'JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD' PILGRIMAGE TO ENGLAND: JUNE 13 - 23 2008
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FINAL UPDATE FROM THE PILGRIMS - SUNDAY JUNE 22 & MONDAY JUNE 23
Sunday was a leisurely day. The pilgrims awoke at 8:15 am and enjoyed breakfast at 9:00 am. Then everyone was free until 10:45 am when the group assembled and headed off, once again, on the 5 minute walk to the Cathedral. The amazing Cathedral vergers were expecting them and had reserved seats for them near the altar. Fr Stokes reported that the service was glorious and very familiar; they even knew the hymns.
Once again, the Cathedral choir of boys and men was spectacular. Alas, the group never did see the Archbishop of Canterbury in person, only in pictures.
After church everyone was given free time to rest or to shop within the confines of the walled city. The weather was warm and sunny and some of the boys went to a park and kicked the now well-used soccer ball around. Most of the girls shopped, although some returned to the hotel after lunch and rested. At 5:00 pm, the group said farewell to Damon Stanley, and put him on a train to London. A family friend was meeting him there and taking him to the airport, where he would fly to Serbia and join up with his mother.
Following Damon's departure, the pilgrims gathered to have afternoon tea in the lounge of the Chaucer Hotel. This room is comfortably furnished and had become their living room.
At 7:00 pm the pilgrims met for their 'Farewell to England' dinner - a choice between Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding or Grilled Trout. The youth members presented the mentors and guide with cards and thanks. Following dinner, the pilgrims gathered for Compline. The group prayed for their parish family at home, as they have done each day of the pilgrimage, and gave thanks for their support of the pilgrimage. After Compline, everyone was sent off to their rooms to pack and encouraged to go to sleep early.
The wake-up call to leave for the airport was set for 4:00 am and it came quickly! Everyone was hustled out of bed. Bags were taken downstairs to be loaded onto the coach. The hotel staff had put out some croissants and pastries for breakfast. The mentors checked the rooms to be sure nothing was left behind. The coach arrived and the pilgrims bade farewell to Jen and Taylor, who would be departing separately and traveling, by train, to Paris, to meet up with Taylor's parents, Tim and Caren.
Most slept during the hour and a half trip to Heathrow airport . The group had a new coach and a new driver, Mike, for their last journey. Their guide, David, was with them and would remain until the group was past airport security. At Heathrow, the coach was unloaded. Fr and Mrs Stokes took the group into the airport and then hugged everyone goodbye. They then left for Gatwick airport, to catch a plane to Inverness, Scotland to visit St Paul's parishioner, Mary Stahl. Ticketing, security and boarding passed uneventfully. The remainder of the group is in the air, flying back to Miami, to arrive on Monday afternoon.
This pilgrimage is over, but the journey in Christ, and with one another continues. The pilgrimage was the sowing of seeds. We will wait and see what fruits it will bear. By the grace of God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray that they will be abundant.
After a hearty English breakfast, the pilgrims boarded their coach once again and drove 40 minutes to Aylesford Priory. Aylesford is an active community of Carmelite Friars. It was founded in 1240, but became victim to King Henry VIII's dissolution of the
monasteries in the early 16th century. It was held in private hands and served as a residence until 1949 when it was donated back to the Carmelites and reclaimed its original purpose. Today there is a community of 14 friars at Aylesford. The priory is on
picturesque grounds with many beautiful chapels decorated with contemporary ceramic sculptures by well known artists. The priory serves as a retreat and conference center that is open to persons of all denominations. Among the many beautiful parts of the priory is the Rosary Garden.
Here there are exquisitely rendered ceramic scenes depicting incidents in the life of Jesus, around which the rosary is said. These are mounted on a wall along a garden walk teaming with roses. A part of the morning for the St Paul's pilgrims was given over to silent prayer and meditation.
During this meditation time the youth and adults were encouraged to prayerfully consider who Jesus is to each one of them personally and to reflect on the particular gifts and skills each has been given, asking how God was calling them to use these skills and gifts in their lives.
After some quiet time, their trusty guide David introduced them to Brother Lawrence, one of the Aylesford friars. Brother Lawrence entered the order when he was 16 and has been at Aylesford for more than 40 years. The pilgrims were all taken with this wonderful man, especially the youth members. He regaled them with his stories.
He told them that he loves American detective magazines and he asked them to send him one when they return to the States so that he can re-subscribe. The boys found out he loved the movie 'American Gangster'. The pilgrims ate lunch at the priory and Brother Lawrence sat with the youth.
After lunch it was back on the coach for their return to Canterbury Cathedral where a chapel was reserved for the St Paul's pilgrims to have their own celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The pilgrims were given the use of All Saints chapel which was up a flight of winding stairs hidden from the view of most visitors to the Cathedral. The Cathedral vergers were very efficient and had set out everything
they needed for a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, including vestments for Fr Stokes and American Prayer books for each of the pilgrims. In his homily, Fr Stokes urged each of the pilgrims to "fan into a flame the gift of God that is in each one of them" (2 Tim. 1.6).
He also encouraged them to be disciplined in their faith lives by developing a "rule of life".
