July 18

Will Campbell, Peace Pilgrim, Don Andrea Gallo, and the Unsinkable Molly Brown

Author

David Barnhart
July 18, 2025

Cuetlaxochitl bush (“Poinsettia”) in Bolivia, 2004. Own photo.

Today is the birthday, in 1924, of Will Campbell, Baptist pastor and preacher of liberation for oppressor as well as the oppressed. We observed the date of his death on June 3.

Today is the birthday, in 1908, of Peace Pilgrim, an activist for peace who was the first woman to complete the Appalachian Trail in one season, and went on to walk across the country multiple times. Her vow was this: “I shall remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace; walking until given shelter and fasting until given food.” She died in a car wreck in 1981. 

Today is also the birthday, in 1867, of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” or Margaret Brown, an advocate for women’s and labor rights and a survivor of the Titanic disaster. An Irish-Catholic born in Mississippi, she devoted her life to philanthropy and activism. 

Today is also the birthday, in 1928, of Don Andrea Gallo, rebel priest, gay rights advocate, and pacifist. 

Reflection: 

Andrea Gallo said: 

“The only title I like is: "street priest". So much so that when I go to debates and the speakers from the universities of Bologna, Genoa, Palo Alto, Cambridge show up... I like it when they say: "Don Andrea Gallo from the University of the Street"

and

“How can those who recognize belonging to the human family not open the doors? Then I, as a Christian, how can I not be welcoming? And I welcome you as you are, as a person, because even before being male, female, homosexual or foreigner, one is a person, that is, a subject of autonomy.”

I was pleased to see that Wikipedia has a page for Street Priests. I would include Will Campbell in this group, though he was focused on rural instead of city ministry. 

Spiritual authority does not necessarily come from institutions with degrees or titles. Like the prophets of ancient Israel, their preaching license comes from God and the authentic way they live out their calling. 

Prayer: God of the Prophets, in the midst of our cultural loss of faith in institutions, we recognize the power of your Spirit in the living prophets among us. Raise up more. Amen.