Lent walks honor Diné and Christian beliefs

Campus Ministry hosted a weekly series of morning hikes during Lent, which ran from Feb. 23 to Holy Thursday. 

Called Mini-VIA, these walks kicked off at 7 a.m. with a short prayer outside of St. John’s. 

Toya Brady, a Campus Ministry graduate assistant, led the walks and intentionally included elements from her own culture and faith: Diné. Diné is the traditional name for the Navajo Tribe. The morning walk is one of their cultural practices.

“Waking up in the morning is a form of showing up for my life and showing up for the life that God gave me, and even sometimes showing up for others,” Brady said. 

Brady said that it’s always important to “ground ourselves in prayer,” especially before starting the day. 

She also said that while this could be interpreted as a form of accountability, it differs on the basis that we usually hold ourselves accountable in pursuit of something we desire. 

However, Brady said that there is an element of accountability in Mini-VIA; but the main goal for the walks was to come from a place of appreciation and deep gratitude. 

The route looped down around Morrison Stadium and the east end of campus, coming up near the edge of Cass Street, around the Law School and back towards Deglman Hall. The walks ended with a stop near St. John’s Church. 

Brady designed this route to make a circular motion, which represents the circle of life and “returning back to the point where you’ve grounded yourself at.”