News from my solo 200 miles pilgrimage

A PILGRIMAGE TO HELP END SLAVERY

8-26 September 2023

 

Well – I’m nearly there! Nearly at the end of a 200 mile solo pilgrimage, from Coventry Cathedral to Bath Abbey, with just two more days to go. Here’s a little taste of some of the 19 days so far, with weather ranging from the oppressive heatwave of that first weekend of mid 30sC to storm Nigel and torrential rain!

 

 

TWENTY MILES due to a diversion; plus a bad fall. Day 4 was certainly ‘interesting!’


 

 

 

 



 

Day 16. A very pretty day! The White Horse Trail on Pewsey Downs, with Adam’s Grave Hill, and The White Horse all up above me to my right. I kept to the Kennet and Avon Canal, all the way to Devizes, where I treated myself to a drink in The Bridge Inn and made a new friend in a large chicken. To which my son wrote, Been gone a while, haven’t you Mum! 

But it’s been worth it - donations to sponsor my walk and help @ijm work to end trafficking and slavery are still flowing in!  Every little helps to release the captives. Justgiving page is open until the end of the month.

The work that Bath Abbey is doing in regard to the Monuments and Memorials that adorn the walls, and the issues being raised about slavery, have got me thinking! We can't personally do anything to change history and the fact that slavery and people trafficking occurred; but we CAN learn from history, and we CAN do something positive to try to end the slavery and human trafficking that is happening today. I decided to celebrate my 70th birthday with a Pilgrimage, and ask people to sponsor the miles by making a donation to IJM.

The International Justice Mission is a non-profit organisation that works to help end human trafficking - a horrifying 40 million people are waiting for rescue, restoration and justice. IJM is the largest international anti-slavery organization. It works in almost 20 communities around the world to fight for justice on behalf of those who are being oppressed. Because of IJM supporters, families have been freed from slavery, girls from brothels and children from cybersex trafficking. It was founded by Gary Haugen, who was a member of the church where I served in ministry in Virginia.  www.ijmuk.org/

I've two days more walking to reach Bath Abbey and the 200 hundred miles in September 2023, from Coventry Cathedral to Bath Abbey, where I hope a clergy member from the Bath Abbey team will meet me for a final prayer and blessing.  

The Church Times is interested in a story about my pilgrimage, and IJM_UK have already featured it on their social media accounts a couple of times.

I’m aiming to raise funds through sponsorship to help the mission of IJM - to help end slavery in our lifetime. I had hoped to raise £10 for every mile I walk; and the great news is that people have blown that out of the water and we are well over! Would you help me raise it even further with a small contribution to IJM? You can sponsor my miles with a donation to my IJM fundraising page on JUSTGIVING. Thank you. When I read that children, equivalent to the number of children in all of England and Wales, are currently in slavery all around the world, it made me even more determined to help IJM in their work to set the captives free. Every little helps. 

Thank you.   I’m aiming to be in Bath Abbey by 3.45pm on Tuesday September 26th; I’d love to have a huge total of donations for IJM by then!

Walking from Coventry to Bath via the Coventry Canal, the Oxford Canal, the Thames Path and the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The planned route. Some of the mileage turned out a little differently! I’ll do a final total at the end of Tuesday 26th when I reach Bath Abbey.

ARE YOU READY?




Are you ready for what lies ahead? 

Social media, magazines and newspapers are awash with suggestions and advice about how you might best deal with the ‘unprecedented’ situation, how you can best survive the next six months, how you can find the key to health and happiness now in spite of what is happening all around us.

‘The Times’ recently recommended cooking outside on a winter barbeque, refuelling with hot chocolate after a run, taking a nap during the day with the curtains drawn, and learning how to pickle cucumbers. 

Really? Learn how to pickle cucumbers?  

Jamie Oliver seems to pickle cucumbers …..

Jamie Oliver seems to pickle cucumbers …..

Moving on swiftly ….

What do you need to be ready for WHATEVER may lie ahead? 

 Like most people, you probably don’t know what lies ahead and you fear the worst. Actually, isn’t that true for most of us most of the time? We none of us knows what lies ahead even though we plan and prepare and presume that what we schedule and diarize will indeed happen. Eventually. Somehow. 

 

Anthony Robbins, the American motivational speaker and author, (I know, a Marmite situation, love it or hate it...) said, 

“People are shaped not by how things go when things are going well; people’s lives are shaped by the most difficult times. … This is your time for training, for practice, to prepare for what’s ahead…I guarantee you, winter will end, and when it does you will emerge that far ahead.  You will have taken your life to a new level.”

How will your life be shaped in these difficult times? 

Are you ready for what lies ahead? 

How will you take your life, your walk with God, your spirituality, to a whole new level? 
What will help you to prepare and to go deeper with God?

One thing that will happen in spite of Covid and economic downturns and whatever else life throws at us, is December 25th.  Unless they change the very calendar before then (anything is possible right now, right?!)

 

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December 25th. Remembering the birth of Emmanuel, God with us.

Christmas.

Maybe not in the way we normally remember and celebrate.

Maybe there will need to be new creative ways, less commercialism, (there’s always hoping!) other ways to celebrate the Saviour’s coming.

