Another pilgrimage

So, this time I'm on pilgrimage rather than leading one.
Currently in Jerusalem, where I have never been before. What struck me today was how close everything is. We did the palm Sunday walk down the Mount of Olives and it only takes about 30 minutes maximum.
Lots of hills and looking down over a valley makes everything seem much more manageable. However, I was then reminded of Psalm 121- where does my help come from? If our help is from the Lord, then looking uphill must be equally manageable.
Hazel

Remembering

During the past week we got together and shared our memories of the time on pilgrimage.  Here are some of those memories written down:

Pilgrimage frees the mind,

allows exploring of God’s puzzles,

raising self-knowledge, in

fellowship and acceptance.

Looking out, looking forward.

Going in a different direction with God at my side.

The large window in Winchester Cathedral was reconstructed from shards of glass recovered when the original windows were smashed by Cromwell’s soldiers.

Resurrection out of destruction!

Walking ancient paths where generations have trod.

Moving forward, letting day to day worries fall away.

Breathing the essence of God’s creation.

Praying, being still, IN God’s presence, the Here and Now.

Sunshine

Warmth

Spring – sounds, smells, flowers, trees, birds, sheep and lambs

Hills

Woods

Farmland

Churches beautifully decorated for Easter, open for anyone to enjoy, pray, rest.

Friendships deepened

Hearing people’s stories

Sharing meals together

Reflecting on post-resurrection stories

Praying together, often in hotel restaurants so other guests could see and hear us

Discovering strength to walk beyond my normal comfortable distance

Reassurance about Philip’s wedding venue.

My pilgrimage journey by Hazel

Last year the idea of pilgrimage was something new to St Mary’s.  Although I had previously been on a pilgrimage, leading one was new for me too.  All through the time of planning it, preparing for it and walking it, as well as the activities that we followed on with afterwards, I felt that God was blessing each part as it all slotted into place.  

Now I believe he was doing something very different to that: he was guiding and encouraging us.  However, I was oblivious to it and made it all quite an effort.

During the past year I have become much more aware of God guiding me.  Pilgrimage in 2014 was an important starter for this awareness, but prayer was the key that changed my relationship with God later in the year.  I have found that walking while praying really helps to clear the mind of many distractions and it’s often as I walk around Reigate that I find God speaking to me.  As a result of this change, my approach to pilgrimage this year was much more about listening to God.  I did nowhere near as much planning and preparation, but listened, always asking the question ‘Lord, what is it that you want to do through this activity?’ 

The difference in the approach is huge and the results are invariably better in many different ways.  Now, rather than thinking of what my approach to something should be, my first step will always be to pray and listen to what God wants to do in any situation.

On reflection, it’s all part of God’s plan.  My role is to listen to him and join in with what he’s doing, rather than thinking that it’s all down to me to sort out.  God can’t be forced into a box that’s been shaped by me.  A number of years ago when I was writing something about my own spiritual journey, I wrote about this poem by Edwina Gateley.  My experiences of pilgrimage have reinforced the need to look for and listen to God outside the church (building and community), as well as within its confines: it’s often in the most surprising places that he speaks.

God ran away

When we imprisoned her

And put her in a box

Named church.

God would have none

of our labels and

our limitations

and she said

“I will escape and plant myself

in simpler soil

where those who see, will see

and those who hear, will hear.

I will become a God – believable

Because I am free,

And go where I will.

My goodness will be found

In my freedom and

That freedom offer to all –

Regardless of colour, sex or status,

Regardless of power or money.

Ah, I am God

Because I am free

And all those who would be free

Will find me

Roaming, wandering, singing.

Come, walk with me –

Come dance with me!

I created you to sing, - to dance

To love….

If you cannot sing

Nor dance, nor love

Because they put you also in a box.

Know that your God broke free

And ran away.

So send your spirit

Then to dance with her.

Dance, sing with the God

Whom they cannot tame nor chain.

Dance within, though they chain your very guts

To the great stone walls…

Dance, beloved,

Ah, Dance! 

Cyril's reflection

Fantastic week.  It was really good to get away from the day-to-day and do something completely different. I really valued the sense of camaraderie, fellowship and togetherness we had throughout the week. I would like to share a couple of experiences.

