Pilgrims! If you access the link below before the end of New Year’s Eve, you can rent a video for free:
https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/latest/stthomasofcanterbury2020?fbclid=IwAR0rwlHaxM5lIlNEsfuii7IDW92hmm1M7jNSnZhgCh3R9ByRHlizIXRx9G4
This film follows Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Nicholas Schofield as they journey from London to Canterbury. Along the way they discover the story of St Thomas a Becket and some fascinating traditions: the Rood of Boxley, the splendour of Rochester, the ‘second Carmel’ at Aylesford and many more.
By retracing the steps of the medieval pilgrims, this film draws out the rich Christian heritage of England and reflects on what it means ‘To Be A Pilgrim’.
Thanks to Lesley Brennan for bringing this to our attention.
All posts by John Chenery
The St Thomas Way Pilgrimage 2020
Dates: Saturday August 15th to Sunday August 30th 2020
Strapline: Walking in a spirit of thankfulness
Route: SWANSEA-Port Talbot-St Brides Major-St Athan-CARDIFF (rest day)-Caerphilly-Newport-Usk-ABERGAVENNY (rest day)-Longtown-Ewyas Harold-HEREFORD
See the St Thomas Way Website for an explanation of why our strapline is appropriate. We wil be passing through all the places listed on that website. The St Thomas Way was not originally envisaged as a continuous walking route but we are making it into one!
Poster and Application Form coming soon!
DORKING REUNION FRIDAY 25TH TO SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2019
Further to the earlier post announcing the dates, the application form / poster is now available here with full details. Please apply soon to aid our planning.
We will be going to the Stephen Langton Inn for lunch, which will remind us of the first walking day of our St Hilda’s Pilgrimage in August when we walked part of the Stephen Langton Way.
looking back at the st hilda’s pilgrimage 2019
Do have a look at the web diary http://thepilgrims.org.uk/2019/home.php where more photos have been added since the pilgrimage was completed. There are now contributions from around 15 pilgrims. (If you have any further photos, it is not too late to select those which add to the story, caption them, and send them in).
You might also want to view the complementary set of photos in Fr Tony’s Flickr album https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonymilner/albums/72157710799709741/page1
News of our plans for our 2020 route will be published soon.
Reunion DATES: 25 to 27 october
The 2019 Pilgrimage Reunion will be held in St Joseph’s Church Dorking from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October. Details and Booking Form to follow closer to the date. Pilgrims from this year’s pilgrimage and all past pilgrimages are welcome.
The mini pilgrimage is underway
The “Mini Pilgrimage” from Guildford to Arundel is underway, with pilgrims gathering this evening. Look out for updates on the web diary page:
BOOKINGS OPEN FOR MINI PILGRIMAGE
Bookings are now open for our 3-day Bank Holiday Mini Pilgrimage at the start of May! Here is the application form.
Also at this time we are seeking volunteers to assist with the pilgrimage catering. Please let Chris (contact details on the poster) know if you can help.
3 Day Bank Holiday Mini Pilgrimage (4th-6th May 2019)
SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE!
3-DAY BANK HOLIDAY MINI PILGRIMAGE (4th-6th May 2019)
Do you need to get in to training?
Do you want to invite friends to experience a pilgrimage taster weekend?
Are you starting to plan your year?
We shall be organising a 3-day pilgrimage at the beginning of May, within the diocese.
Save the date now for a full and fun weekend in the Spring.
More information, an application form and requests for assistance will follow in due course!
Looking Back on the 2018 Buckfast Millennium Pilgrimage
In this message, I am bringing to our attention a few Internet resources that bring back happy memories of the pilgrimage :
Buckfast Abbey Facebook Site – scroll down to 9th September to see their album of photos from the Millennium Celebration Mass, including pictures of the pilgrims, and down to 28th August to see a video of the entire mass. (You do not need to have a Facebook account to do this).
Tablet Article about the Mass – including interviews with pilgrims towards the end of the article – don’t be put off by the headline
and last but not least
Our Web Diary Since the pilgrimage, additional photos have been added and I have been through it day by day making sure all the photos appear on the right day in the right order and with captions that make sense. So if you last looked at the diary during or just after the pilgrimage, do look again; hopefully It is much improved. The number of pilgrims that have contributed photos is in double figures this year. In particular major contribution during the pilgrimage came from Deirdre, Edward, Aidan, Danny, Clare and myself, while since the pilgrimage major contributions from Maurice, Larry and Norbert have been added. Thanks to them and all other contributors.
I am raising money for the Palace for Life Foundation by going on a sponsored 26.2 mile walk in London. That doesn’t sound far after walking 195 miles in August, I know, but I do have to do it all in one day, and I have to get to the start at 7am on a Saturday which is what I am looking forward to least! When I registered there was a choice of joining the fast, medium or steady group, so I plumped for fast which is 5.5km per hour, quicker than standard pilgrimage pace! The Foundation does great work for disadvantaged children and young adults in South London, for example running a football team for Down’s Syndrome children and running programmes to keep kids off the street and away from knife crime. So please consider sponsoring me to aid their work . I will be very grateful for any donations received.
I think this is the first time I have sought sponsorship for anything since I last did a marathon-length walk over 30 years ago, and certainly the first time that I have had my own just-giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/john-chenery
John Chenery, Chief Route Planner
Update 27/09/18: Thanks so much to everybody who has donated. I have now exceeded my £300 target! More donations welcome, however small; they will also be used to do great work by the Foundation. Still two weeks to go to the big day.
Pat Donachie’s Funeral: Report
30 pilgrims were amongst a packed congregation at St Joseph’s Redhill last week. Some pilgrims joined the choir and two were wearing pilgrimage tee-shirts. The tribute, read by Pat’s daughter Rachel, mentioned the love and sense of community that Pat found in, and brought to, walking pilgrimages. I attach the photo from the front of the order of service.
John Chenery