Category: remembered bible

Day 42 of the End to End in 2019 had me heading towards bridge 69 on the Shroppie (which is a friendly name for the Shropshire Union Canal). It wasn’t a long walk or a busy one. The lanes were lined with wild flowers, different ones now from the early days in the South West, but it was a reasonably easy walk.

One year on and I’ll try to do a local walk in Longdendale today. I think it will be busier outside than it has been for a few weeks. Yesterday I went past the car park at Torrside and it was packed. People had jammed cars into any small space beside the road that they could and were having picnics. I hope they took their rubbish home with them. I understand that people want to get out: after all we’re fortunate to have this country side on our doorstep all the time.

But this is not a time to be physically sociable. We’ve had to think of other ways to keep connected. I saw Dad in his garden yesterday for the first time since March. He’s thinner but his garden is growing well. He says it feels like a prison (bless him) which is  interesting seeing as designing prisons was previously his job. He seemed less confused speaking to me (in his garden) from inside his house than he does sometimes over the phone. I think it must had been a bit easier for him given that he doesn’t hear very well.

Day 42 of LEJOG was a point of significant progress: I was about to step onto the biggest section of canal walking between the Midlands and the Lake District. It feels like we’ve a long way to go this year before we can all go out where we like again. Until then we still need to keep our sociable distance.

From the remembered bible
When his followers met together they agreed that another person should be chosen to join the twelve. They chose Matthias, an ordinary bloke who was well thought of.

Companion Christ, it’s your company that keeps us going.
Ordinary we may be, but you make us extraordinary,
ready to love and serve both the near and distant ones.
We may have far to go: may we work for the liberation of all
as we look forward to greeting each other again.

JAL: 17.05.2020 in Longdendale.

Day 41 of the End to End in 2019 was a day for just walking. In fact many days were like that. I got up at around the usual time and set off in the generally northwards direction (most of the time). I walked for anywhere between about 8 and 12 miles on most days.  I was just walking.

As a result of all this walking, there were a number of different distractions to indulge in along the way. Our favourite is ‘Tree of the Day’. Bob starting doing Tree of the Day on his walk in 2003 and Hannah carried on with it in 2012. Tree of the Day is any tree that takes your fancy that day. Of course some days have more than one tree. If you are going round and round in circles (as I currently am in Longdendale) the same tree might get nominated on more than one day. There were a lot of great trees on LEJOG.

There were also other distractions like small places that sold ice cream or a heap of straw bales that looked like they had been abandoned by a wolf-harassed little pig. All of this and more occurred on Day 41, along with quite a few butterflies and some telegraph poles with dots on the purpose of which we have still not fathomed.

Such observations are the foundation of my walking life. Whenever if walk I count butterflies (if there are any) and note other things; bigger creatures like birds, amphibians and mammals. I’ve not seen that many reptiles (none on LEJOG), and of course I take loads of photos.

I continue these habits in Longdendale. Yesterday my copy of Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty arrived. He has a happy knack of noticing things too and turning his observations into interesting retellings, making the world come alive in a bucket. His concern for the planet and commitment to ecological activism shines out too as he continues to just walk.

It’s the best we can do. Try to do it in an inclusive way: accompanying others, using accessible routes. Just Walk if you can.

From the remembered bible
And the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Applauded by trees everyday,
straight and tall, short and bent,
flourishing in each nook and on every skyline:
may we just walk
and walk justly.

JAL: 16.05.2020 in Longdendale.

 

Day 40 of the End to End in 2019 was the day I left the Severn Way and took the Ironbridge Way. One day I hope to go back and complete the Severn Way into Wales but not this year. The Ironbridge Way was an 8 mile path linking up bits in the Ironbridge area via footpaths and old railway lines and some very steep stairs. It was ideal for me as it was mostly off road and each short section usually included something slightly whimsical. The local heritage railway was closed but we were given permission to eat our picnic at the wooden table.

Ironbridge marks a place where a different way started or at least certainly became a discernible path: one of the cradles of the industrial revolution in Britain. Now in 2020 we are once again at a junction. Having followed through on industrialisation and post industrialisation we’re now onto the possibility of a way beyond that, perhaps post post industrialisation?

