Times move on

Time has come the Walrus said to speak of many things,

Of ships and seas and sealing rings

Cabbages and Kings.

I have decided that this blog is to close for now.

I have said much,

but I do not want to say more.

My theologising about pilgrimage has come to an end.... for now,

at least in this form.

Thanks for following me

if you have?

More over to the new interactive blog,

Yes! you can post on it as well.

here is the url

http://peterbros.blogspot.com

I am still alive!

If you are reading this you are to be appalled and thanked. For it means that I have not lost everyone along the way. So many weeks since my last post. I expect that everyone has gone someplace else. But as you have come to this blog I owe you an explaination.
As you will have seen I injured my knees last autumn. They have taken a long time to recover and although they do not cause me pain anymore in normal life, when I walk any distance I know about it.
This has had a number of knock on effects and to put it bluntly I have become fat( some think that I was fat already) so walking become event more arduous. So I have rather retired to parish work, mostly in the study for the winter. Coupled with that has been a withdrawal of my leadership of Peterborough Pilgrims so that others can take the lead. Therefore the sum of all this has been that I have somewhat stopped living on planet pilgrim.
This does not mean that I have been inactive. I have been working to establish a Free School at the church where I serve. It is going well but there is much still to do before the D of E says yes and we can start poring concrete.

So what has been exciting me recently- This has. It is called the WMAP. ( Thanks to Brian Cox on the telly) It is a photograph of  the sky showing the background microwaves that come from the beginning of everything. It shows that the radiation is not even and that is why the universe came to be . It is a blueprint for everything, and it came into existence at almost the instant that the big bang happened .
We are not talking days here but millionths of a second. The way it works is this. The slightly denser parts became more dense until they became atoms, which in turn gathered and gave birth to stars, then galaxies and so on. In this blue print is the potential for everything. It is more than potential. Once
this came into existence, everything as we know it came into being in it right order. There is no random chance here. Therefore evolution from stars to people is causation. There is no room for 'it sort of just happened' we are not the product of random chance. I some unfathomable way I am part of this early map. The old chestnut of we are a product of random evolution is now dead as a theological question. Evolution is only a bottom up explanation..I am here, where did I come from? I can from an ape who came from a fish, who came from a single green cell. All it does is to trace my family tree backwards along a predetermined path. And who determined what should be? Do you need two guesses?

The first step is always the hardest

Today I have begun a new adventure. I am going to Santiago. I am going
on a pilgrimage. Today is the first day of that pilgrimage. Well want's
new about that? 'Have you not been on many pilgrimages"? you may ask
me. And it is true. I have walked from many places to Santiago. I am no
stranger to the Camino in its many forms. This one will be different!
Today I have accepted the discipline of the long walk. I am not fit. I
am going to lose three or four stones. My dream weight is twelve stone
something. I have a serious knee problem that is still with me after three
months. Walking is difficult.I do not think that I can walk more than
a mile or so at the moment. I am going out for a short walk this
afternoon to begin the training. So what is distinctive about this
pilgrimage? I am going to walk from my own front door to Santiago
via Portsmouth and Santander in 30 to 40 days. I will start on
Sunday 14 August and arrive sometime mid September. Due to
illness I did not complete the walk to Portsmouth last year. So
it means the most of the route is unknown to me. However I do
know that the northern coast route and the Primative are well
known for their difficulty. Therefore the need to lose a deal of
weight and get properly fit this time.
Sometime ago a friend gave me a CD set called "Finding Santuary"
by Abbott Christopher Jamison. ( It is worth buying your own copy)
In it he discusses the application of monastic life to daily life. I
have been impressed with his teaching. The
life of which he speaks resonates with much that I understand
through pilgrimage. It does however go much further. The
consolations of pilgrimage are described but they are only the
foothills of much higher mountains. So this coming pilgrimage
is to be a great exploration of the hills now seen
from afar. The route I have chosen will be very quite. I do not
expect that  many pilgrims will come into view,that will add to
this time alone with God.
If you want to come along, you are welcome. It will not be easy
in any way.
But for now I must get this knee better. I need healing so pray for me.

An outing to London.

