Rev’s Reflection May 2025
Well, I did it … I got on an aeroplane, in fact 2 aeroplanes … otherwise I wouldn’t have got home again! It was smoother on the way there than on the way back, but it was fine, and despite the anxiety that airport procedure creates in me and the jet lag that hits like a truck, I wouldn’t be averse to doing it again.
Journeying can take many forms, sometimes it involves motorised modes of transport and at other times simply putting one foot in front of the other. During Lent this year the Bishop of Chelmsford undertook a Lent Pilgrimage following the St Peter’s Way, beginning at St Andrew’s Church, Greensted and finishing at the chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall at Bradwell (plus an additional day’s walk between Holy Trinity, Pleshey and Chelmsford Cathedral during the week leading up to Easter). The Bishop and members of her team undertook the walk in 5 stages, and she was accompanied by a variety of other walkers along the way. The route brought them to All Saints Church, Purleigh on 27th March where that day’s walk ended and then again on Monday 31st March to begin the 4th stage which ended later that day at All Saints Church, Steeple. I couldn’t join in on either of those days and feeling a little bereft at missing out, set aside the 9th April to join in with the final stage from Steeple to the Chapel at Bradwell, a walk totalling 14.14km, just under 9 miles in old money. Scott Gailer joined me on the walk which enabled us to have a car at either end of the walk.
After the Spring-like sunshine of the previous week, we faced a very cold and blustery day, but it was still lovely getting outside and chatting to a variety of folks along the way. The pace was fairly brisk and accompanied by a couple of canine friends (whose energy levels far exceeded any of the human walkers) the day went by surprisingly quickly. Along the way we stopped at St Lawrence Church, Newland and St Nicholas Church, Tillingham for comfort breaks where we received lovely warm welcomes and hot drinks. My new woollen socks were rubbish but thankfully, I’d popped a second pair in the rucksack which added another layer of cushioning to the old feet, and I do apologise to any of my poor fellow walkers who had to witness my bare feet whilst trying to enjoy their refreshments. As we neared the Chapel mid-afternoon, the walk became a little deceptive, taking us on a more meandering route along the sea wall during which the Chapel appeared to move further away but I guess if you’re going to do the St Peter’s Way, you do it properly and without cutting corners and I loved it!
If you have never visited the Chapel, I encourage you to do so because it is a very special place, set in a remote location and where St Cedd is said to have landed in 653 after he too journeyed … sailing down the east coast of England from Lindisfarne.
Whether we journey in real time or figuratively speaking, we know that life can take direct or meandering routes and feel relatively easy or sadly involve navigating uncertain terrain and storms. But journey we must, putting one foot in front of the other and conscious of the decisions and direction we take.
Rev Julie. “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.”– Proverbs 4:26