This reflection was part of the Vitality newsletter sent on July 21, 2026. To sign up for Vitality, click here.

Today is the 70^th day of the National Peace Walk! The National Peace Walk is a ministry of peace and interdependence. The walk was inspired by, and connected to, last year’s Walk to Washington.

The National Peace Walk departed from Brooklyn Monthly Meeting on the morning of May 16^th.  As the journey began, members crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, the Goethals Bridge, and then walked out of New York City itself. The group of 12 walkers dwindled down to two walkers, folks recently crossed the North Carolina state line. FGC staff spoke with the two walkers, Krysten Voelkner and ross brubeck, to ask them more about the challenges and the experience itself.

Walking as Contemplation
For both Krysten and ross, contemplation weaves in and out of walking. “I would be lying if I said that an entire day of walking is spent consumed by prayer,” Krysten said. At the same time, though, distractions or roving thoughts “allow for a much more profound entry into prayer” when it arrives. The Friends walk an average of 15 miles per day.

Ross said: “A question would arise at one point, and become so pervasive as to disappear into the act of walking, only to reappear totally resolved later in the week, completed by the act of physically moving through it.” Both he and Krysten described how the walk required surrender to a slow procession of time.

Since May, the Friends have been walking through heat waves, rain, lonely counties, and long miles. They have relied on other people each day to supply their material needs. “There is a very direct link between the way the walk requires reliance on support from others, and the way I hope to encourage others to receive those in need,” ross said. Food to eat, water to drink, and a place to sleep at the end of the day often come together with the help and support of the community.

Walking to Combat Power
Traveling on foot encourages interdependence, which is deliberate. For Krysten, walking gives her an opportunity to resist the dominant push toward competition, isolation, and fear. “Walking for peace allows one to affirm, with each step and with each peaceful encounter, that these narratives of isolation, fear, and competition are false.” She described the walk as a “growing web of interdependence” because “we carry with us the stories, news, and the energy of loving kindness shared with us from each friend made along our route.”

Ross noted that both national and global wealth are concentrating in the hands of people with power. He said: “I hope to encourage those who interact with and support the walk to examine how this model might be unconsciously mirrored in their own social radii.” He envisions a time when mutual aid is determined by the people who have a need, rather than the people who have something to offer. “It is time to start listening more to people who know very intimately the sort of help they need,” he said, rather than prescribing an outward solution.

If you would like to support the Peace Walk from afar, you can hold Friends in prayer or offer a donation to their PayPal.

Johanna Jackson

Communications Coordinator