For author Mark LaRocca-Pitts, it was the adventure of a lifetime-a 1,200-mile, three-month walking pilgrimage from Paris to Santiago de Compostela. But when he received a vision from God for a new spiritual path called the Way of New Beginning, it became more than that. It became an experience that transformed his spiritual life.
In The Way of New Beginning, LaRocca-Pitts shares his experiences and offers an opportunity to practice this path so you, too, can transform your spiritual life. Combining anecdotal tales of his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago with his training in Biblical studies and his experiences as a spiritual seeker and pastor, this guide develops the Way of New Beginning as a spiritual path open to all-regardless of faith tradition.
Using Genesis 1, Psalm 51, and other Biblical passages, The Way of New Beginning sets forth a step-by-step process, along with spiritual practices such as the Jesus Prayer and Centering Prayer, to help you walk the Way of New Beginning and experience spiritual transformation.
Mark is a Harvard-trained biblical scholar ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church (UMC) who spent his professional life working as a board-certified chaplain and as a local UMC pastor. His academic training includes a BA from Indiana University (IU) with a double major in Geology and Religious Studies, a year abroad in Jerusalem at Hebrew University, an MA from IU in Religious Studies, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. This training included three summers on archeological digs in Israel, a year as seminarian at Harvard Memorial Church, a summer internship at St. George's Cathedral in East Jerusalem, and five units of Clinical Pastoral Education.
Mark worked as a clinical chaplain at Duke University Medical Center specializing in the care of HIV/AIDS patients, as an acute care chaplain at Athens Regional Medical Center, and as a hospice chaplain in Atlanta. Mark also worked as a local UMC pastor in five different North Georgia churches. Mark also founded Death Café Atlanta and has facilitated hundreds of death cafes.
Mark's professional achievements include being a board member of the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) culminating in his service as APC Board President and President of the Georgia Society for Healthcare Chaplains. Mark has published extensively in professional circles on spirituality, spiritual care, and professional chaplaincy.
Mark loves traveling. He has worked as a missionary in Appalachia, Haiti, Costa Rica, Peru, Honduras, and the Bahamas. Mark spent three years living in Israel on a kibbutz milking cows. Mark loves long-distance hiking which includes walking the length of Israel and three Caminos de Santiago in Spain and France.
Now retired Mark lives in Atlanta with his wife Beth and near his two twin children, Ellie and Joe. He spends his summers on the Appalachian Trail as a Circuit Chaplain.
