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
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