Off to London last saturday to speak to the Confraternity of Pilgrims to
Rome. I really nice bunch of people. They all seemed to have walked
considerable distances, except the cyclists who had ridden even further.
The meeting was held in St James Church rooms at the side of the campus.
I think that I was disappointed with the church, which I had a little while
to look around before I was on. There was nothing about St James.
and nothing about modern day pilgrimage to Santiago.
I gave my talk about the Portsmouth Pilgrimage as part of a major
route to the tomb of St James. They were receptive, but it became
clear that they were rather daunted by the idea of a full blown Santiago
pilgrimage in the UK.
So much has been lost over these last 6oo years.
That is longer than the Moorish occupation of Spain! It is indeed a
long way to reach backwards. To the days before the reformers,
who had little understanding in these matters, who condemned
Pilgrimage as idolatry.
On the other hand here we were in a Church dedicated to
St James. Yes, it is a Wren church, but it takes it's name from the
locality and that comes from the ancient palace of St James,
the official royal address of our Sovereign Lady. All ambasadors
present their letters of authority to the court of St James. I
think we can go a little further. England is the only
place that had, and some say still has, a piece of St James, the
relic of his hand given to Reading Abbey by Henry I. This is
some believe the same hand that is in Marlow Roman Catholic
Church today. No other country has such presence of St James
as we have.
So looking back over the centuries, what must the devotion have
been like in those days. We have much to recover.

Is this the end of things!

If the following should seem a moan, I am sorry. It is meant to be an honest
reflection on the moment. As you will see it is a long time since I blogged.
In fact it is six weeks now. I expect that I have dropped off the radar
of many, which is a pity. Readers are hard to come by. I once talked to
a fellow blogger about what agonies I went though about getting a
readership together. She was much more successful than me and
had, by my standards a vast following. As I described my feelings,
the way I search to see who has visited my pages, she nodded her
head, she did the same thing. What comfort, I am not alone.
So where have I been all these weeks! The answer is,
nowhere. I have been holed up in Northampton. I have purchased a new
computer. I am deeply in love with it as it is an AppleMac. Clean, well
designed, fast and full of new toys. Getting it sorted has been a trial
and a joy. It thinks the way I do, unlike anything that
Mr Gates has had his hands on. But that is only the excuse. The
truth is that I have been out of sorts with planet pilgrim in all
its many forms!  You are wondering why this should be.
For that answer to have to go back to a few days before I went off
on the last pilgrimage. To the beginning of October.
It had been a warm week, summer was having its last flourish.
Then on the Saturday it rained. Warm gentle rain that brought a
welcome freshness to the day. So Liz and I went to Tesco.
On my feet I had a pair of my beloved crocks. They were
a little old and so had a rather worn underside. Walking into
Tesco over the zebra crossing my feet went from under me and
I went down on my knees. I landed in the prayer position. And
it hurt, especially in my left knee. I went on with the days'
business. The pain seemed to quickly go. And a few days
later I went on the pilgrimage from Porto. During that time my knees
began to tell me the damage that I had done. I didn't believe them
and carried on as best I could. Now I have found out that I
have torn the ligaments on the inside of the knee. I am also told
that it will take two months minimum and up to 12 months to heal.
I may also need a graft to bring about true recovery. So I hobble along,
cruising from furniture to doorpost like a child learning to walk. All
my plans for the next Camino in tatters, wondering if and when I will
walk with ease again.
The walk from Porto was a wonder, if rather painful at time. I had
some thoughts about Jacob. He was the guy who wrestled
with God all night until the dawn when God touched his hip and
made him lame. Ever after that he walked with a limp, to mark him out!
As the days unfolded I found my thoughts turning back to that story.
Is this my future? Then it came to me a few days ago.
Pilgrimage is meant to mark you. You should never be the same
again. I have wrestled with the Camino for six years now and I now
carry the scars in my body of those fights.
But does it have to bring the walking to an end?

We're back and not a little changed!

I am back from the Camino Portugues and from a short holiday in South

West England. Did you miss me. A month has gone by, where has it gone?

 I see that this blogger is delivering another strange format once more.

 How do you guys do yours and produce such a good

shape? It always gives me trouble and I have to spend hours sorting

 in out. Anyway enough of the moans. The pilgrimage was good. Mixed

weather. Good company,but not an easy trip with many reversals.

 This time I had a real problem with my left knee.As leader I felt

that I had to go on as best I could, whilst keeping up with the group.

Therefore I walked over 100k in some pain.

The walking was not too difficult, the legs kept swinging

back and forth. Any lateral pressures would produce sharp pains. This

was on top of a constant base line ache. It really taught me the meaning

 of pilgrimage as a lifestyle..... We keep going, because we

keep going and that is what we do. And we do it until the day

that we walk  into heaven. The pain is nothing compared to the joy of

that day. And it was wonderful to get to Santiago 

and rest. Now two weeks later, it still hurts, but is getting better.

On arrival at Santiago I said that I am not going to go again.

As I said it I knew that I didn't

really mean it. Perhaps I could walk from Northampton to Santiago

next year via Portsmouth; Santander; Oviedo; Lugo ....

... It does have a certain appeal.

Only a few days now

The City of Porto.

 The River Douro

The Cathedral in Porto

I am nearly done. I have prepared the pilgrimage for the group
that will be leaving on Sunday morning. I still have to buy a few things.
These are mostly art materials for the group. This pilgrimage is to be
a prayer school and will included prayer through the creative. I
have never led a pilgrimage quite like this. It is my aim to
discover more of the experience of prayer that we call pilgrimage.

