DIOCESE OF ARUNDEL AND BRIGHTON ECUMENICAL WALKING PILGRIMAGES
NUMBER 80 February 2005
Dear Pilgrims
Firstly, can I thank Bill Ward for organising an excellent Reunion last October and to Frances for feeding us so well. Bill led an interesting walk, taking us through Ifield, past Gatwick airport to Charlwood then back to Crawley. In the evening we enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Frances and spent time relaxing, sharing Pilgrimage memories and photographs. Pilgrims joined Parish Mass in Crawley on the Sunday morning.
I am pleased to announce that planning for the 2005 Winchester Pilgrimage, Saturday August 13th – Sunday August 28th is underway. Whether you are a regular Pilgrim or have not been on Pilgrimage for years, I would encourage you to join us this year, and to bring a friend who has not been on Pilgrimage before. We have found over the years, enormous personal value in living and walking together over two weeks, sharing highs and lows, and growing as a community. We will be walking an average of 16 miles a day at a moderate pace, stopping at churches and worshipping with the local communities. We will celebrate God’s love for us in both Pilgrim and Parish Services. Whilst the Pilgrimage has Roman Catholic roots, it is ecumenical and open to those of all faiths or none.
Aidan Simons has organised our 30th Anniversary Reunion Celebration Weekend, 1st – 3rd April in New Alresford, Hampshire. Pilgrims past and present are warmly invited to join in all or part of these celebrations. Do come, and bring your family, friends and musical instruments. Booking details for the Winchester Pilgrimage and 30th Anniversary Celebration Weekend are enclosed with this mailing. For both events, please book early; this secures your place and helps with planning and catering arrangements. There are also posters advertising the Pilgrimage for you to display and a T-shirt to buy, designed by Aidan, commemorating: “30 Arrowing Years” – a great souvenir, especially for those of us who have climbed to the top of telegraph poles to place or retrieve those trademark-orange arrows!
Our theme for this year’s Pilgrimage is the “Holy Spirit”. We are developing ideas at present for a framework for prayer stops – based on exploring the gifts of the Spirit – and would welcome ideas from Pilgrims. Please contact myself or our newly appointed Church Liaison Officers, Danny Thomas and Mary Fuller if you have ideas that you wish to share or to be included on this theme. Thank you to Danny and Mary for undertaking this role. Thank you also to Peter Doran, who has offered to assist with organising Liturgical matters whilst on Pilgrimage.
We are very grateful to all Pilgrims who give of their time so generously to help the Pilgrimage run smoothly year after year, especially in the back-up roles, which are hard work. We have particular needs for this summer. If you can help, or know someone who may be able to, please contact me. We would ideally like some “muscle” in the back-up team (Andy do I hear you volunteering?), Van Driver(s) (for one or two weeks) and some Cook’s Helpers, preferably with a car.
On a more personal note, it is my great pleasure to announce that Fred & I have become engaged.
I look forward to seeing you at the 30th Anniversary Weekend.
Many Blessings.
Sue
Route Planners – We are awaiting final confirmation of some Hall Bookings. You will be contacted by Chief Route Planner, John Chenery, as soon as bookings are confirmed both ends of your route. This information should be with you in good time for Route Planning over the Easter Holidays.
The beginning of April this year marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the very first Arundel & Brighton Diocesan Walking Pilgrimage, beating the bounds of the Diocese, starting on Easter Monday 1975. To celebrate this occasion, we will again be holding a special reunion, this time in Alresford, Hampshire, at the school attended by two of our youngest pilgrims.
Everyone who has taken part in one of these pilgrimages is invited to attend, however long ago or recent, however brief or long-standing; this year we extend a special invitation to the families of deceased pilgrims to join us. If you can’t manage the whole weekend, join us when you can (but check the website or call Aidan to confirm timings, as arrangements are still flexible). If you can’t join us at all, send a message (by e-mail or post) for our message board.
Alresford is on the main A31 road (and X64 bus route) between Guildford and Winchester; trains no longer run here, but connect with bus routes at Guildford (for Gatwick and Reading), Alton (for London Waterloo) and Winchester (for the south coast, midlands and north).
The format will be the traditional reunion: gather on Friday; walk on Saturday with church and pub stops (volunteers for prayer stops, please!), followed by a service of celebration, slideshow, dinner and sing-song / chance to talk; join local church(es) on Sunday before dispersing (pubs for lunch, Watercress Line steam railway, etc).
Once again, we are producing a range of T- and sweat-shirts, this year with the reunion logo on the front “30 Arrowing Years” and an arrow and “Winchester 2005” on the reverse. The idea is to link the retrospective celebration with looking forward to the summer’s pilgrimage. Please get orders to me as soon as possible – we need 2 clear weeks to get them produced in time for the reunion. However, we will do another run before the summer if there is sufficient demand.
Aidan, Imelda, Rosie, Bridget and Jean Simons
I am putting together a (computer-based) slideshow of 30 years of pilgrimage, with a few pictures from each pilgrimage to capture the destination and flavour thereof. I’m lucky enough to have inherited Bill’s slides from 1975 to 1989 (with a few gaps), plus the late Brenda Dillon’s photo albums, plus digital pictures from 2000 onwards, but we are desperately in need of pictures from the 90s. Can you help? I’m happy to receive copies or originals or scanned images – please make sure they are well labelled! (Good pictures from all years are most welcome).