Joan, Mandy, Sarah & Ben would like to thank all pilgrims for all their messages of support and prayers.

(Apologies for the delay in posting this, Easter got in the way! )

It is my sad task to share the news that Peter Doran passed away this evening; he has been fighting prostate cancer for some time.

Peter’s time with the pilgrims was relatively short: I remember him meeting us (with Sarah) on the top of the Malvern Hills in 2004 after which he was a regular for several years, before illness hit, but he made a big impact. He was an inspirational leader and as a relatively novice pilgrim was selected as coordinator, leading in 2007 and 2008, the first passing close to his home on the Isle of Wight, the latter his once-and-future home in Gloucestershire. In 2007 Peter kept the pilgrimage show on the road when his good friend Mgr Pat Olivier suffered a heart attack and died whilst walking with us.

I personally remember Peter as a very supportive deputy when I became coordinator in 2009 (although I did have to tell him for being disruptive during notices – there is a certain pleasure in telling a retired headteacher to “SHUT UP DORAN”). Even after he actively walked with us, Peter was an ambassador for the pilgrimage.

Peter leaves behind a pilgrim family: his wife Joan walked with us in the 1970s; Mandy in the 1980s; Sarah in the 90s and since; Ben has put in an appearance from time to time too; and the many grandchildren he loved have also joined us along the way.

Peter will be sadly missed, but I can see him even now, at the pearly gates, saying to St Peter “you see these pilgrims, wearing crosses like this, I know they’re a bit grubby, but let them in”.

Rest in peace, Peter.

As previously announced, our 2016 pilgrimage will start in Winchester and make its way to Canterbury by a slightly unconventional route.

There’s lots of additional information in the December Newsletter

Here is a link to the 2016 Poster.

And here is the Booking Form

Get your bookings in!

We have recently learnt of the death of Antony Morwood-Leyland. Tony was pilgrimage coordinator in 1984 and 1985, the first coordinator after Bill Haynes retired (the first time), before we realised how onerous a job it was. This experience led to the current committee approach to organising the pilgrimage and sharing the load, much of which Tony tried to bear alone.

More recently, Tony walked with the Portsmouth Diocesan Pilgrimage (a spin-off from ours) and was Membership Secretary for the Confraternity of St James.

Read the notice from the Basingstoke Gazette http://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/announcements/deaths/deaths/13848660.ANTONY_MORWOOD_LEYLAND/

Our prayers are with Tony’s widow Alice (who journeyed with us in the early 1980s), sons Robert (who came as a baby in 1984) and Ed.

As last year, we decided to delay the autumn newsletter and combine it with that normally issued in February, so there is a bumper edition now available H E R E which includes various reviews of last year’s activities and lots of information about the planning of our 2016 pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury, which is well advanced. The 2016 poster is available H E R E and an application form will soon be available.

As a Pilgrimage Committee we have been increasingly horrified by the continuing violence in the Middle East and the desperation of so many people fleeing their homes as a result of the ongoing conflict.

It has seemed difficult to organise next year’s pilgrimage without acknowledging the thousands of people that are on the move daily (in the way that we are on pilgrimage) but do so because they are in danger and have to, rather than seeking an experience of pilgrimage, as we are.

In response, this year we have decided to offer our 2016 pilgrimage as a prayer of solidarity and support for those people suffering the effects of conflict or fleeing persecution, praying that the world may become a fairer, safer, and more peaceful place.

Ceri

A&B Prayer for Refugees

LORD GOD, throughout history you have
heard the cries of your people.
Through our failures, millions of refugees
are calling for your help now. Our world is
broken, your people fractured and divided,
creating war, violence, fear, homelessness,
insecurity and desperation.
Lord, you call us to care for our neighbours,
help us to remember that we are one family
gathered in your Son. We pray that we may
hear your voice and discern your wisdom in
our hearts.
May we listen and hear their pleas and needs
within our hearts, so that we may answer
your call to help. Let us use the gifts you
have given us, in the way that you and they
desire.
We pray for your courage and strength, that
we may work beyond offences we may have
caused, and our own and others fears. Help us
to bring understanding, peace and reconciliation
within our communities.
We make this prayer in the knowledge of
your limitless Love and Mercy, in faith and
trust in you.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen

Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI) are developing their 2016 Lent Course on the theme of Pilgrimage, and their web site at www.lentpilgrimage.org.uk includes details of many pilgrimages, including ours.  Take a look – and when the time comes, join a local group and share your experiences.

This is a reunion for both July’s Festival 50 Jubilee Celebration Pilgrimage and August’s Arundel Pilgrimage (and indeed all the previous walking pilgrimages going back to 1975).  We hope to see as many of you there as possible.  If you are not able to stay over Friday and Saturday nights, then just come for the walk in the Surrey Hills and/or the evening meal on the Saturday.   Newcomers are welcome too.  See the application form for full details.

At the AGM on Sunday 21st September it was agreed that for next year’s pilgrimage we will walk from Winchester to Canterbury.  We expect to leave Winchester on the Pilgrims Way and rejoin it for our approach to Canterbury having walked through some fabulous, panoramic countryside in between.  Further details of the route and theme will be published in the autumn newsletter and on this website as they become available.
Do save the dates:  13th – 28th August 2016
Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent web poll (which showed greatest support for the Winchester-Canterbury option) and particularly to those who offered their help with the pilgrimage organisation.
Francis O’Sullivan should also be congratulated for standing as Deputy Coordinator this year with a view to becoming Pilgrimage Coordinator in 2017.

On the penultimate evening of the Arundel pilgrimage there was a discussion about possible routes for the 2016 pilgrimage. The discussion acknowledged a number of key vacancies on the organising committee including accommodation officer, van driver and caterer but not chief route planner as John Chenery has kindly agreed to take this on. The discussion also acknowledged the need to grow both pilgrim numbers and the pool of people that can take on these key roles in future.

In this context those present accepted the need to organise the 2016 pilgrimage close to the A&B heartland in order to build on the contacts made during the 2015 Arundel and Jubilee Pilgrimages using local and new pilgrim connections and Churches Together networks. It was suggested that a more distant pilgrimage could be researched this year with the intention of walking it in 2017.

Click on the option you want, which should become highlighted, then on the “Vote” button, for each question.

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If you are prepared to help organise a local or distant pilgrimage (or both) please leave a comment stating how you could contribute.

The deadline for contributing to this poll is midnight Friday 18th September, ahead of the AGM on Sunday 20th September at 1pm (invitation has been sent by e-mail).