Being able to move people and stuff around the world quickly seemed a good idea. We would have to live with some draw backs like the undesirable movements of crime for example, slavery in different ages, human trafficking other forms of exploitation, or would we? Global warming began to build and our cumulative effects on the planet began to get hotter and hotter. There are deniers of all of these things and that will be the hardest thing to counter in post post post industrialism.

Will we be able to discern a different way, disentangle the negatives effects from the positive choices, limit our damaging activities and cool things down? What could our post post post post industrial world look like?

By Day 40 of LEJOG I’d walked what I thought was a third of the days of the total walk (provisionally estimated at 120 days). I’d got used to the Severn Way with its clear signs and gentle contours, its green meadows and paths. Although I knew some of the route ahead from previous walks much of it would be new. The Ironbridge Way was one of the new bits, helping me to bridge a gap to the canal system that would eventually take me into the North of England.

In 2020 I am also bridging gaps, tentatively stepping out, interrogating the prospects. There are those that say the world will be changed by Corona Virus but what sort of change will that be?

From the remembered gospel
Jesus said to them ‘I will always be with you, to the end of time and beyond.’

Timeless One, we cling to the familiar:
even when we disagree with some of the consequences,
we hoard the bits we find comforting and acceptable.
Kindom living is a real challenge and we need you with us
in body, mind and spirit:
may we contribute to the challenge to build communities
of justice and peace, mercy and love,
on earth as in heaven.

JAL 15.05.2020 in Longdendale.
 

 

Day 39 of the End to End in 2019 from Bridgenorth to Ironbridge including the first blog dog. Enter Cilla, a black Labrador associated to the Lay Community of St Benedict. My companions for part of the walk on day 39 were members of LCSB.

The walk started at Bridgenorth which is an interesting town. I particularly enjoyed the short trip on the Bridgenorth Cliff Railway which had very little to do with the walk and everything to do with me collecting different forms of transport from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The whole walk would have been impossible earlier in 2020 due to severe flooding on this section of the River Severn. Temporary flood barriers were erected and people waited to see if these precarious structures would hold back the surges of water that kept coming down the river.

In 1952 the village of Jackfield on the way to Ironbridge had partially collapsed into the river. In 2020 the pubs and houses were once again threatened. The campsite where were stayed at Ironbridge was also in the news: it nestled in the shadow of the old cooling towers of the now disused Ironbridge power station. These were demolished earlier this year changing the view significantly.

The weather in Derbyshire was ideal for a day’s walking where the emphasis is on the sky. There’s always a lot of dogs on the TPT and in some groups more dogs than people. I’m not a very dog orientated person but I try to be friendly even without a waggy tail. Mostly I was just astonished: the sky was so blue, the foliage was so green, God was so present. It was a fantastic day to be praying with the world.

From the remembered bible
Jesus put out his arms as if to embrace them saying ‘Tell them everything and I’ll always be with you’.

Prayer on a clear day from the Transpennine Trail

Risen one,
I hear your call to go beyond blue sky thinking.
The prickle in my sock holds me down.
You hold out your arms.
I risk it, step off and onwards.
The footsteps do not end here:
This is blue sky being.

JAL 14.05.2020 in Longdendale

Day 38 of the End to End in 2019 began with a bee alert. The day before, we had seen a bee swarm at Highley Station and avoided it. The swarm had been moved by a bee keeper and when we returned by train to set off walking to Bridgenorth the situation looked much calmer. However, there we still a small number of recalcitrant bees on the loose and one decided to sting Bob on the head. After deploying anti-bee medication and a sit down for 20 minutes all seemed well and we were able to set off.

The bee was, after all, only doing what it thought it should: defending its colony. That the colony had moved on must have been a bit disorientating. Bees of this sort are a communal bunch and co-operative (there are of course solitary bees). Being co-operative even while social distancing is the challenge for 2020 as is being alert.

