Cryptic Meg

At our church, we’ve just started a new series of monthly events. It’s an ancient church on the edge of Dartmoor, so we’ve decided to make the most of our local history and scenery by going on a series of small pilgrimages. For our opening session this evening, I took some photos of our destinations, and I prepared the following few words:

The idea of pilgrimage is very ancient, and pre-dates Christianity. Humans have been undertaking journeys to places of significance since time immemorial, and we continue to do so. The sites we’ll be visiting around Harford cover that vast span of history – from the timeless River Erme, to Bronze Age hut circles, to this originally Saxon church, right up to living memories of the founding of the Woodland Trust and people known to us buried in this graveyard.

The ancient idea of pilgrimage, as adopted by Christianity and other religions, is that a person removes themselves from their home environment, and goes on both a physical and spiritual journey. The destination is a special place of some sort of spiritual significance, which serves as an outward mark of an inward goal. Over the millennia there have been different motivations to undertake pilgrimages: there have been journeys of thanks, journeys of penitence, and journeys following in the footsteps of holy heroes such as saints and martyrs. For a long time it was also one of very few reasons to travel – a rare experience of life away from home and the ordinary.

When we set out to create a new series of Sunday events here at St. Petroc’s, we thought we could seize the opportunity to experience this beautiful parish and its history in a new (but also ancient) way. Our plan is to be modern-day pilgrims, journeying to significant locations and always returning to the special space that is this building. We invite you to join us on these journeys away from ordinary life.

Historically pilgrims would retain some sort of tangible token to remind them of their pilgrimage. These sometimes took the form of badges, or flasks of oil or holy water. This is why we’ve given you your pilgrim’s passports. You’ll see that there is an empty space for each event, which you may want to use to fill with something – perhaps just a picture or a word – that records your response to that day’s outing. At the end of the series we will have a creative day and a celebration at the church that we hope will give you an opportunity to create something that reflects your journey in these months: your own token to remind you of Harford’s special spaces.

We had a good turnout and very positive feedback from this first session – so I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!