Before the pilgrimage I was slightly apprehensive about the week, as I was not sure what to expect. Well the first thing that needed to happen was for me to de-clutter my mind, things that were occupying it had either happened in the past or may be happening in the future. I needed to think about the here and now, and all the 'noise' needed to go. Right from the start I was marvelling at the beauty and complexity of God's creation and the de-cluttering had started. I needed patience though for this was going to take a couple of days.

I found the reflections very powerful and moving, not only from the words themselves but also from the locations, and the fact that we could do our own thing. Having been brought up as a traditional Anglican I was reminded that the act of kneeling to pray is quite humbling and it does concentrate the mind. Being quiet in the presence of the Lord is something I need to do more and more and it needs to be disciplined. It is not something that can be rushed into.

The week helped me think about what is important and what is less important, the latter certainly includes any physical discomfort I felt during the course of the walk.

Over the week I kept coming back to one portion of scripture, it was a great help.
Matthew 6: 25 - 34.
²⁵ ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Peter's reflection

The idea of pilgrimage has interested me for some time. We only moved to Reigate in July last year, so I had no opportunity to go on the pilgrimage to Canterbury, but I attended the follow up meeting and was able to enter at least partly into the experiences of those that made that journey.

As soon as it was clear that there would be another pilgrimage I was keen to be involved and my commitment never wavered.

Why the enthusiasm? Having become a Christian through the Brethren and then been a member of a Baptist Church for over 30 years, I had always viewed the idea of pilgrimage with suspicion.  Surely going on pilgrimage was nothing more than a ritual, a mechanical activity linked to the dubious purpose of earning favour with God. How could going on a journey to a ‘sacred place’ have any value when salvation was based on faith not works?  Pilgrimage was for Catholics not for Protestants!

When my brother died suddenly in the autumn of 2009, I went through a period of some spiritual turmoil and soon after his death I saw the film ‘The Way’, which affected me profoundly as I was able to identify with the idea of walking ‘for’ someone who had just died (in the film Martin Sheen walks the Camino de Santiago with the ashes of his son, who had been tragically killed as he was just starting the walk).  I could see that pilgrimage could be many things to many people and for me I think that what I wanted was to do something difficult and challenging as a way of working through the complex emotions I was experiencing.

Several years later I have been able to move on from my brother’s death, but the idea of pilgrimage as a way of doing something positive has remained. So I embarked on the pilgrimage with my own kind of agenda. It had to be for some purpose, other than my own gratification / spiritual development. On Easter Sunday, the day before we started, the idea came to me after listening to the 8am news that I would walk for the persecuted church and pledge to give one pound for every mile I walked. This would be the purpose and the idea of putting myself through physical exertion and probably pain as a way of identifying with Christians in other parts of the world provided me with the justification I needed to do the walk.

I apologise if all this seems terribly pretentious and unspiritual, but it provides some background to my actual state of mind as I began the journey.  

And what of the pilgrimage itself?

I found it physically hard, especially on the last two days. I was absolutely determined to complete the whole distance, but by Friday my feet were quite swollen and painful. Having the persecuted church in my thoughts, gave this experience real poignancy. What was my trivial discomfort in comparison with what others were suffering?

I had asked Hazel if we could include a prayer each day for the persecuted church, but I was anxious not to highjack the whole pilgrimage with my own agenda. Even so I think that as the week unfolded we all began to value the fact that each day we were reflecting on the needs of Christians in other countries. On Monday we thought about Nigeria, on Tuesday, Syria, on Wednesday, Pakistan, on Thursday Kenya and Somalia and on Friday we thought about the church in Iraq. It was good we brought into our devotions and into our experience of the glorious countryside a wider perspective of the world beyond our immediate experience.

I hadn’t done much ‘spiritual’ preparation and I wasn’t sure how I would cope with the schedule of reflections and devotions. There were daily reflections in churches that we visited and morning and evening prayers in the hotels. I really valued the times of quiet reflection in the many beautiful churches we stopped in. In St Andrews Farnham we were encouraged to light a candle and to think and pray for someone. As I watched the tiny flame, flickering and vulnerable I thought of my grandchildren and of their future. I prayed that our generation might pass on to them a world in which they can be as happy and fulfilled as we have been (I am afraid that I became quite tearful).      

