that a tall tree once stood where he knelt, he might indeed have found the right place.

I write this now because when Kendrick next visits, I will take him to the true burial site of our mentor. I have come to believe that whoever leads our church must begin as the first witness to the words of our founder. This duty should commence with a personal pilgrimage and prayer at the place where Christopher rests.

Let Kendrick be assured that he will always find a bed within the resort, for himself and for his wife, and the support of the Mercer family as long as our name endures.

That he married a Mercer has no bearing on this welcome. All future leaders are equally invited to the same threshold.

May our work continue with gentleness,

Clara Mercer

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