 

The Christian Church has traditionally prepared for Christmas and the coming of the Christ child through the four weeks beforehand, the time known as Advent. Perhaps this year, as lockdowns increase and uncertainty and fear surround us, it’s a good year to concentrate even more on the things of God. 

To prepare for the coming of the Saviour.

To celebrate and remember Advent.

Not just the giddy opening of advent calendars filled with luscious chocolates (for the young) or gin or whisky (for the slightly older). But the burning of beautiful advent candles in church and at home. The hanging of a Jesse tree and its ornaments and verses. Special daily readings, such as Lucy Rycroft’s “Redeeming Advent” or Vicki Cottingham’s daily devotional. 

But also a really special time of preparation, a time when it’s just you and God, allowing him the time and space to speak into your life? Here’s one especially for you: 


An Advent Retreat 

for uncertain and unprecedented times -

An Individual Guided Retreat (online)

 

Where: your own special Sacred Space. This is online. No need to worry about social distancing, masks, or what to wear! Relax in your comfy chair with your favourite brew , in your pjs if you like, and experience the presence of God in an unhurried and special way.

When:  Saturday November 28th 2020 – the day before Advent begins so that you are ready to step into Advent itself. (but you can do it at any time - read on…)

What: The Three Questions. Looking at three very specific questions asked by people in the months and weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus. They were living through uncertain and unprecedented times; they each had difficult personal situations; they each had their worries and concerns. Sound familiar? 


There’ll be some input, some time for personal reflection, some led meditation/ Imaginative prayer times.  And a downloadable journal for you to keep and write in.

Time:

9.30am -12.30 pm  (GMTLondon)                

Session One: The Question of Disappointment 

Session Two: The Question of Inadequacy/self-esteem

Session Three: The Question of Control

 

There will be a 5 minute ‘comfort break’ between each session.

 

The sessions will be recorded and you’ll be able to watch them whenever you like, so if you aren’t able to join us on 28th November, or if you are living in a different time zone, you’ll still be able to benefit from this retreat .

 

The cost includes:

-       three hours on retreat

-       teaching and input

-       forever access to the recordings 

-       a downloadable journal 

-       resources 

-       and a special free gift just for you.

-       Three hours for you to spend extra special time with God, something you might not actually get around to on your own! 

 

All this for just £20.  All you need to provide is yourself, a pen and somewhere comfy to sit, and a cup of coffee or tea – or hot chocolate! YAY!

Come and join us on November 28th for just three hours that will probably change the way you celebrate Advent and then Christmas this year.  

 Click here to join the online ADVENT RETREAT.

 

One thing before you go - here’s a little video to help you cope in these (dare I say unprecedented!) challenging times. It’s Bath Abbey’s Thought For the Day, one I was privileged to record a few weeks ago. Enjoy!


Did you skim read to the end??!! The most important bit is to prepare and get ready - you can find the link here to join the Advent Retreat on November 28th.


There are some affiliate links in this blog post. If you click through to buy one of the books, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! But absolutely no pressure and it’s great if you can order these from your local Christian bookshop.











 


 


 

In need of some exercise?

in

On Wednesday - yes, THIS Wednesday, I shall meet this year's Pilgrims and we will head off to the Cotswolds for the Pilgrimage. I am excited ... apprehensive ... and I am sure they are too! Will you join us in spirit even if you are not with us physically?  I will be tweeting each day about our progress - find it here: @minstriesbydsgn And maybe you can take a few moments each day as you read our tweets to think about your own walk, your journey with Christ - maybe think about some of the verses which remind us that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7 ) that we need to keep in step with the Spirit  (Gal 5:16) and we are pressing on towards the goal! (Phil 3:12-14) For the Pilgrims next week, that goal is Bath Abbey, where we will be having our own service when we arrive  - footsore, maybe,  tired - but exhilarated no doubt! 100 miles up and down the Cotswold escarpment.

The Cotswold Pilgrimage

Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey

For centuries, Christians have walked to special places, to take time to be with God and allow God the time and space to work in their lives. A pilgrimage is a setting aside of one’s normal routine, and taking time to reflect on what the Lord is saying, and allowing the rhythm of the walk to give mental and spiritual refreshment. It is a physical expression of our spiritual journey with God; it is a time to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in the company of others; and it is a desire to spend quality time with God in a new way.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jer. 6:16

SO HERE WE GO!  A Pilgrimage Walk in the stunningly beautiful hillsides of the English Cotswolds. We will be  spending 8 days on a vacation with a difference: walking on the ancient footpaths and pilgrim paths from Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey. It's the fourth time I've done this!

 

We will worship God in the beauty of His creation; take time to think of how we can live our lives as a daily offering of worship to Him; and allow ourselves the time and space to exercise spiritually as well as physically. Daily devotional talks each evening will be based on different Walks in Scripture or on verses we learn as we walk.  We will walk and talk, pray and sing, reflect and contemplate, listen for  that still small voice.

Join with us - in prayer, in time with God, maybe even in some extra exercise?

Might you share this?   - repost and retweet, as we'd love to have lots of people praying for us!

And why not think about doing the Pilgrimage with me next year?