As the week progressed themes began to emerge in our devotions. In particular we reflected on the post resurrection appearances of Jesus, and the fact that his own disciples often did to recognise him. We became conscious that Jesus was walking with us as he walked with the two disciples going to Emmaus, We couldn’t see him physically, but at times his presence was unmistakeable. Take for example the three things that were lost – Monica’s cross, Fiona’s camera and Gail’s camera and then were all found again. Just coincidence, the sceptics would say of course.

Two final things were overwhelming impressions for me. Firstly the sheer beauty of the landscape through which we walked and the freshness and colour of the spring flowers. What a privilege and a joy to see such wonders. May we always have that sense of wonder and awe that there is such beauty in such simple, everyday things.

Above all there was the pleasure of sharing the journey with others and delight of being with such lovely people. There were so many moments of sharing and of mischievous fun as well. I could have walked it on my own and felt that I had achieved something, but I would not have been enriched by the company of others. ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers’, these words from Shakespeare’s Henry V came to mind ( and several of us attempted to recall the rest of the speech made on the eve of Agincourt ), and there was a real feeling that we were sharing together in something very special. 

Having extra people joining us for just one or two days was really good and helped to remind us that this was something for the wider church family to share in and altogether well over 20 people became part of the journey and added to the sense of fellowship.

So for me the pilgrimage became so much more than a walk with a purpose. It was a real fellowship experience, which deepened existing friendships and added new ones and made me feel what a privilege it is to be part of such a lovely church family.

It would not have happened without Hazel spending hours in preparation and planning (including walking the whole route in advance

As the journey progressed we became aware just how important that planning was, as our bags were transported to the next hotel and the needs of all levels of walker were accommodated. Ian Hodgson was on hand for the whole week to provide transport and other drivers took us to the starting point and collected us from Winchester.

Thank you so much to those of you who made our journey possible and ensured that it was such a happy experience.

Peter Darwent 

Fiona's reflection

Having had a couple of weeks to reflect on the pilgrimage I am bowled over with how powerful prayer support is and encouraged by how we as a family at St Mary’s do do prayer!

My wonderful prayer partner, Lynn Evans, blessed me with wonderful scriptures to open up and dig into each day. Other members of our congregation sent me texts and cards with affirming verses and these sometimes spoke powerfully to other members of the pilgrimage as well as me.

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Jeremiah 32: 19.

On the first day of walking we tackled Box Hill and on the descent my left knee decided it was going to play up. The next day it was still sore and the lovely Vicky Hildreth lent me her walking sticks to aid my awkwardness. That same afternoon I asked Vicky and Hazel to pray for my knee and hoped I would be able to continue pain free. Not long after I received a text from someone back in Reigate who was praying for us, she was out dog walking that day and had come across this:

She had also prayed that I would have renewed energy. Well praise God I did have renewed energy and continued walking without further damage or pain. Thank you Lord for the way you provide.

On day three I really felt like things that had been burdening me were falling away and that God just wanted me to put one foot in front of the other and be in His presence. I was very aware that I was ‘in the moment’ and that nothing else mattered. The following pictures resembled that for me:

These pictures capture the thin space I felt I was walking in at that time. During one of our evening prayer times together I had a real sense of that thin place again, a heaven touching earth time. We were praying together and spent quite some time praising God for the beauty of creation, for who He is, for how He blesses us and had indeed that day. We then moved into a time of asking God to be present in the lives of those we had on our hearts. As we prayed I really felt a supernatural unity with everyone else present in the room, it was like Jesus was sitting with us and I really understood that He had heard our prayers.

I was constantly struck by the beauty of God’s creation through the sights and smells. This was how God was speaking to me throughout the journey. The beautiful daffodils, the pretty primroses, the gambolling lambs all spoke of God’s nature and character to me and I just wanted to worship and sing of His awesomeness and majesty as I walked.

The words of ‘Hungry’ the worship song were given to me by my faithful prayer buddy. I don’t want my hunger and thirst for God to ever disappear. He is the only one that can satisfy, the only one who completely restores my life.

