Author Archives: Mendicant Monk

Other Recommended Freedom Trail Tours

04 Friday Jul 2025

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One question that often comes up when a person comes to Boston for the first time is, “How long is the Freedom Trail?” or “How much time does it take to do the Freedom Trail?” They are surprised to hear that most 1-1.5 hour tours only cover 1/3 of the whole trail. Today, I embark on a rare tour that covers the entire 2.5 mile stretch that begins on the Boston Common and ends in Charlestown at the Bunker Hill Memorial: It is called Footloose on the Freedom Trail and it is offered once a year on July 4th by a great non-profit organization entitled Boston by Foot.

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A Christian School from Long Island

11 Friday Apr 2025

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Was pleased today to host a class from Our Savior New American School in Long Island, NY. It is such a great pleasure meeting folks from all over the country who come to our fair city looking to discover her spiritual heritage alongside of the political, economic and social history of Boston. I can say it was a little nippy outside, but as the weather gets warmer, it will be a great time for a tour. Book yours today!

Lots of Different Groups

26 Sunday May 2024

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Been downtown a lot lately. Have a picture here first from a home school group and then two families that came together at the last minute and unrelated: one from Mississippi and another couple all the way from Ghana Africa. The father of the family in the end asked me to say a benediction to the tour. It was good to say a prayer for the well being of our pilgrims and for the spiritual health of our fair city of Boston. Book a tour with me today!

Our Tour In Reverse

23 Saturday Sep 2023

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Toured a lovely group of single professionals this weekend from a conservative leadership network. It was one of the best audiences I had with folks from all over the country, but the vast majority were from my native state of Ohio. We all could not believe the ability to recognize mutual small cities and towns. I also received an opportunity to weave in more information about the American Revolution than usual, as we did the tour in reverse, starting at the Sam Adams statue in front of Faneuil Hall. Truly our rich American Heritage would not be possible without the sacrifices of these great American founding fathers and mothers, and their desire for religious freedom was the thing that kept many of them from despairing of success in their noble endeavors.

Book a tour with us today! I am finding creative ways of talking before larger audiences. Group rates are definitely available and negotiable. I am always looking for a good excuse to go downtown and talk about our great city dedicated to St. Botolph!

Standing with Embattled Farmers

17 Monday Apr 2023

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By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am the son of several generations of German-American farmers. My father’s father and his father’s father ploughed the black loam of northwest Ohio almost from the beginning of that state’s existence in 1803. When I read Emerson’s immortal poem about the farmers taking a stand for freedom, it reminds me of our own immigrant legacy.

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Honoring the Person AND the Place

12 Wednesday Apr 2023

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Was listening recently to my favorite news source about a group of Christians visiting the Holy Land. The segment was timed to coincide with Maundy Thursday on the Western Calendar, so it featured how a person’s faith can be strengthened by visiting the places where holy people dwelled and prayed to God. In other words, revival can be found by practicing the ancient art of pilgrimage, because as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins proclaims, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God”.

It was music to my ears! Modern Christians going to holy and sacred spaces and being deepened in their faith. That is until I heard one tour guide from the piece proclaim a philosophical dialectic you will never on a Boston Pilgrim Tour: “…We need to remind ourselves that we worship the Person, not the place.” Why this false dichotomy between person and place as if getting the latter right did not ultimately matter? He also adds with a slight sneer that the places they visit are “so-called traditional” while giving real credence to the authority of archeology.

Seems like these sneers ultimately destroy the whole reason to go on pilgrimage. Why go to the actual, historical place when you can have a pilgrimage experience in some place like Disneyland (Didn’t Orlando have a place called “The Holy Land Experience“)? Why do we Christians even NEED theme parks when we have the real thing?

Book a tour with Boston Pilgrim today where we visit the actual places along with honoring actual people.

A Double Tour

23 Friday Sep 2022

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Met some friends downtown today who heard of our tours through another fine Christian organization in Plymouth, MA who likes to talk about the faith of the Separatist Pilgrims who founded our nation in the early 17th century. I am very happy that we keep giving each other pilgrim business. Today’s pilgrims opted for both my tours back to back (a first in the history of the company!) Book now while the extreme cold holds off and a walking tour is still pleasant.

In Front of the Founder’s Monument

21 Tuesday Jun 2022

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Was downtown again yesterday with the second half of our homeschool group. Students asked lovely questions and one wondered if the name Boston came from “Town of the Bosses”. I of course taught them all about St. Botolph (and how to say his name with the emphasis on the second syllable).

Great time to tour Boston with weather a bit cooler than the rest of the country. Book your tour now!