Walking LEJOG requires one to be alert. Anything can happen any day. On a train day, trains may not run to time, on a path a walker may be diverted, a river may run high, a bridge may be blocked, a bull may be having a mid morning snack as you cross the farmyard, the ice cream shop may have sold out. Over 117 days and 1110 miles it would be odd if some unexpected challenging circumstances didn’t arise. Even so there’s no real definition of being alert on a walk like LEJOG anymore than there is in ordinary life.

Better to be co-operative; connected by shared concerns and thinking of each other, building each other up into one body.  This is the prayer I wrote for day 38 last year:

Co operation is crucial to community,
From the local to the global on our planet.
Co operation runs a railway, a campsite or a pub:
Bees also know a lot about co operation.
As day turns to night and evening comes on,
May we be refreshed and ready for the co operative activities of tomorrow.

From the remembered bible
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: ‘A body has many parts and you are like that. Each one brings their own contribution to the body; all are valued.’

Body-wise God, you confirm that each one has a part to play.
May we hone our skills of co operation as we live with uncertainty,
knowing we can be easily derailed into self-centred living.
Help us to play our part in the body:
Give us the buzz that comes from creating you kindom.

JAL: 13.05.2020 in Longdendale.

Day 37 of the End to End in 2019, I was still walking on the Severn Way somewhere in the middle of Britain. In fact most of this section was through the middle bit. It did however, mark  a new development for the walk: the train/walk combo. Mostly Bob drove the wheeled transport and I walked, which did get a bit more complicated on days when we swapped campsites. But in this section we were alongside the Severn Valley Railway and were able to use that to help us to and from the walk for a few days. Later on LEJOG we would do the walk/train combo again on other lines.

There were a couple of other adventurous moments: Nicky and Hilary, colleagues from school, met us on the Severn Way and we walked to Highley station together. It’s great to have walk companions, especially unexpected ones. Arriving at Highley station we walked into a bee swarm, which is highly alarming with two bee allergic people in the group.

Meanwhile in 2020, Bob and I were wondering if the LEJOG seemed to go quicker if you were remembering it rather than walking it. Not an easy idea to test or even draw a graph about. At the moment I am, like so many, in the middle of a situation not of my choosing, in a country run by a government not of my choosing. I’m easily defined as middle class: another middle. But other things put me in different groups: I’m retired so I can’t be furloughed, a home owner so I can’t be evicted. This doesn’t mean I have no vulnerabilities but I probably have fewer than some folks.

Middle or not, I do have strong opinions. I’m particularly angry about the lack of respect or value our society places on people with disabilities, something which is especially noticeable in this Pandemic. I’d be interested to know if any one who has supported the ways the response to the virus in England is currently managed has had a conversion experience as the result of the death of a family member from COVID19?

Each day I look at the information about those who have died and lament that we seem content to let numbers stand alone, without any names. Whilst war metaphors are common, even war time practices were more humane, recording public lists of the names of those who had died. Where will we build our Menin Gate or our Thiepval Memorial?

All along the route of LEJOG, each village and town had its own war memorial. Sometimes a name appeared on more than one memorial as different communities mourned the same person for whatever reason. A year ago, I used the song ‘You’ll never walk alone’ in my daily reflection. It reminded me how long was the struggle for justice for the 96 and how the active period of mourning for them is not over. ‘Their names liveth for ever more’ it commonly says in the war grave cemeteries I have visited. May it always be so.

From my remembered bible
God says ‘Your name is written on the palm of my hand’.
Jesus said ‘Look at my hands’.

Name writer, Wound bearer, Hand holder,
these and many other names I call you, God of all.
As close to me as the blood in my veins,
I am moved by your wounds:
I am honoured to see my written name.
May our acknowledgement of shared vulnerability,
bind us together, hold us closer than breathing.
Help us to leave behind the ableism that separates us
and embrace the kindom way of mutual accountability.
And for those who mourn:
we shall remember name after name after name,
in your beloved name.
Amen.

JAL: 12.05.2020 in Longdendale.

Day 36 of the End to End in 2019 started at Grimley and continued along the Severn Way. There was a small Parish church at Grimley and one at Holt; they will both be closed now. But after my second breakfast, it was a small notice on the door of what looked like a refurbished stable block that caught my eye: ‘Faith at Work Worcester’ it read. It was the office for the workplace chaplaincy of the Diocese of Worcester. It was good to know that workplace chaplaincy still existed in these parts.