Hungry I come to You
For I know You satisfy
I am empty but I know
Your love does not run dry

So I wait for You
So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus You're all
This heart is living for

Broken I run to You
For Your arms are open wide
I am weary but I know Your touch
Restores my life

So I wait for You
So I wait for You

And so the journey of listening and walking continues. Thank you, Lord, for this amazing experience. May I be ever seeking, knocking and asking and being dumbfounded by ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…’ Eph 3.18

William's reflection

The best thing for me on the walk was meeting an old friend in Anthony Smith one of the former Curates at St Marys.  He went on to join CMS and was able to aid a considerable number of missionaries in East Africa – including Franklyn Otwoma who has just completed an orphanage in Nairobi which accommodates 60 orphans from the Slums.  Here's a picture of all of us with Anthony.

I also enjoyed the walk along the river bank into Winchester which brought to mind the words of the 23^rd Psalm:  

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Reflection from Monica

One of the great things about a pilgrimage is it re-connects the spiritual and physical in a very real way. It also gives some space to consider and reflect. On the fourth evening we stayed in a retreat centre owned by the diocese of Winchester. This meant we had lots of room and also access to a quiet chapel. On this evening we were asked to take some paper and draw boxes on it. In each box we had to draw or write something which represented a part of our life. We then put these papers on the altar and offered them to God. The drawings I did are below:

But drawing these pictures, with the definite lines between them, made me start thinking about the way I live my life. If I were to draw this as an accurate representation it would be a mess. The lines would be blurred; each box would seep into the other. Some boxes would be superimposed upon another one like an old ‘double exposed’ film. So, for instance, while I’m watching TV I’m thinking I ought to be cooking. While I’m praying I think how I’d like to be reading a novel. While I’m writing a blog post I’m thinking how I ought to be doing the housework. And I don’t think God wants me to live like this, not anymore.

This afternoon I was chatting with my daughter and she said that she was struggling with one of her skating moves. ‘I can’t do it full-heartedly,’ she said. Of course it was the wrong word. But I like it. I want to live full-heartedly. Each day on the pilgrimage came with joys and difficulties. On two days I was navigating which meant I also had to make sure everyone was keeping up and going in the right direction. Also, because I wasn’t very fit it was tiring at times. But there was great joy both in the beautiful landscape, being with my fellow pilgrims and walking with God. Living in the moment I felt I was really walking with God.

Towards the beginning of the walk we stopped at St Martha’s church. This is a small, ancient church set high on the downs. After spending some time inside the church we had some time to explore the churchyard before we set off again. So I got my paints out and painted this quick sketch over the valley:

And I didn’t ask permission. I didn’t worry about what other people were doing and while I was doing this I was completely lost in the moment. Enjoying the beauty of the view and being able to put it into paint.

Two themes kept on coming up during the conversations on the pilgrimage – mindfulness and evangelism. Mindfulness is much in fashion at the moment. For non-Christians it means filling your mind wholly with your immediate experience and letting worry and anxiety slip away. This could be your own breathing, a beautiful tree or some great wise saying. This is not a bad thing and, in this sense, both walking and painting are great mindful experiences. The rhythm of walking, especially day after day, soothes the mind. Moving gradually through a changing landscape fills the mind with interesting things at a pace it can cope with. Painting a scene in front of you is wholly absorbing, there is simply no room for anything else while you are doing it.

But, for a Christian, mindfulness has a much deeper purpose. By calming the mind and filling it with good things we are allowing God to speak to us. We may sometimes hear God’s voice directly but often it is the good things themselves, the beauty of the landscape, the conversation of friends, which will speak just as clearly. I am reminded of Jesus’ story about the seed:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn’t have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop”

Our minds are rich earth indeed. But if they are full of the weeds of worry then nothing will grow in them. But if we are growing and walking with God then we can do what we like. Day by day, minute by minute we can choose what we do and it will be the right thing.