A few days ago I came across a rather interesting definition of
a true pilgrim. It did not depend on walking or on staying in the
right places, in fact it stayed well away from any definition of
that kind. Rather it focused on the heart of the pilgrim. Most
especially what happened after the return. It said~ A true pilgrim
is one who takes the lessons gained on pilgrimage and applies them
to their lives when they return. Now that is an interesting one, is
it not? By that definition there are not as many real pilgrims around
as we would like to think. And more than that, horror of horrors, some
of the real pilgrims to Santiago went on a coach!

So it is of great concern to me that more than an interesting time is
had by all. If you will, perhaps you will pray for us. That there
maybe a real encounter with our Lord Jesus that changes lives and
makes a difference to us all when we return. And we will pray for
you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I do not think that it is possible for anyone in the UK to have missed thevisit of the Holy Father to these shores. To many peopleit was a surprise that it was the success that it was. I followed the blogs on the internet for some weeks before hand. They were full of doom and gloom about the arrangements. Critics where complaining about how much it was going to cost. Why should the tax payer foot the bill and why was it a state visit? They discounted the Vatican state as an anomaly of history, an over grown house with pretensions to grandeur. So to pay any need to these Job’s comforters, was to believe that organizationally it was going to be a disaster and for that matter no one was going to turn up! Thank God the reality was different. God’s rottweiler turned out to be my grand dad in a funny dress. But the power was in what he said. The full significance has yet to be seen and I believe that a great deal has been done of that moves us towards unity with our brothers in Rome.

. The most significant part, for me, of the visit was that afternoon, when he spoke to the great and good in Westminster Hall. As he said in his speech, this was the place of Sir Thomas More’s trial. Thomas More was a courtier of Henry 8. He found himself in the position of choosing between following the teaching of the church about marriage and divorce and doing as Henry demanded,. Most especially was it possible for Henry to be rid of Catherine of Aragon, his wife. He decided that he had to follow his conscience. So he was tried and found guilt of treason and put to death. . The underlying question was, ‘Where is ultimate authority‘?. The Church or the state! The Pope’s speech made it clear that God’s law comes before our laws and is the model on which they are built. So the pope was saying that Church teaching comes first. . If this was not enough, having addressed the MPs etc in Westminster Hall, he goes across to Westminster Abbey and joins a service that is led by the leaders of the churches in England. That is, without those who have been in the previous meeting in Westminster Hall. In other words he addresses the Church. Those who exercise power in Westminster were not evident. It is not their place to interfere in the affairs of the church! . The overall message was that the Church is free of civil control and must exercise a prophetic ministry to guide the nation. Now for a church that is supposed to be The Established Church, with the Queen/ Parliament in Charge that was a big statement. A revolutionary change. I for one, welcome this shift. . The shackles of the secular power are loosening. Sir Thomas More would have been delighted

Today is the first day of the new year for Peterborough Pilgrims to Santiago. Yes, I do know that it is the 20 September, and as far as I know, there is no precedent, any place ,for this date to be the beginning of anything. So why is it the new year? Simple. Today is the the day I have started to make mint jelly for the clergy of the Diocese of Peterborough. I guess the you would like a little more information. Every other year, I make a large pan of jelly/chutney/ jam. This is packed in small jars and given to the diocesan clergy on their annual day conference. On the jar is a note with an invitation to come and hear about pilgrimages to Santiago, with a view to joining us next year. The invitation is for them and anyone in their congregations. You might think that a simple flyer would be enough. It isn't. Like school kids, it will be lost/ forgotten about before it gets home and has no chance whatsoever of getting beyond them. So a jar of something carries a label with the details on it. The jar gets handed over to the cleric's wife, who reads the label and the information gets passed on. It also comes out from time to time and sits on the dinning table of the home it has entered and reminds the family of its true purpose~ to get to new pilgrims and invite them to a tea party to hear about Santiago. Job done! It does work. We have had several folk join us by this method. So today is the start of the new season for us. We have number of pilgrimages planned for next year. They may change but these are the plans so far. Easter week and the following week; Porto to Santiago July 23 2011 depart; Northampton to Portsmouth 10 days; option to walk to Santiago via Santander Oviedo, Primativo, Santiago; circa 35 days from Northampton, plans to be developed in the light of interest. Early September; Sarria to Santiago. especially for the partially sighted and less than able. This will be an extended week. These pilgrimages are open to everyone. Would you like to join us? Well do!

A picture for the post below.

We may be behind, but we are coming!

