Pilgrimage

Pilgrim Badge

End of the Journey

Tulips along the way

With the Bishop

This was my first pilgrimage walk and it was a wet day with a slow rain. We started about 8:30am, after a hot breakfast with 13 persons, several of whom were not dressed properly. I didn't know what to expect and was a little hesitant about the 12 miles in the rain. Still, the day was mild, even with the drizzle, and I was dressed for the trek. Once we were in the countryside, the green hills, flowering trees, singing birds, and lowing cattle kept our attention until we arrived half way, in Harpenden, after about 2.5 hours. It was still raining so we ate a packed lunch on the stairs to the parking garage. Some left us here and another joined us, as we set out down the St. Albans road turning to cross country at the estate of Childwick, where we rested in the chapel. From Childwick we began the last stretch over a private path and then through the woods and across the fields until we could see the Cathedral sitting atop the mound at St. Albans. We wound our way down into the town and to the entrance of a lovely park stretching to the foot of the Cathedral. After a wait for our chaplain Andrew, we made our way to the warm and dry and welcoming sounds of the chiming bells at the Cathedral, which was filled with pilgrims, some from 20 miles or more. This was also my first time in the Cathedral, built over the tomb of the first English Christian Martyr, St. Alban. Two bishops were leading the service and they made pilgrims welcome as they joked lightly about our walk in the rain. We sang hymns of praise to Jesus and then marched around the church to finish, before heading our separate ways. For various reasons, I had missed out on our tradition of sunrise service Resurrection Morning. This trek met a need inside me to honor Jesus in some physical way this year. I feel happy to have had the experience.