Pilgrimage
Many people walked. Many churches opened up their doors for evening pilgrim services - often with food and drink laid on.
The sun shone (it doesn't always).
People of different ages, different backgrounds, different aims and aspirations all walked together and learnt from one another.
Cross of Nails
An "official" cross of nails was carried - with people taking it turns - from church to church (and pub to pub in some cases).
"Carrying the cross is not very comfortable" said one young lady with no hint of irony. I wondered how long it would take.....
Bishops at Large
We intended to walk the Coventry Way long disstance footpath starting at The Queens Head in Meriden where the pioneers of this walk which has become an annual event - often meet. It seemed a good place to start taking in the leafy south and circling to the more industrialised north of the boundary before following the course of the Sherbourne from Corley into the City Centre.
"Oi" said those who live afar off in the Diocese. "Don't leave us out!". So Bishop Christopher and Bishop John arranged to walk from the South and the North of the Diocese with Archdeacon Morris finding a route from the East (there's not much to the west in Coventry!)
It formed a nice Celtic cross on the map.
Hosanna!
On our last day - Palm Sunday - we followed the route of Coventry's River Sherbourne. Like much that is good this is often hidden, rises uncertainly, flows underground, is infested with rubbish and made to follow the whims of humanity. But joyously, surprisingly, wherever it flows plants bloom, birds sing and life returns.
In the Cathedral ruins we remembered the price of sin. Ruined buildings. Broken lives. Lost hopes as we hammered symbolic nails into the wood of the cross. But we did not stay there. The cross with all its pain was lifted, carried from the old into the new to the sound of rejoicing and worship.
Father Forgive! Hosanna! If we stay silent the very stones will cry out.
We will go on. Journeying to the heart of God.
Pictures from The Coventry Pilgrimage 2012.