That it still exists in 2020 looks essential as we move on from being pilgrims to prophets. Of course the two are not unconnected. Pilgrims may walk but so too may prophets. Whilst many definitions of being prophetic seem to concentrate on having a view of the future my understanding is firmly linked to the here and now. Being prophetic is being willing to live and speak against the grain, especially against the thrust of power as it marginalises some people and leaves others more vulnerable. Prophecy is about setting the scales straight so that we call attention to and set right what is at the root of inequality. That the meaning has changed to some sort of vague notion concerning future utopias is itself concerning but maybe just another sign to confirm what a church leader once told me: ‘There’s no room for prophets in the churches’. ‘Ah, so they’ll be dead churches then’ was and is my reply.

When Elijah, that most prophetic of prophets, called out Ahab and Jezebel, he was not concerned primarily for the future (note that I am of course using my remembered bible here) but for all the abuse of power in the royal court at the time and its consequences. He found himself under attack from their supporters (you can think of many modern equivalents I’m sure) and ran away. Well, who wouldn’t. God reconfirmed the prophet’s calling on an exposed rock ledge outside a cave in the wilderness.

What God required of Elijah at that point was to confront the abuse of power; to go back and put the ruling class to rights. Of course all of this does depend on what sort of bible you are remembering, to paraphrase Desmond Tutu. That name alone, amongst all contemporary prophets, should give you a clue to the bible I remember.

I first read his speech before the Eloff Commission when I visited South Africa in 1984. In the subsequent decade it was liberation theology that made the most sense to me and in 1994 we were in South Africa as the first democratic elections were held. Religion and politics, well to me they are like pilgrims and prophets: the same stuff.

Last night I read some words by an Anglican asking ‘Where was the prophetic voice of the church’. I looked up some things. It is there, standing alongside those who need food banks and the like, but at the moment the church in its many forms is mostly concerned for the pastoral, and far too concerned with whether churches are doing the right kind of zooming or not or whether we’d like to enter a logo colouring competition. Of course pastoral concerns are also prophetic. If there is a predisposition to ignore the most vulnerable and leave them to die in care homes then it is prophetic to be along side them. But we also need some contemporary Elijah’s. We are not called to be sycophants and flatter government ministers. We are called to request clarity and equity. And the most pressing question: ‘Who will go for me?’

From the remembered gospel
Jesus said ‘Don’t worry about what you will say. The words will be there from the Word and will get right to the heart of the matter’.

Although it can be disconcerting to hear the small voice,
easy to ignore as a whisper of a breeze in leaves,
simple to say we are occupied elsewhere,
less trouble to keep our heads down and claim it’s not our issue,
ultimately we cannot ignore that we are the ones God calls.

Word of Life, equip your knock-kneed, tongue-tied prophets:
from rock ledges to the corridors of power,
take us to the places where you words must be liberated,
unleash your kindom of equality through us.

JAL: 11.05.2020 in Longdendale.
(As I’ve mentioned before, kindom is a word I use instead of kingdom, as it has a more gender neutral meaning and yes, these things are important)

 

 

 

Day 34 of the End to End was, due to weather related issues, along the A38 to Kempsey. It therefore seems a perfect time to write about orchids.

Wild orchids are amongst my favourite British flowers and my LEJOG route  was packed with orchids (even along the A38). This had been true since Devon at least and would remain so right up to the final day in Caithness. Different species of course and indeed one of the joys of the walk was coming across orchids, often species I’d not seen before, in the most unexpected of places. The orchids themselves varied from isolated spikes to whole meadows full at one time. Beside any path for the next 750 miles or so, there would be orchids.

Some of my friends thought I became a bit obsessed photographing orchids. With my trusty camera phone in my hand I’d crawl and crouch and collect photos by the dozen, or hundred even. Of the 11,000 photos of the LEJOG more than quite a few are of orchids. But they are fascinating plants even though I’m no expert. As diverse and as beautiful as they can be unexpected.

