We began our day pilgrimage to Westminster by praying that God might help us to travel unhindered by worldly possessions and distraction, which we so often allow to be our focus. And that we might experience a sense of peace, as we navigated the urban environment all around us.
Our first place of worship to visit was Westminster Cathedral, here we met with our eccentric guide Doreen, who led us around the Cathedral, talking about the chapels, the Sanctuary and history of this central place of worship for all Roman Catholics.
We then walked down to Westminster Abbey where we joined others for the 12.30 said Eucharistic Service. There was a feeling of awe for many of us as we sat and looked around this beautiful place of worship, so familiar to us from the television coverage of many spiritual and historical events for our nation.
After our picnic lunch together in St. James' Park, where we had an encounter with a few geese!, we walked down to The Central Methodist Hall. We were met by Tony Miles who is the current Superintendent there. Tony was very generous with his time and along with two other colleagues, they gave us an in depth talk about the history, mission and vision for their ministry in Westminster. We ended our time by going onto a balcony at the top of the building, somewhere not many people go.....what a wonderful view we had. Tony ended our time by praying for all we could see, for Parliament, tourism, the other churches, the homeless and much more, it was a moving time, seeing London and all it held within, below and around us.
As we walked back to Victoria to catch our train, we chatted and the question that we were left to think about was:
As we visited different traditions in the Christian church today, what similarities and differences have you seen?
In what way do these places of worship reach out to those around them?
Here are some comments of those who came on the day:
'Thank you so much for taking us on the Pilgrimage yesterday, it all flowed so well, right down to the way you arranged for that magnificent peal of bells as we came out of the Abbey. After a while, by deploying personal prayer, it became a spiritual experience,
and although I had many interesting conversations with pilgrims that I had only previously known by sight and brief encounters, times of silence, and the occasional distancing from fascinating stories about marble, brought the most memorable moments. And then there was the journeying between cathedrals and exchanges with people on the trains....I enjoyed it all'
'It was a very interesting day. The churches were so very different it made me think about how we worship and the buildings we erect to the glory of God. It was very special to be able to take Holy Communion in the Abbey; a building I'd only seen previously on TV. Thank you for including me, I was not really sure what to expect; it was a thought provoking and a moving day.'
'All three churches offered something different both in architecture and content. The service in the middle of the day was a highlight as we were able to worship together in the midst of our thriving and very noisy capital city.'
Pilgrimage at it's simplest is a journey towards God, there's usually a physical destination. As we returned, what difference had our encounter made to our inner spiritual life? The spiritual life invites us to not only worship, break bread and be in relationship with others but also to pray (Acts 2: 42) As pilgrims we pray that through all we encountered of God’s grace that day and everyday, that we might grow more aware of God’s presence within us, and that will continue as we journey on through the life we have been gifted……...Sharon