So there are many gifts Jesus can offer to the world and to us. Kindness, justice and compassion are just some of them. But, and it seems to me that the world needs this more than anything, the greatest gift is peace. Peace in the world must start with peace in our hearts.  In the slow tramp of feet, the landscape opening up and closing in, the ever changing conversations and the moments of stillness I began to find that peace. It still seems like a fragile thing but, even so, I pass on the timeless greeting:

Peace be with you

David's reflection

I loved it! Beforehand I thought I might be getting too old for this sort of thing, so I was a bit doubtful as to whether I could keep going at 10+ miles every day.  Now I regret I chose to join in at lunch time on the first day, rather than be in it from the start!  Still, I did all the rest with just one or two blisters and some mild aches in feet and hips by the end. \o/

Highlights:

Companionship:  Just great to chat in depth with other members of the group.  Even though I find it difficult to remember all that was said, the shared experience is a bonding process in itself.

Humour:  Lots of it!  I loved the banter; it was so refreshing.  (Cyril’s stile style!)  God must surely love a good laugh too, if we are made in his image.

Churches:  All in their Easter glory and several of them trying – often with limited resources – to meet the challenges of presenting the Good News to this century in imaginative ways.  The re-ordering of Farnham’s church was so beautiful, thoughtful and prayer-inducing.

Countryside:  Paths through growing crops, alongside water (Psalm 23:2b), daffodils and new spring life everywhere (Psalm 104:30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. plus the rest of that Psalm).  The contrast of deep blue sky and orange sand on the walk up to St Martha’s, and the panorama at the top was particularly memorable.

Weather:   Sunshine most of the time and just the right temperature for walking.  (But is life’s pilgrimage always that easy?  Psalm 23:4.  I need to be ready for anything!)

Worship:  Together, under Hazel’s leadership (in hallowed surroundings, as well as in hotels in full view of the public) and sharing thoughts, communion etc.

My personal response:

Peter D’s request to pray for the persecuted church worldwide each day set me thinking about the cost, simplicity and focus of my life’s continuing pilgrimage.

Hebrews 11:13-16 became a focal point for me.  My walk of faith needs to be anchored in a future hope which inevitably alienates me from the world’s way of thinking (11:13ff...they admitted they were aliens and strangers on the earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own... Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  Also Ch.13:14.) Pilgrimage encouraged me to keep looking forward with a single-minded purpose.  Lots of things I do are perfectly valid in their own way, but slow me down and encourage me to put down roots in the here and now, rather than move on, in and towards the kingdom of heaven, doing the will of the Father.

Later in Hebrews 11 we are told how costly this kind of pilgrimage can be (vv35b-40) – which is all too real in the areas of the world Peter brought to our attention.  Verse 40 encouraged me to see these Christian sufferers as part of me.  I’m not just an onlooker;  their suffering, like Christ’s, needs to be shared by me, even though I don’t fully know at the moment how to make that connection more real and practical, as well as more prayerful.  That connection – the oneness and brotherhood of the worldwide Christian church – was also brought home to me in the churches we visited on the pilgrimage (Eg. An Ave Maria banner in one corner of a church and an advert for their Alpha Course in their porch.  Also the variety of ways the crosses we came across were used.)

Another thought left its mark on me on the last day on the walk into Winchester.  I had the map and became the path finder for much of it.  Others seemed content to follow at a loose distance, free to chat about other things, secure in the knowledge that someone reliable (?!) was leading the way.  Christ should be the path finder of our lives:  John 14:2ff Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you....You know the way to the place I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way?”  Jesus answered, “I am the way...”   I was struck by the liberating simplicity of it:  keep close to Jesus, follow him, listen to his instructions and let the route take care of itself – and be free to enjoy the journey, the view, and the company of other disciples!

Final thought:  It was easy to think that we twelve who did the whole pilgrimage were somehow special, particularly when we arranged to have our photo taken (at Farnham – long before we finished the walk!)

Jesus never tolerated the nonsense of elitism – eg when the mother of James and John asked Jesus for top table seats for her sons in the Kingdom (Matt 20:20-28 – and the rest of the chapter).  I was reminded of Mike’s sermon on that passage a couple of weeks before, and felt a spiritual slap on the wrists – as well as grateful to others who had served us with prayer and transport etc.

 

Reflection from Gail

I enthusiastically took part in the previous year’s pilgrimage to Canterbury, and found it was both challenging and rewarding.  While this year’s pilgrimage had similarities, it had its own stimulating and special moments.

