Departure in 4 days time

We are leaving on pilgrimage this Saturday, 5^th April: nine people covering a journey of more than 80 miles.  Although Canterbury is our destination, the important part of this is the journey that we go on to get there – physically and spiritually – and we’d like you to journey with us.

We have great support from a team of 26 people doing a variety of things: walking with us, providing transport for bags and people, and praying for us - thank you to all of you. 

We’d love to involve, and have encouragement from, everyone who reads this post: do come back to this blog sometime during the time we are walking and add a comment, or visit our Just-giving page to add your support in the form of a donation towards something for the prayer room in the new church centre: http://www.justgiving.com/teams/stmaryreigatepilgrimage.

We will definitely share our experiences at some point in the next months.  The journey doesn’t stop in Canterbury: that’s just the start of it.

Prayer for the pilgrims

Here is a lovely prayer from our prayer team:

 

God of our pilgrimage,

you have led us to the living waters;
refresh and sustain us as we go forward on our journey
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
AMEN

There were also prayers said today at our weekly Parish at Prayer, which included the following verses:
Psalm 84
⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

22 March - Practice Walk

Out on our practice walk yesterday, we experienced the biggest hailstones I have ever seen:

Here we all are at the top of Box Hill.  4.5 hours later, we weren't feeling so upbeat, but happy that we had completed the 20 miles that we set out to do.

Visit to Canterbury

Out in Canterbury today and walked 7 miles.  Beautiful chapel that we will be using for communion when we are in the Cathedral.

 

Logistics all falling into place as well: it's great how God guides each person, encouraging them to do just the right thing.



On Monday I was out walking (managed 14 miles before school pick up beckoned).  Beautiful views,

some uphill struggles

and mud finally drying out (thankfully).

All a bit subtle so far...  I'm new to this blogging stuff.
Here's the thing.  When I moved to Reigate in 2012 I thought I would do more walking: out in the countryside is where I love to be.  However, that was not to be with taking children to school (daily commute of 3 hours or more) and getting to grips with new experiences and people in the church. 
So, I decided to commit myself to doing a pilgrimage and raising some money for the Community Building Project at St Mary's. 
I opened it up to others from the church and there are now nine of us walking between 5th and 9th April, up to 21 miles in a day.  Although I have done some walking before, I have never walked this kind of distance on consecutive days.  So, it's a bit of a challenge, as well as being a great opportunity to spend some time with God and in fellowship with others hoping for a similar experience.
Excitement is mounting now that we have just 29 days to go.

Nine people walking about 90 miles between Reigate and Canterbury.  We are supported by a great team of people:

• Others walking with us on particular days
• Logisitical support to drive people and bags between various points
• A prayer team to provide one-to-one support and prayer for the whole initiative
• The whole of the community at St Mary's Reigate who are encouraging us
• Those who are sponsoring our effort.  Here's a link to our fundraising website: http://www.justgiving.com/teams/stmaryreigatepilgrimage

Preparation so far:

• A practice walk between Guildford and Dorking
• Route mapped and accommodation booked
• Spritual aspects discussed and reflected on

Pilgrimage preparation

On Thursday we spend a couple of hours thinking about how to open ourselves up to what God might want to do while we are walking in April.  Opportunities to find some quiet time between now and 5th April are vital.  First one is this Saturday at the quiet morning in the Mill Church.