The Journey
Welcome to The Journey, a space where Mary McKSchmidt shares her transition from business executive to advocate, photographer, poet, and storyteller. Here, she invites you to walk alongside her as she explores life in the Great Lakes region, its beauty and fragility, and the bonds that connect us all.
Protectors of the Water
“The water of Mother Earth, she carries life to us, and as women we carry life through our bodies,” wrote Josephine Mandamin in a journal she began on a rainy, cold day in April 2003. “We as women are life-givers, protectors of the water . . .”That day marked the...
How Do Hands Get Washed?
I worried, as I am prone to do, about the thousands of families in Detroit without even a dribble flowing from faucets, their water shut off because of unpaid bills. How do they wash their hands for twenty seconds when they enter their homes? How do they drink...
Where is That Bar of Soap?
When we were young, my mother threated to wash our mouths out with soap if we said anything disrespectful or harmful to another person. Of her six children, I am the one who tasted the bar of soap, a memory that still causes my mouth to recoil some six decades...
The Strength of Intertwining Voices
How many times have I struggled to find self, particularly during times of transition? Gone to Lake Michigan to gain clarity? How many times have I made mistakes on that journey? Fallen? Gotten back up with the help of others? It is why The Lake Michigan...
Water, Spirituality, and Plastics
Women of the First Presbyterian Church of Holland and the Anishinabek Nation gather alongside Lake Michigan to give thanks. (Photo courtesy of Chris Urbaniak) Over the last three months, women across faiths and traditions extended hands to help me shape a weekend...
This Sounds Like Flint
“This isn’t supposed to be happening to us in America,” cries a Flint resident in the newly-released documentary Flint: The Poisoning of an American City. But it did. And it will happen again if we don’t learn from the mistakes that resulted in a city of over 100,000...
Are You Kidding?
On Thursday, January 23, 2020, President Trump signed a new rule that allows pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants to be released into smaller headwaters, seasonal streams, streams that run temporarily underground, and wetlands that are not adjacent to large...
Pitching a Tent is Not for Sissies
Neither is life. That’s why we need artists. It has always been easy for me to feel overwhelmed by the roles and responsibilities I choose to shoulder. My choice. But even knowing that, there are times the weight of my world is crushing. That was the case twelve...
What Is the Role of Religion?
I go to Lake Michigan every morning to pray. There is something healing about being in the presence of water, something intangible that draws me closer to God. What I did not know until I began doing research for my role as facilitator of a three-day retreat for...
How Many Environmental Disasters Does It Take?
It was the courageous testimony of Marie Yovanovitch, former ambassador to Ukraine with thirty-three years experience in the Foreign Service Department, who got me thinking about the people behind the scenes, government employees working to keep us safe, individuals...
Slowing Down a Grim Prediction
Everything I love about living in West Michigan is affected by climate change. More rain events exceeding 6 inches. More damaging winds. More crop failures. More volatility in lake levels. More ticks and Lyme disease. While most of us can point to examples of all...