This picture might be on the Mesata in Spain in early summer. But it is not. It is Northamptonshire on a rather dull day in August. And yes they are pilgrims, Santiago pilgrims. It is a pilgrimage organised by The confraternity of the Glorious Apostle St James the Greater in Peterborough Diocese, more often know as Peterborough Pilgrims or as Rebecka Scott calls us the Peterbros. We have been working for sometime on the development of the Camino/Way of St James in England from the remains of the Monastery of St James in Northampton to join with the route opened by the confraternity in Normandy and so on to Santiago. This photograph is the fruit of this work. We have found and walked the route from Northampton to Portsmouth harbour. We have a set of maps and a guide for any who wish to use them and we will put you up for the night before you start as well issue you with a credential from the Archconfraturnity We have also been recognised by the Bishop of Peterborough and issued with letters of association to develop our work,. St James tide was great time for us. But more of the pilgrimage. We started off from our guild church of St Mary, Far Cotton, just over the river from the ancient Abbey of St James on Saturday, 24 July, the eve of St James walking 5 miles that afternoon to Blisworth. We had a good number who came with us who had been at the dedication and lunch led by our president Bishop Donald Allister. This event was a gathering of over 60 pilgrims and well wishers.We stayed in the Baptist chapel for the night, setting off about 9am for the walk to St Peter and St James in Brackley. We passed the Santiago churches of Paulerspury, Syresham and arrived rather late for the evening service. This service was the night of St James day, day so it was a double celebration. The next day the walk was to Bletchingdon and camping overnight in a rather nice campsite. Then on to Oxford by way of the Oxford canal to St Stephen's house for the night. St Stephens gave us a great welcome and lovely rooms - too go of dirty Pilgrims .The highlight for most was the showers.. Next to Dorchester on Thames by way of Littlemore, where we stopped at the College. This was the home of John Henry Newman after he took leave of the Church of England and was where he was admitted to the Roman catholic fellowship. It is now managed by an order of Nuns who have restored and preserved his rooms and chapel. It is possible to stay there, but we didn't as it was early in the day. On to Dorchester. This was the home of St Birianus; the Apostle to the middle part of England. At one time his shrine was here, but the monks of Winchester pulled rank and took him to their Cathedral, where he now is. It is a great building and we were welcomed by their Vicar. She provided us with tea, before we set off for the night's stop at Wallingford, camping by the river. Now on the river for a while we enjoyed the evening which was rather overcast. We were under canvas, but had no rain .It was a good stop with a nice steak for dinner. The next day we were given water transport to Reading by a family who took good care of us. We had some debate as to the validity of a boat as a proper means of pilgrim transport. We came to the view that without boats, we would be in some difficulties on a later pilgrimage, when we will need the help of a boat to take us across the sea to St Malo/Santander to continue this route opening. We also considered that the Thames was the medieval M1 of its time. So we accepted. The sun shone and we watched the the countryside pass by. Our hosts were wonderful and supplied drinks and sandwiches. They blessed us and we left our blessing with them. In Reading we stayed with the Priest of St James the Great, Roman Catholic Church. This church is built in the grounds of the Abbey of St James, where the hand of St James resided for many centuries. He is a supporter of pilgrimage and as he has recently become the Parish priest is taking a great interest in the renewal of Santiago pilgrimage as it passes by his church. He gave us a stone from his garden, that was once part of the great Abbey, to place on the Santiago altar back home. There is much to be done to develop this work and he is with us. The route now diverts from what some have seen as the traditional ancient route. This would have gone straight to Winchester. The London confraternity of St James have incomplete plans for t his route and hope to develop it to Southampton, which was the point of embarkation in former times. Now one can go to the Isle of Wight or catch a container ship to most parts of the world, but no ferry to France or Spain. That traffic goes by road and the Dover ferry or tunnel. So we have started to promote the new route through Hook, Alton, Arlesford, Bishop's Waltham. This will need some adjustment. We have noted that it is better to head off from Alton to Petersfield, Havant and to Portsmouth. For us pilgrimage is a modern day spiritual discipline. It is more that the putting of feet into the marks of those who came this way long ago. To return to the journey. It is a wonderful walk to Hook. The church there was generous to lend us their hall and the Vicar was very friendly. The fellowship gave us a great dinner of fish and chips as well as Eucharistic hospitality. They took a great interest in our progress. Next morning it rather looked dull and promised a wet day. This is did not materialise, for which we were grateful. The countryside so far had been very interesting, but it now took on a different sort of interest with Hampshire breech woods and heaths. Long green lanes. It really does not get better that this. Before we started off, I was in two minds as to the value of the enterprise. What was the use of developing a walk/pilgrimage that was a long lost note of history. Just keep going to Spain and walk many of the routes that are so readily available. Or so I thought. The experience was very different. The only way I can explain it is that it was like being faced with a deep jungle. As we stood at the beginning with the dense green before us. It seemed almost impossible or at least very difficult to hack our way through. But as we put our feet on the path it was as though the herbage parted before us to reveal a long lost path that was still there. The green parted and we walked easily. One of our number who has walked a number of pilgrimages in Spain thought that this was the best that she has been one. Full of deep meaning and beauty. From Hook we crossed the grain of the land to Alton. A typical Hampshire town. Again we stayed in the parish hall. By now we were in need of a stop with a good shower this we got at Arlesford in the Swan Hotel the stop for t he next night. As for the showers they seemed to come every other day. The weather was good and at time very warm, for England. So we got. If it had been hotter we would have been in difficulties in this matter. On to Bishop's Waltham. For those who wanted a route that took in Winchester, there was a St Swithin's way that leads to Winchester. I had seen Winchester before and opted for the direct way. To me Winchester Cathedral is too commercial, too tourist of it to be of any use in the scheme of pilgrim things . So I opted for the direct way. That was not to be, as I had to take over the role of support diver. But the rest of the group decided that they didn't want to go to Winchester either. Perhaps it was the 8 miles that it added to the minimum of 12 to Bishop's Waltham. And so after a lovely sunny summers day the rest of the group showed up, as if by magic, in Bishop's Waltham that evening. They had had a good day. With just the right number of pubs on the way to keep them happy and moving. Pilgrims don't change much!! Then it was the last day. The triumphal arrival in Portsmouth. We went to the ferry port as a symbolic statement that we would be back to catch a ship to Northern Spain one day soon. That will be a year in October. We have decided that a walk to Santiago from Northampton is possible in the limits of the normal pilgrim journey . We have noted that it is the same walking distance to Santiago from Northampton,via Portsmouth, Santander and the Camino Primativo as it is for St Jean,

