The Sacred Journey

My friend of over fifty years, Paul Grout of Bellingham, Washington, has completed his project, The Sacred Journey. He first conceived of the project fourteen years ago.

For over a decade before he began his work with it, I had been binding for him handmade books of heavy Stonehenge artist paper. I’d stitch the books Coptic style, sewing the sections together across the spine edge and stretching leather over the cover boards. Because he was painting and drawing on the pages as well as writing, it was important that they opened flat, which the ancient Coptic stitch was perfect for.

Each of these books was a combination of a journal book and daybook for Paul, marking the movement of both Chronos and Kairos time in his life for two years per book. As that period concluded he asked me for some more blank pages, folded into sections but unbound. I sent him the pages in 2012. My notes on the preparation of the pages labeled the project, “Paul’s Book of Kells.”

Paul knew he wanted to work with creation and the Biblical story in a fresh way. Like the Book of Kells itself, this project didn’t just fall in place. For a time Paul even walked away from it. But the ideas and writing for The Sacred Journey grew along with him over the years. And over the years our conversation returned again and again to the sacred journey, or to say it more accurately, The Sacred Journey tirelessly pulled our lives and friendship into a larger unity.

A year ago this month, Paul packed the finished pages in a very carefully padded and wrapped box and mailed them across the country to me. Our mailman spotted me working outside at 151 and stopped to deliver the package in person. Fittingly, I had to sign for it. We all do, you know, put our signature on the days and years that shape our own sacred journey.

When I opened the box and started in on the pages, I knew it needed a wider audience than a bound book could ever provide. Paul and I talked about various options, and the common element was getting the pages and images scanned. I couldn’t imagine putting the bound book back in the mail to Paul without having first scanned the pages.

I’d worked with the State College Framing Company to do scanned prints for some other paintings of Paul’s, so I turned to them and Kevin spent days working out the details for the creation of the scans. When he was finished and we had the files in hand and the original pages back, I went ahead and stitched the book, binding the pages to their leather covers.

I loved that work and did most of it sitting outside, which seemed right. I felt the past and the future coming together as I bound the book.

Paul settled on a video production of The Sacred Journey, with him narrating the story and the camera zooming in and out and panning over the images of the pages. David Sollenberger, who for decades did video production for the Church of the Brethren, was happy to do the video work. When Paul was here in March, we went into the studio to work out the final edits. David did a great job and now the video is on Paul’s YouTube channel along with some other videos he’s done over the years. [Paul’s channel link is at the bottom of this post.] Click on the live link below to watch The Sacred Journey.

At the back of the book, both Paul and I wrote an acknowledgment note. I stated, “The passion and clarity of [Paul’s] vision is indistinguishable from the sacred journey itself. True to the One, this book [this video] is invitation.”

Paul’s site and videos are public. You are invited to The Sacred Journey, and you are invited to share it as widely as you feel nudged to share.

Love and Peace, Glenn

Link to Paul Grout’s YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@paulegrout?si=4F3C0ObxcpFjrLUK