Bishop Douglas Fisher, of Western Massachusetts, has announced his intention to travel around each part of his diocese, beginning with a 60 mile tour of Worcester County.
There is nothing so much remarkable about that, save his intention to do it by foot.
The bishop plans to spend 4 days walking through his diocese, the better to interact with people where they are, and to meet those who are “engaged with the mission of the gospel”.
Worcester County is the first of three 60-mile walks, which harken back to ancient times when bishops — staff in hand — walked their territories as a visible sign of the church embodied in its leader. Bishop Fisher will walk the Pioneer Valley corridor just after Easter and the Berkshire corridor in late May or June.