The energies of God in Pilgrimage

The Church Fathers, those early devines of the 3rd and 4th century made a distinction between the inaccessible essence of God and the energies by which he makes his inexhaustible essence available. These energies are at the same time plain and not so plain. The energies of creation that display to us the creative love that communicates beauty and a grace that Iis at its best magnificent, but marred by the these energies are plain to see, just open your eyes as you walk today. The wonderful downs the flowers and beasts in the field, the people who we pass. All show the glory of God. His not so pain energies are not hidden, but by their nature must be looked for another way. His energy that keep the beast of the field alive, the sustaining life of the earth. the creative word that moved across the face of the deep is still at work. Even if, like the wind we cannot see it we are aware of the presence and effects of it. These creative Energies have their focus in the person of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel~ God with us, God saving us, God liberating us. We know God by his energies which freely flow from him into all life. As we walk a humble openness is all that is needed to receive his Energy. Be open to the countryside ,yes by all means. But also be open to meeting him in others. All have the image. The likeness of God and his energies within.

Time to move on.

Each year on the CSJ. site one can find comments that wring the heart. Mostly these centre around the subject that has come to be known as 'Camino blues'. If you have never come across it before it is the reaction that many or is it most pilgrims have when they return to their normal life after anything up to three months on the Camino. They find that they have changed their whole outlook on life whilst away and now are shaken by the twin forces of a return to the same old rut and the knowledge that there is a better way to live. They know there is one because they have experienced it on Camino.

I have also heard from several places that folk are driven to tears because they feel lost. The blues really comes when it is realised that there is nothing they can do about it. Unfortunately for many this places the whole of the Camino into the realm of fantasy that was good while it lasted. But it is over, get over it.

I have been thinking about these things for sometime, perhaps it is years. For some the answer is to go on another pilgrimage as soon as possible. And keep going. That may be an answer, but I do not think that it is the right one. By all means go on as many pilgrimages as you wish or feel you need to join.You will gain much for your soul. But at the end you will still be standing at the same place

I have come to see that pilgrimage, a sacred journey, is only part of a much bigger journey or pilgrimage. The lessons gained on pilgrimage are meant to take us to the next level. It seems to me that most people come home expecting to make life different from now on However in the cold light of day they soon get lost. So what is needed is a structure that will support the individual in a collective that will enhance that person.

Many years ago St Francis came to see this same need . His answer was to start the third order. He gave a rule of life for those who would accept it. This rule was the distillation of his teaching. It also called into being a fellowship of brothers and sisters who were travelling along the same road. They could and do support each others as they know what the difficulties are.

I have been thinking about these things and it comes to me to ask the question 'Why should Santiago Pilgrims not develop a similar idea.' What about a Santiago rule, based on the pilgrimage lessons. If you want to know what those lessons are the read the thread I started on the CSJ discussion pages on the subject of lessons.

http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/el-camino-frances/topic8653.html

I really need some feed back on this one, What do you think?

The world gets bigger.

