faith! - Dianna Dederick

When the Rev. Deacon Dianna Deaderick decided to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago this summer, she had two reasons for her decision.

First, she wanted to use the walk as an opportunity to discern what to focus on during her work at St. Martin's. (She began serving as St. Martin's deacon right before Easter.) And second, she wanted an opportunity to build community with members of the parish.

Home and almost rested from her experience, she is glad she chose to get to know St. Martin's this way, but her body did give her a moment or two to wonder if she had chosen the right path. She has only recently been released from her doctor's care since her return.

On the second day of the walk, “I didn't think I would be able to finish,” she said. Dianna had developed a mysterious and painful swelling of her feet that made walking very difficult. After a trip to the emergency room, she was released to continue. She refused to give up and slowly made her way to Santiago.

Upon reflection, her time in the emergency room was one of her deepest connections to God during her trip. Accompanied by a guide for whom English is a second language, Dianna knew she was totally in this guide's hands ... and the hands of the emergency personnel. She had no other choice.

“I will take care of you as if you were my mother,” the guide told her. “That was holy for me.”

While the time in the emergency room offered few answers for her medical dilemma, the time with her guide gave her the peace to continue.

“I have no question God was there in that hospital with me through that guide's words and kindness toward me,” she said.

Though Dianna said she was always at the rear of the group, she did complete the 75 miles to Santiago. The friendship of that guide as well as other pilgrims made all the difference, including a friendship forged with one of the teenagers.

Each day, the groups would focus on a word of the day. On the day that “connection” was the word, Dianna listened to teen participant Alex Hammond share how that word meant one's connection to another person and that God was in that connection.

“I thank God for Alex Hammond,” Dianna said. “That day changed my life and my experience with the group … that was when connection began to occur.”

The five days of walking – typically about 15 miles a day, which could take eight to 10 hours – were long and slow for Dianna, but encouragement from teens such as Alex and adults such as Christy Case gave Dianna the fortitude she needed to finish.

On one particularly difficult day, Christy pointed to a crucifix they saw in one of the shrines they passed, and said to Dianna, “If he could do that for us, we can do this.” Items such as crucifixes, shells or other personal items were frequently seen along the trail, assembled in small shrines. They grew organically as fellow pilgrims left items along the path either as inspiration, or sometimes because pilgrims needed to lighten their loads to complete their camino.

Dianna again felt God's presence in that exchange, in the shrines, and while sitting in the shade of a tree for an afternoon break. She also sensed God in the ancient culture surrounding them, where buildings or walls had stood for centuries.

As Dianna noticed an aging piece of architecture, she was reminded that people had been walking this path many, many years before her, and would do so many, many years after her. To know that people for so long had traveled this way because of their desire to be closer to God, drew her closer, too.

“The experience is profound in so many ways.”

Dianna was the last in the group to arrive in Santiago, but when she stepped into the plaza, she had a sense of “pure, unadulterated joy because I did not think it was possible.”

Since she has been home, she has had more time to reflect upon her original purpose for walking the camino. “I'm still discerning what my work here will be, but I do know that it comes down to relationships … and especially how we restore relationships that were put on hold because of COVID.”

She's eager to see how that work of being a pilgrim plays out.

About Dianna

• Dianna was a middle school social studies and language arts teacher for 28 years before becoming a deacon. Dianna especially loved bringing her lessons to life for her students by building things with them such as walled cities or volcanos. Her work earned her national board certification.

• She is the former choir director for St. Alban's Episcopal Church.

• She is married to Doug. They have two daughters and two granddaughters.