During the Eucharist the pilgrims renewed their baptismal promises and were presented with a medal that affirmed they had made a faith pilgrimage to Canterbury.
After the Eucharist, the group set off for historic St Martin's Church, which is the oldest church in continuous use in England. It was constructed by the pagan Kentish King Ethelbert for the use of his Christian
Queen Bertha in the 6th century. When Pope Gregory the Great sent St Augustine to England to bring the Gospel to the English, Ethelbert received him and when he saw that Augustine's purposes were peaceful, he allowed him to use the church for his mission. Eventually, Ethelbert and his kingdom were converted to Christianity. Due to his success with the Kentish King and his
people, Augustine asked permission from the Pope to establish a see in Canterbury rather than in London, where it might more naturally have been done. It is for this reason that Canterbury and its Archbishop have held the place of Primacy in the Church of England throughout its history and to this day. It is why the Archbishop of Canterbury is the central Instrument of Unity for the worldwide Anglican Communion.
St Martin's is a very small church and the strucure predates its Christian use. It had been a Roman building. As it stands today, it is a mix of Saxon and Norman styles and influences, although the stained glass windows are newer and date to the Victorian (mid to late 1800s) period. The St Paul's pilgrims were welcomed by the Churchwarden, who graciously told them the story of the church and pointed out its highlights. A significant object of interest in the church is its baptismal font. A stained glass window above the altar portrays King Ethelbert being baptized in the same font. This is anachronistic since Ethelbert was baptized in the 6th century and the font is very strongly Saxon or Norman, which dates it to the 10th or 11th century. Nonetheless it is an extraordinary piece of work.
The pilgrims posed for a group picture in front of St Martin's and then walked a couple of blocks to the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey.
The spectacular ruins of St Augustine's Abbey are now an English Heritage site. The grounds are now well cared for, although it took an 18th century archaeological recovery of the ruins to restore the site, which over time had been covered by a hospital and other structures. The Abbey was first established on the site during the time of Augustine, who had been granted the land for such a purpose by King Ethelbert. The abbey thrived over the next several centuries until the time of Henry VIII, when it became a casuality of Henry's dissolution of the monasteries. The weather was beautiful and a number of the St Paul's group took advantage of the warm sun to relax in the cool, green grass in front of the Abbey.
After their visit to St Augustine's Abbey, some members of the group returned to Canterbury Cathedral for evensong, while others returned to the hotel and rested.
After evensong, the pilgrims regrouped at the hotel for dinner. The pilgrims have now seen all the sites on their itinerary.
Tomorrow, Sunday, they will worship at Canterbury Cathedral for Sunday service and some quiet time, but they are now beginning to turn toward home. Before bed, each member of the group wrote down the quality or qualities they most appreciated in each of the others in the group. These were shared out loud and eveyone found this very affirming. The pilgrims said Compline, giving thanks to God for all the blessings that they have enjoyed and prepared for tomorrow, their last day on pilgrimage.
Friday began with a celebration of Mrs Stokes' 50th birthday. Unbeknownst to her, the coach had been bedecked with traditional 50th birthday decor, primarily in black with some green accents. Happy Birthday was sung as she stepped
onto the coach; she was blessed and then serenaded with the special St Paul's birthday song - 'On the day that Susan was born.'
She was presented with a bag full of treasures and then the coach set off for Canterbury, the last destination and the focus
of the pilgrimage.
Twenty one miles outside of Canterbury, the coach pulled over into a narrow country lane along the north boundway of the 'Pilgrims Way' that has been used for centuries by pilgrims travelling to Canterbury. Before setting out along the dirt path, Fr Stokes recited the
prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' in middle English. He explained the outline of Chaucer's work and explained that
Chaucer's pilgrims travelled to the shrine of Thomas Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral just as they were doing.
It was a beautiful day to walk the trail. The pilgrims walked past fields of barley, interspersed with the vibrant red of poppies in
full bloom. Sheep were gently grazing on a hillside off to one side of the path. Vistas of the rolling green countryside
were strikingly beautiful. After about 3 miles, the trail winds back to the main road where the coach picked up the pilgrims
to transport them the remainder of the way into the city of Canterbury.
Canterbury is an ancient city that dates back to Paleolithic times.
The Celts settled it and it was later occupied by the Romans.
In 597AD, Pope Gregory the Great sent the monk Augustine to Canterbury to covert the Kentish people who were governed by
King Ethelbert. King Ethelbert's queen, Bertha, was a Christian. Augustine's preaching, combined with
Bertha's influence, led to the conversion of the King and his kingdom. Augustine established a see in the city and was consecrated
the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 598AD.