But was it all just a distraction keeping more from more important thoughts? No, I don’t think so. Biodiversity is vital to life on our planet. When, by our human activities we limit that diversity then we threaten our own existence as much as we threaten that of any other species. There was a lot of talk about Action for the Climate in 2019, much of which is now over taken by COVID19 talk. But the two are linked as reduced emissions illustrate.

And COVID19 talk is of course also a cloak for other important concerns. Take any subject in Britain today and you will find opinion pretty much polarised: democracy, racism, VE celebrations, PPE and care homes or whatever you choose. We should keep churches open, we should keep them closed. Foodbanks are vital, foodbanks should be closed down. Older people are valuable (they hold important memories of WW2), older people are expendable (let them die of COVID19 in care homes). We’ve already forgotten the real lessons of WW2 anyway.

If you examine any of these issues you will see the split for yourself and it is always a split that exposes the vulnerable ones in our society to further vulnerability. Stay strong is the potent message. The land of the strong and the fit is the new version of Hope and Glory. On one side the message is there’s a difficult call to make between bodily health and economic health. For this read: the rich are bothered that they too might loose money. On the other side there is the call to respect vulnerable people and not just reel off figures and statistics as if counting sweeties.

As the survivors of WW2 die in dozens, killed by the COVID19 bungling of a government that says it values them the most (even if they have to walk laps to keep the NHS going), what dies with them is the story of the real rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s. I’ve tried to be an ambassador for the stories of real ordinary people caught up in for example the Holocaust (thanks to the Holocaust Education Trust) but ultimately we are going to have to do more than tell stories if we are really to check the poisonous effects of our current obsessions with ourselves, our money and our strength and our Glory.

From the remembered gospel
Consider, if you will the orchid, it neither sews nor spins, but I tell you that Solomon, in all his wisdom, never got it so right as one of these barometers of the health of our shared planet.

We are all gloriously connected, Cosmic One, through you, God of all.
On my knees before even the smallest parts of your creation,
I see all the interlocking complexity of life in a blade of grass.
May we who espouse the side of the poor and vulnerable,
Just like your Son, walk decently, with integrity,
and may the paths of peace we take extend to all
a shared way of hope and love,
that leaves none behind and overcomes even death itself.

JAL: 09.05.2020 in Longdendale.

 

 

 

Day 32 of the End to End in 2019 was the beginning of the second section. In our planning of the walk we had decided this early on in order to change our accommodation style. Up to the end of part 1 we had used static accommodation set at reasonable intervals along the walk; caravans, lodges, hostels and so on. But I had planned to camp some of it and if Bambi couldn’t do it then we needed a temporary replacement.

Enter Bambo! This was a bright red VW Campervan we hired from Glossop. We found it on line and decided we’d try it for 20 days. As members of the Camping and Caravan Club we had access to their wide network of sites and we only needed four to fill the gap between Gloucester and Wigan.

Everyone admired Bambo. A smart shiny reasonably new red Campervan with a pop top, Bambo was the darling of the campsite. We were not used to be the recipients of van envy.

I started walking again in the car park in Gloucester where we had encountered the shower of rain a few days earlier. I was soon back on the Severn Way and up over the hill to the Red Lion at Wainlode. Much of this was similar to the route walked by Hannah in 2012. It was good to be walking again and enjoying the scenery and the flowers.

In 2020 we look forward to these longer walks in the future. We are fortunate to be able to walk locally on the Transpennine Trail and for forty days from March to May I watched the Spring develop on our doorstep. You can view the photos, all taken from similar local parts of Longdendale, here:

From the remembered gospel
Jesus said ‘Spread out! Go everywhere! Tell them everything!’

Cosmic God, there’s a wonder in everywhere:
In our lock down confinement, we struggle with the urge to be out there.
It’s difficult to put the needs of others before our own economic security.
On blue sky days it’s hard to resolve to put the planet before planes
or choose between the fast track or emission levels.
As the full moon rises again on our much emptier streets,
may we be watchful, waiting for the moment,
eager but not egocentric,
mindful that joy comes in the morning,
the right morning, the morning for starting again.
Meanwhile may we be ever ready, to serve God and each other.

JAL 07.05.2020 in Longdendale.