Join me for a day of pilgrimage Sat Oct 19th 2024

Have you ever made a pilgrimage? Spent time out in nature, just walking, reflecting, praying, noticing, and walking some more? Or wished you had but don’t know where to start – literally as well as spiritually? Or haven’t the time or money to go walk-about for an extended period?

Join me on a day’s pilgrimage and discover just how beautiful and life changing it can be.

-       The walk will be about 10 miles And we’ll have some fun and enjoy ourselves!

-       It will be like a day on a longer pilgrimage, starting and ending in prayer, taking time with the Lord and with one another, making new relationships and deepening others.

-       As we walk, sometimes we’ll chat to each other, sometimes walk in silence with something to reflect on or pray through.

-       We might sing or do a ‘spiritual exercise.’

-       We’ll learn how to take joy in the journey.

When and where and who

Saturday October 19th 2024. 

10.30am – 4.30pm

Dorchester-on-Thames, just south of Oxford

Full details of where to meet will provided nearer the time. It is a circular walk and there is plenty of parking where we start/end. It’s 10 miles - my mileage in the photo above included a small errand earlier in the day!

There are two or three places en route where you could opt out and call a taxi if needed (but we really hope that won’t be necessary!). You need the security of knowing that, however.

A group of 16 max (including me!)  So do sign up soon.  Invite a friend to come with you or come alone, your choice.

What you need   - here are some general guidelines for those not too sure.

-       Good walking boots or shoes, walking socks, waterproofs (this IS England!)

-       a small backpack to carry the day’s needs.

-       Comfortable clothes for walking (jeans are not recommended!)

-       Your own picnic lunch.

-       Plenty of water to drink. I usually carry 2 bottles of water and a flask of hot coffee!

-       A moderately good level of fitness. There are a couple of gradual climbs /hills, but we will go slowly when necessary! And pause to look at the view ....

Optional extras

-       Walking poles. I like one, other people prefer two.

-       Spare sweater.

-       Sun cream (there’s always hoping)

-       Snacks to keep you energized, eg a good low sugar trail mix or energy bar. Or bananas.

Included in the day’s pilgrimage:

-       A fully guided walk of about 10 miles

-       Spiritual input and guidance

-       Any resources that will be required

-       Basic First aid

-       Support and guidance as needed before and during the day.

NB: we turn off our mobile phones, or at least put them in airplane mode for the day. And apologies, but no pets this time.

Cost for the day

The cost for all this is just £20, payable in advance; or £25 if paid on the day.

Not included:

-       Travel to and from the pilgrimage

-       Insurance/cover for any injuries (we hope and pray there won’t be any!)

-       Food and drink

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

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.

It is a walk with a difference.

Winchester Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral, September 2021

I’m used to walking!

The booking form is below.   Copy/paste, to email your completed booking form to me here

To pay: £20    Please quote your name as reference Thank you.

 BACS payment

Sort Code: 09-01-28    A/C name: Rev P J Swithinbank     A/c no: 77218204

Paypal friends and family:  penelope@ministriesbydesign.org

Credit Card: https://penelopeswithinbank.com/orders (please note there is a small admin fee added)

AND - advanced notice and an invitation:

If you enjoy walking on pilgrimage, my husband and I will be leading TWO pilgrimages in 2025.

May - the last week of the Via Francigena into Rome, organised with McCabe Pilgrimages. About 60 miles, plus two days in Rome.

We will be walking from Viterbo to Rome

September - a week walking in the Austrian Alps, in the Pitzal area, organised with McCabe Pilgrimages. About 10 miles each day, returning to a lovely hotel where we stay.

Brochures will be out this September, very soon, so let me know if you’d be interested to see them.

A DAY of PILGRIMAGE

Booking  Form

Name     _________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________

City        _________________________________

County   ______________________________________________

Post code ___________     

Home Telephone ___________________   Mobile _______________________

Email     ___________________________________________________

Age          ____________________

Next of kin to contact in case of emergencies

Name _________________  Phone ______________________

Relationship to you ___________________________________

Church you attend          _______________________________

Please briefly describe any other retreats or Pilgrimages you have been on

Please briefly describe why you would like to come on the Day of Pilgrimage

Looking forward to walking with you!

How to walk and pray. Or pray and walk

'Hidden Manna on a Country Road' is a beautifully-written 40 day devotional on prayer. It's based on Sarah Geringer's walks with her golden lab, Memphis, particularly those daily 30 minutes on the gravel road during lockdown. As she walked, Sarah began to realise that the scattered beauties of nature all around her can be reminders to her of God and of how to pray and what to pray for. She likens these to the manna given by God to the Israelites in the wilderness, a daily provision and feeding. There are 4 sections, one for each season.

