Woman makes trek for peace
An Indiana woman has made her way on foot to Pennsylvania as she is walking all the way down Route 40 to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate the importance of peace. Shelley Newby, who stayed at Spring Valley Bruderhof on Thursday night, said that it was a vision that compelled her to make the walk, and “every step is intended to be a prayer for peace.”
Newby, a Quaker, said that although she is a pacifist, she wants everyone to know that she is not walking because she is “against” anything, but rather wants her long journey to show that people should strive for peace.
“This is a spiritual agenda and not a political one,” said Newby. “I am not walking against anything. I want people to stop feeling helpless and victimized and start striving for peace. Everyone can do something, whether it’s making amends with someone you’ve argued with or doing something nice for a neighbor. Those things all help to create peace. I don’t want people to be against anything, because that creates conflict. As I’ve traveled, and I explain that to people, they get it.”
Newby, a wife and mother of three, said her family at first was frightened by the thought of her making the long journey on foot, but she said that now, they have nothing but support for her cause.
“My father and husband were afraid, but now they are just as pleased as peacocks,” said Newby. “My husband has even joined me in walking at three different times during my trip.”
Newby said she has also received “wonderful support” from people she has met along the way, especially those who have allowed her to spend the night in their homes.
“I started locating places I could stay through churches,” said Newby, talking about planning for her trip. “I am a stranger to these people and they have taken me in and treated me like family. I have not been hungry or thirsty. They have taken wonderful care of me.”
In addition to the hospitality of others, Newby said it is the way people are touched by her quest for peace that has helped her through the journey.
“So many people tear up with gratitude when I meet them and that has really touched me,” said Newby.
While Newby said she plans to meet with her senator and representative from Indiana in Washington, D.C., there will be no “dramatic conclusion” to her journey.
“The journey is the walk itself,” said Newby adding that she will wait for God to lead her in the way she should go once she arrives.
Newby plans to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, and take some time to “reflect on the journey.” She will fly home on Oct. 16.