Some news. And this one of the reasons why I have not been posting in the last few weeks. Peterborough Pilgrims to Santiago have created a facebook page so that we can share more in this work of development. Everyone is invited. So, how to get into it? If you have facebook account, it is very easy. Just type in the friends box Peterborough Pilgrims to Santiago, and you will get there. It is an open group so join up. Or if you do not yet have a facebook account,then you will have to get one. Google Facebook click the links and follow the instructions. When you have a page, wall and all do, as above to join..See you there. Blessings.

The new Sello for Peterborough Pilgrims

This is the new sello for the

Peterbros. If you would like

see what the changes are

look a bit further down this

blog and you will see the

old one. We have added

the Diocesian arms of

Peterborough Diocese

as we are now a diocesian

organisation. The first

since the reformation.

It is our hope that we

can be a force for

renewal in the church

in the UK and Europe.

Come and join us. Contact

is via my email

ianholdworth@aol.com.

Great news

A few days ago, the new Bishop of Peterborough came to see me. This was in response to a paper I had produced about a change in the status of Peterborough Pilgrims to Santiago. Previously we had been one of those outfits that the diocese smiles upon but is not part of the diocesan structure. We are sort of answerable to the Bishop and semi detached at the same time. This was an interim measure until we got a bit bigger. Well that day has come. As a result of the paper and the meeting we are to receive a formal Charter and license. We will be fully integrated. The Bishop will be the President. And as the Archconfraternity has agreed to our existence as a associate member knowing that we Anglicans, we are now the first fully accredited ecclesiastical confraternity in the UK since the reformation. So on the 24 July 2010 we are to be formally started at the celebration of St James's day in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Northampton. This is open to all. If you can come you are most welcome! It is followed by a pilgrim feast. One of the objectives of our confraternity is to open, mark and walk the way~the Camino~ in the UK from the site of the former monestry of St James in Northampton to Portsmouth/ Southampton. After the pilgrim gathering on the 24 July some of us are going on that pilgrimage. It is open to all who wish to join. It is hoped that everyone who comes to the Mass and feast will walk with us to Blisworth our first stop. There is a bus that we take everyone home to St Mary's So join us for all or part of that gig.

This must stop.

In recent weeks I have been working to

establish a small Confraternity of St James.

I say in recent weeks, the truth is that I

have been working for 5 years on this project.

It has not been easy. I have not taken the

easy route and tagged along with the

other fraternities, because of a vision of

something rather different at the end of

the road from what is on offer at the moment.

I have seen the posts about 'what is a true

pilgrim.' Dressed in all its finery of pride

of walking to Santiago rather than going on the bus... or train....or even plane. I have walked to Santiago many, many times from all different directions.

I have met some wonderful people on the way and made lasting friendship

with some of them. And now as the fraternity is to emerge into the full

light of day I have been challenged from every direction, by those

who want to preserve the existing scheme of things. We are not a proper

fraternity. We shouldn't be doing what we are doing and the implied correction

that whatever it is that we are up to it should be through the existing

organisation. By this I am not talking about the Archdiocese or the

Archconfraternity. Things are fine with them. We are accepted for

what we are . But I am speaking of others who are worried that we

might spoil their game by being different. The fraternity called

Peterborough Pilgrims to Santiago is unashamedly Christian and more than

that we are Anglican. This is an Episcopally backed outfit. Our Bishop is our

President! I am an Anglican priest. I am exercising my Anglican

ministry. Within that Anglican heritage is a history of nearly 1500 years

when we were organically joined at the hip to the western patriarch called

the Pope and the church which he leads, the Roman Catholics. But I am

also a catholic,not Roman Catholic, it becomes a little difficult to see what

lies in the future in Church unity. For many of us there is a deep

feeling that one day we will go home and the family spat will be over.

Be that as it may. Within the common heritage of 1500 years there

is the whole emergence of the cult of St James and Santiago pilgrimage.

It is part of my Spiritual DNA. It maybe that the Roman catholic Church

holds Santiago in trust, but they hold it for all Christians.

On my first pilgrimage the one thing that hit me in the face was that

for those who had little faith and even those who had much faith

there was little done to interpret the experience as it was happening

to those who had only a little basic Spanish. This was the need that

drew me into becoming a pilgrim Anam Cara. As time has gone on there

have been other needs that I have discovered. Not least of all that

every country in Europe has a direct link with the Camino, but the

UK still has not reopened the historic route from the midlands via

Reading to the south coast ports. Even though we still have the Saints

forearm in a Church in Marlow we have not reopened the way.

And so I went to work. Now there are many who will want ask and

even demand that 'there be room for those who want to walk a

celtic/pagen pilgrimage. They should included. How dare I propose

that I should be so narrow as to insist that our fraternity

should be christian. I should respect them for what they believe

and not deny them'.

