Pilgrimage

A few thoughts on pilgrimage as I am about embark on the Camino De Santiago…

1. I’ve been fascinated by pilgrimage for quite some time. I attended a Church of England Primary School where we had a religious assembly every morning, with at least one hymn. One of my favourite’s was He Who Would Valiant Be. Here are the words… of course, these days I would totally de-gender the language 😊…

   He who would val­iant be ’gainst all disaster,
 Let him in con­stan­cy fol­low the Master.
 There’s no dis­cour­age­ment shall make him once re­lent
 His first avowed intent to be a pil­grim.

   Who so be­set him round with dis­mal stories
 Do but them­selves con­found—his strength the more is.
 No foes shall stay his might; though he with gi­ants fight,
 He will make good his right to be a pil­grim.

   Since, Lord, Thou dost de­fend us with Thy Spir­it,
We know we at the end, shall life in­herit.
Then fan­cies flee away! I’ll fear not what men say, 
I’ll la­bor night and day to be a pil­grim.

   Here is a video of the hymn - https://youtu.be/EJEjbgoa32A

2. In recent years it has felt as though the repetition of those words - to be a pilgrim - somehow buried themselves deep into my soul, and just sat there waiting to work their way to the surface.

3. Back in February 2019 I undertook a pilgrimage of sorts when I took the slow roads to St Louis for the special called General Conference and visited several United Methodist Churches along the way. You can read more about that journey here - https://um-insight.net/general-conference/a-way-forward/ahead-of-st-louis-meeting-one-united-methodist-offers-prayer/ A pilgrimage by car of course, not by foot.

4. I first heard about the Camino de Santiago through the movie The Way starring Martin Sheen. I imagine many folks heard about it the same way. I think we watched the film soon after it was released in 2010. A seed was planted, and now, 15 years later, here we are in Porto ready to set off on our own Camino. This time my feet will carry me.

5. The last Sunday at my church before leaving on this trip - Love First in Haywood County https://www.lovefirsthaywood.org/ - this was the blessing that sent us forth,

   Beloved wanderer, as you leave this place, may you carry your curious heart on your sleeve. Look for God in every face. May you find the courage to get out of the boat, to run to the tomb, and to speak of your faith. And when the world falls apart, and it will from time to time, may you hear God's voice deep within, saying, "Take heart, it is I, be not afraid." You are called. You are loved. You are blessed. In both your ups and your downs, you always belong to God. Go now in peace, trusting in that good news. Amen.

   My biggest curiosity (or concern maybe) is whether my body is prepared for this journey. We have trained, walking miles up and down the hills around Lake Junaluska. But this will be 9 or 10 miles a day, for 20 days, 180 miles total. It’s a lot. The world has been telling me my whole life that a body like mine is not meant to attempt feats like this. It’s just one step after another, and then some more. That’s what I’m telling myself.

   👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣

Here are Mrs Lovely and I at Gatwick Airport getting ready to fly to Porto.