I had encountered unexpected and serious health issues soon after the end of last year’s pilgrimage, and so this time, I walked to Winchester as an offering of thanksgiving that I was able to take part in 2015.

I joined the group on Tuesday at Newland’s corner, and the first stop was at St Martha’s Church – the church on the hill. I reflected here, and for the next few days, on the story of Martha and Mary – for I have become too much a Martha – concerned with getting things done, than listening and being  - something the pilgrimage did go on to give me – for those preoccupations are left behind for a while.

As we walked in Easter Week, and saw the new greens of the foliage, the lambs, the yellows in the banks (it has been a great year for primroses), the watercress in clear running water, churches decorated for Easter  –  it was all  a consistent reminder of new life  and new beginnings. In harmony with this, the scripture readings at our daily gatherings spoke of meetings with the raised Jesus and changed lives.

 The walk was in many ways easier than the previous year – less hilly though there were muddy patches and hard bumpy fields. Being in a community of others with a similar aim of pilgrimage, heightened senses and appreciation of the skills and kindnesses of others, while becoming aware of my own rough edges. 

On the Thursday evening, there was an exercise we did that was especially meaningful to me – we had to divide a piece of paper into squares and in the squares, draw things that concerned, or matter to us. I found this surprisingly powerful. It seemed as if thinking had become clearer, having been away from the matters of everydayness.    A clarification of issues to offer to God.

Someone give me this helpful verse:- 

‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’  Hebrews 4:16.  

And going forward, from this pilgrimage, I have gained strength and hope from the pilgrimage, and encouragement that I am not alone on the journey to the Kingdom.

Gail Terry

Saturday

Spent an hour with the Bishop of Winchester and then walked up St Catherine's Hill. Brother John at Hospital of St Cross was very informative.

Winchester at last

Arrived here at lunchtime. Afternoon spent in the cathedral. Great to be joined today by Tony Baptiste, Mary Chipperfield, Liz Keeley and Mary Windus. Now for some relaxation and tending to sore feet.

The world centre for watercress

Another great day. Sun, flowers and lambs. Beautiful village at Chawton (Jane Austen's house).  Lots of stiles challenged Cyril. Our first bog didn't sink us. Met Anthony Smith (a former curate at St Mary's) here at Alresford Place. Continued inspiration from God's creation.
Brilliant humour from all those taking part.

John 21:12

We used the longer passage in morning prayer today. There was a real sense of us now being able to recognise Jesus with us as we walk, helping us with discernment. Here we are eating the breakfast that he invited us to.

Wednesday

Wonderful day - we saw new born lambs and two cameras were lost and then found following prayer. Lots of beautiful flowers too.

Newlands Corner to Seale

Another great day of sunshine. We might all come back with a tan. Good to be joined by Paul and Vicky Hildreth and William Ascough.
Reflection on the importance of storytelling and the bible to our identity. Here we are outside St Martha's on the Hill.
Now to the pool for some relaxation.

Brilliant day walking in the sunshine

The sky was clear at the top of Reigate Hill at 8 am. Our verses for the day gave a definite feel of many of us being called to be walking this week.  Ps 119:105 was one of them.
At St Barnabas Ranmore we reflected on priorities and the design of different crosses.
Short walkers had a leisurely stroll from Silent Pool. Long walkers had a long slog to Newlands Corner. Those boring lengths of path are important, allowing time for prayer and making the interesting bits more meaningful.
About to meet in the bar for a drink and a prayer before dinner.

A pilgrim's pack of goodies

We met yesterday to go through all the details of our route and began with a reflection on starting our journey. What each of the elements in the pack of goodies is for will become clear as the week progresses.
Some cake was also shared to build us up for the walk ahead.

Verse for the pilgrimage

In preparing for the pilgrimage, this verse has been important to me and I thought I would share it with all those who are reading the blog:

Psalm 23:3
he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Beautiful cottages

Lots of places like this en route.

Silent Pool

Went walking near Guildford on Monday. Beautiful place where those on the short walk will pass by on day one.

Walking to Winchester

So, it was a whole year ago when we walked to Canterbury. Now the plan is to get to Winchester from Reigate in 5 days. All accommodation is booked and 13 people will be making this pilgrimage. Please support us with encouraging posts.