Well ! it seems to me that it is a question of respect. I respect them

enough to not wish to make any comment of what they do. If

they wish to hug trees and dance in the nude, wandering wherever

they wish and calling it a pilgrimage, that is up to them. They are

responsible for their own souls. But I expect the same respect. I

am not inventing Christian Santiago Pilgrimage, I only wish

to link with this heritage of prayer and contemplation that

leads to the icon experience that we call hugging the saint.

I am taking responsibility for my own soul and the souls of

those who come with me.

This is all a question of respect and acceptance. These virtues

are part of the great Christian virtue of loving the neighbour.

But even so they are recognised as worthy of merit by all.

It is a two way street give and take. Don't judge my pilgrimage and

fraternity by the values that you impose on yours. And don't

call it a christian pilgrimage when it is not!

The Rhythm of Pilgrimage Part3.

So after a few days the body has caught up with the aspirations of the mind. This does not mean that all will be easy it will not. Although you will have become much fitter than you have been for a long time, you are still working at a high level of energy expenditure. You will get more and more tired as time goes on. If you are not blessed by the need to be back at work on a certain date and you have an open fight ticket, then it is possible to rest more often. But this is not available to many. It is not easy to stay fresh for the whole of the Camino's 55o miles. Pacing yourself helps, bit that Ryan air flight is not negotiable and you will have to push yourself to keep to a timetable. All that being said it does not mean that you have to rush the whole time. Unless that is that you have planned the trip to the hour. And you have overestimated you abilities. This is the province of the young. The restless need to get on and get there is an enemy of a satisfying pilgrimage. So allow space in your pilgrimage for a days rest now and again. So let's return to day four onwards. By now the pains are less and you are walking with ease. If you started from St Jean the country is getting a little less hilly and the walking is good through the Rioja. pleasant vineyards and little villages are a joy, at first, but so is human nature one does get used to them. There are sights that enthrall. I remember one morning coming up to Ganon. The Church was visible on the hill ahead. The moon was full and setting. It was broad daylight. there was a moment when the moon sat on top of the church tower as though it was impaled on the weather vane. And the moon looked so close that it appeared that it tower of the Church and the moon were exactly the same distance away. Unforgettable. Now you begin to think about everyone you have left behind, the joys and the problems. This drifts into the the dark corners of memory to those places where the unresolved lurks. You begin to work them. After a few days one gets to a place of peace. The work now is to be on the deepest level. One enters a space where time losses its relevance. I only have this distance to walk and I have four hours to lunch. I am deep with myself and experiencing a certain detachment from the immediate reality. This is an important place to be. Jesus said seek and you will find. Use the space for this most spiritual of all quests. You can switch off and become a walking zombie, many do. The unspiritual most certainly do, but you Child of God are able to experience an Emmaus experience. He is walking right next to you. Those senses that have have been switched off for years back at home are coming to life. It is although you developed a whole new set of senses. You are not able to see him, but you know he is there. Let God now work in you.

The Rhythm of Pilgrimage. Part 2

Time to set out. The planning and the

packing are over.The flight, like as not

thanks by Ryan ( let me charge you per

breath on my plane and you can sit

on the wing) is past and you

have got yourself to St Jean de Pied de Port

without major event.

What now? Excitement; Concern that this

is all too much; A feeling that it would be

nice to drop out and become a tourist; all

these feelings come to the surface, and many more.

The beat of the drum moves on consumed by the slow relentless

pace of events. It is almost like a conveyor, which is pulling you

towards that start in the morning.

The sense of moving on will be with you until you arrive at Santiago

or dropout. It is however a feeling that must be

watched. It is easy to miss out on some of the greatest experiences of

you life, because you are unaware of what is really happening to you.

This rhythm that I am beginning to write about must be channelled

to understand all that the Camino has for you. The rhythm is

important~ in part that is what you came to engage with. It is

different from daily life. It is an emptied out day. At home there are

so many things that demand your time. Most of the time there are too

many to deal with in one day. The day becomes overcrowded with the result

that life becomes one of pressure. On pilgrimage there are only a few

things that you have to do. They are :- get up, walk, have breakfast,

walk, stop for coffee, walk, have lunch, walk, arrive at the destination,

rest, wash, both you and your clothes. eat, go to sleep. You might

slip in a few postcards/email and visit a couple of sights along the way.

That's it. Nothing more. Leaving a great deal for time to reflect on life.

It is in this space that you begin to get to grips with

all those problems that you have been pushing aside for years

All those memories that are too painful to confront. They and kindred

things are like a suitcase that you have stuffed for years with parcels.

All with a label that says to be dealt with some other time. The suitcase

is bulging, held shut by leather straps that are about to give way.

All this bursts out. Now is the time to deal with it. The stripped out

day allows for this deep healing of the soul. But it doesn't happen yet.