Each chapter begins with a Bible verse, which is followed by the account of a walk, what she notices and how that feeds into her prayers, whether praises or petitions. There's then a helpful prayer, followed by 3 questions for deeper reflection.

As a prayer walker and long-distance hiker, I found this book delightful to read and helpful to study. However, there are some big cultural difference between her American walks and my European ones, not least the fact that flora and fauna are often very different. It was therefore difficult sometime to imagine what she was talking about (what do plantain rosettes look like, for instance? I gratefully googled to find out!) but the general underlying themes of using nature to strengthen our prayer life was easily understood. And by going to the author's website I found photos of Memphis!

Another area that was difficult was the 5 generations living in the same area, of having memories and roots of the same places for such a long time and using that to feed her prayer life. Many of us have moved a great deal in our lives, many of our preceeding generations have too, and that became an area that I had to bring to the Lord in prayer, to overcome the longing to have had that in my life as well, and to be able to realise that neither is right nor wrong and that both - the longevity and the newness - have each something to be grateful for and things to teach us.

The book is not difficult to read; it's easy to access and by the end the reader feels a personal knowledge of the gravel road and its surrounds. And on my own daily outings, there have been many occasions when I've remembered how Sarah used the creation around her to deepen and strengthen her prayer life, and have used her prompts in my prayer walks.

The simple ideas and suggestions will be very helpful for those not so adept at prayer; will give new ideas to those more used to praying; and will be an inspiration whether you are an outdoors hiker or an armchair one!

Links to buy the paperback and kindle editions:

FOR USA readers, Sarah’s book book Hidden Manna on a Country Road: Seeing God’s Daily Provision All Around Us is available for preorder! Visit this page for all the information about the book and upcoming book launch in fall 2022.

Thank you to NetGalleyUK and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WHO NEEDS A GOAL?

I am writing a daily blog (Monday to Friday)  on preparing spiritually and physically

to lead a Pilgrimage of 100 miles in September.

for details of the Pilgrimage, click on the dropdown Cotwold Pilgrimage bar at the top of this page 

WEEK FIVE DAY ONE

It’s difficult to do something without a focus, a goal, an end-in-sight.

Or it is if you are me.

Walking miles for no reason with no companions and nowhere in particular to aim for is not something I enjoy.

And attempting the goal is easier the nearer it becomes – there’s still eleven weeks until the Pilgrimage: plenty of time, I tell myself!

So I was looking forward to the 60^th birthday celebration for my brother-in-law on June 16:  an 8 mile circular walk in north Devon, with a pub lunch half way. Only my husband’s indefatigable brother could have persuaded family and friends to join him on such an expedition – even with the promise of a champagne tea at the end.

Alas, it was not to be part of our Saturday.

My husband has pleurisy and is confined to total rest.

As it was cold, wet and windy in Devon, his brother - who is a doctor - told him in no uncertain terms not to go. So we didn’t. I offered to go alone but the long long drive there and back by myself in foul motorway conditions did not bode well – and my husband did not need a long day alone either.

But I really did want to walk.  Our local weather was not too bad. And an hour or two of walking each side of lunch would be great practice for the Pilgrimage.

I needed a goal, a focus.

I found it in the aforesaid pub lunch – only at a different pub. An hour and a half to walk across the fields to a local  favourite pub, and an hour and a half back.

Perfect.

Especially when the husband said he felt he could drive the 15 minutes it takes by car – we could meet for a date!

And so I had not one but two purposes: a good walk to get to lunch -and a date with my beloved.

With such purposes, I found myself striding out, walking fast, aiming for the goal.

It worked: I was there early. Plenty of time for a glass of wine, petting all the resident dogs including the new 12 week old spaniel puppy (envy envy) and reading the paper.

Unhurried lunch, time to talk, to BE, to be together.

And then a brisk walk back – uphill most of the way but inspired this time by the thought of tea and finishing the excellent book I was reading.

A purpose or two, a goal, an end-in-sight.

That inspires me to do what otherwise I might not attempt.

And inevitably it reminds me of my ultimate goal, which I find so easy to forget is ahead of me:

Running toward the Goal

12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. 15 All of us who are mature should think in this same way. And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. 16 But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.

Philippians 3 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

What do YOU need a goal for? Where are you headed? What helps to focus on it?