The rhythm of pilgrimage is more than the daily round. There are distinct

phases to the days and weeks. On that first day as you set off up the

hill to Roncevalles you soon begin to feel the pain. You have been doing

walks for sometime now, but these have not really prepared you for

what is ahead and what you are now doing. This mountain seems

to get steeper and steeper and it keeps on, up and up you go. And oh!

my limbs are not used to this. Willpower keeps you going. How can I

give up after a couple of hours on this walk. What would my wife say

You are on you own. Shyness, and the good old reserve, stop you from

saying much to those who follow you up the hill. Anyway you husband

all your energy to get up up this bit. It must end soon, but it does not.

You will by now be aching all over and be short of breath.

Praise be the top at last and a shortish walk down to

Our Lady of Roncevalles. Rest and blissful sleep.

The next morning, Off again. A few pains coming with me today, but

I soon walk through them to that place where I begin to doubt that

I can do this. Last night on my bed I looked at the guide again and

began to realise that 55o miles is a very long way. I must have been

mad to have thought that I could do it. In the dark I fell asleep

thinking that I would do as much as I can, but I will be on the

bus before I get to Santaigo.

The Sun is out and I have been talking to the people who I had

dinner with last night. They begin to tell me a some of their story

and it makes me feel a little more comfortable. They are having

the same problems on this walk as I am, and they have

painful blister in the same place as mine. We go on together.

It is night now I feel awful. I cannot do this even though I want too.

Too far, too long, too much. All I want to do is sleep. So I do. I awake

a feeling a little refreshed, but I am stiff and ache from top to toe.

I will go to bed after dinner and tomorrow I will think about how

I can get home. I do not care anymore about how I will explain this

to my wife.I do not care about loss of face. I want out.

Sleep comes quickly.

Day three. I still have some pains, but I could walk a little this morning.

Besides that will take me to Pamplona and it will be much easier to

get public transport from there. As I walk things easy somewhat.

Again ,I talk to those who are around me. No much and not very

deeply, but it is encouraging. I start to notice the countryside as I look

beyond the painful place that I am in. It seems that it sorta helps. In

my prayers, which have all been of the nature of 'God get me up this hill/

to the next bar/ to the Albergue' I begin to have a few other ideas

pushed in that are not about my exhaustion~ thanks for this beautiful place,

for these people, be with my wife at home. As this takes place I start

to think that today may not be the end after all. Besides I have

walked near 50 miles; almost 10% of the whole pilgrimage.

I don't know if I can do the whole lot, but I can do more.

I stop at an albergue on the far side of Pamplona, where the

owner/hospitaler is famous for the way she works on and heals feet. The

fame is well deserved as she works wonders on me and my feet.

This is the end of the first phase. It has all been about the body. The

distortion of modern life that has made us more cerebral that physical

is being redressed. The body and mind are painfully reunited. The

body has complained every step of the way and has made the mind l

listen to it. A painful lesson, but a good one. This pilgrimage is about

becoming whole. In Christian terms this very good. The whole

point of the little baby in the stable is that God did not spurn our

humanity but he embraced it. The salvation plan includes the

body. In far eastern religions. The body is a nuisance, something to be

overcome and left behind. Not so with us Christians. The body is part of

my spiritual nature. When Jesus returned to heaven, he took his body

with him. So God has a truly human face. We are discovering this

in a practical way. Soon as the body gets up to speed and the mind

interacts with the flesh in a proper manner, it will open up a whole

new vista. More of that later.

This post is now getting too long so I guess there will have to be a

part 3 to this post. Back soon.

Ian

There is a rhythm to Pilgrimage Part 1

Two good friends of mine;Peter and Julie. Above St Jean

There is also a rhythm to blogs. And this one is right off the scale at the moment.It is also very late. How many times have I written that on this site? I have a love hate relationship with all this. I also paint and that is just the same. I hate to get started. When I am in the water things are fine and I get on and even enjoy it! But there are two things that tick me off .One is all that Html stuff. Sorting the page out so that it does not look like a distress spider has put it together.Even as I write the the blog page is double spacing everything. I didn't ask of it, did you? The other thing is having written a blog something freezes it up so that you can do nothing with it. You know, in your soul that,you are two or three moves away from a total delete.Like a road accident you know that it is going to happen whatever you do. You will make that move that will consign a full post into cyber oblivion. Well ,that is what happened with the last post,done a week ago. I have not had the energy to rewrite it. But I am on the way. So bear with me I am anti cyber at the moment. In contrast I had a great dream last night about being on pilgrimage and it was easy and I was was going along quite fast and far without any pains. It was only a dream.It does not happen like that. It did however remind me of the joys of pilgrimage.

So the excuses and a bit if a rant later I am ready to start the post about the rhythm of pilgrimage, but that will have to be part 2