In 1170, Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170, was murdered by 4 knights, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy, and Richard Brito, who took action when they heard King Henry II rail against Thomas saying "Will someone not
rid me of this meddlesome priest?". The St Paul's pilgrims were welcomed in the International Study Center where they watched a video that told the story of Canterbury and Beckett's martyrdom. Following the video, the group was given a complete tour of the Cathedral beginning with the crypt which dates to Norman times. They saw the room called 'The Martyrdom', which is the site of Beckett's murder. They
climbed the 'Pilgrim Steps' of the Cathedral on their knees, an act of humility which dates back centuries. They also visited the place where
the shrine to Thomas Beckett stood until 1538, when, upon the orders of King Henry VIII it was destroyed, along with Beckett's bones and all mentioned of him was to be obliterated. Henry was not keen to honor a saint who was glorified for opposing the throne. Today a candle burns at the site of the shrine in memory of Thomas Beckett. The pilgrims prayed at the Shrine of Canterbury for all martyrs throughout history who have opposed the powerful on behalf of the powerless. They prayed for those in the church who are currently being persecuted, in places like Zimbabwe. The pilgrims also saw the tomb of the Black Prince (Edward of Woodstock and Prince of Wales) and the Chair of St Augustine, upon which have sat all Archbishops of Canterbury, including
the present Archbishop, Rowan Williams.
Following the tour of the Cathedral, the pilgrims were whisked to The Chaucer Hotel, which will be their 'home' for the next 3 nights. The hotel is located just beyond
the city walls and within a 5 minute walk of the Cathedral. Rooms are named for characters from 'The Canterbury Tales'. After checking-in and dropping their bags, the pilgrims returned
to the Cathedral for evensong. It was another beautiful service. Marla Ivy Holness, Darren's mother, met up with the group at the Cathedral. She is a flight attendant for Delta Airlines
(once working with Sherry Fleming), and flew into London and took the train out to Canterbury. The St Paul's pilgrims were personally welcomed during the service. After evensong, they walked
to a local Indian restaurant for a delicious dinner. Then they walked back to their hotel where Mrs Stokes opened her birthday presents.
Everyone retired for the evening to rest for tomorrow, Saturday,
and day 2 in Canterbury. (Weather outlook).
The pilgrims were up bright and early and on board their coach by 8:30 am to make the 3 hour drive south from Coventry to Salisbury Plain and the historic site of Stonehenge.
About halfway there, the group stopped for a break at a garden nursery. David, the wonderful guide to the group
(who is a retired police officer and had been detailed to provide security for visiting US Presidents and in charge of security for the Queen at Buckingham Palace)
informed the group that most nurseries have good coffee shops. He was right and the pilgrims had a delicious snack and admired many of the beautiful flowers and plants. After a short stop, the pilgrims were back on their coach
and heading south. As their coach approached the megalithic ruin Stonehenge, standing on the open plain land of Salisbury Plain, and dating from
2950-2900 BCE (Middle Neolithic) everyone could see the mysterious circle of stones ahead. It was both imposing and impressive. After disembarking the coach,
the group were given audio headsets to begin their self-guided tour of the monument.
From Stonehenge the group took the short drive to the historical site of Old Sarum. This was a hill fort, the
ramparts of which were raised by Iron Age peoples in 500 BCE. The hill fort was occupied in later times by the Romans, the
Saxons and the Normans. By the middle of the 12th century, there was a busy town located here including a 'new' Norman Cathedral, the mother church of a huge diocese.
Norman Sarum was not destined to survive however. Disagreements between the Church and the Army ensued and life on the almost water-less hilltop became unbearable. The solution was to move down hill
to the new settlement now known as Salisbury, where a new Cathedral was founded in 1220. The views afforded today of Salisbury
and Salisbury Cathedral are breathtaking.
The pilgrims took the short drive from Old Sarum into the city of Salisbury. The youth members were given free-time to explore the
city and to have lunch together. The group then met up and walked to the stunning Salisbury Cathedral close. Salisbury Cathedral is
celebrating its 750th anniversary. As a part of the festivities, the Cathedral is hosting an enormous flower show and is filled
with over 40,000 flowers in a riot of color and scent. The different arrangements have been designed by internationally renowned floral judge and arranger Michael Bowyer, and displayed with the kind support of many of the sponsoring organizations.
The Chapter House of the Cathedral houses one of the 4 original copies of the Magna Carta, (the 1215 Great Charter). All the youth members looked at it and were told how significant it was for the
development of the American Constitution. The day of touring for the pilgrims ended with a beautiful service of evensong in the Cathedral, where they were correctly introduced as 'the Pilgrims from St Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, Florida.'
The pilgrims will continue their journey tomorrow, Friday, heading east across the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey and into Kent to the city of Canterbury "...the holy blisful martyr for to seke..."
(Weather Outlook)
Heading west across several English counties and after a few hours sleep on the coach (the drivers insist on calling it a coach
rather than a bus, which are for public transport!) the pilgrims arrived at Warwick Castle. The weather was damp with
some drizzle at times, but this did not dampen the spirits of the group. Warwick Castle dates back to the 9th century,
although many of the standing structures date to the 13th century. The Castle has been modernized and a partnership with
Madam Tussauds Wax Museum has turned it into an attraction with interactive, multimedia exhibits. The newest of which was called
'Ghosts Alive', which recreates the murder of Sir Fulke Greville, one of the early Lords of the Castle, in a way designed to scare the audience.
A couple of the youth members and Mrs Stokes opted out of this experience! After a few hours spent at the Castle, the group
boarded their coach for the half hour drive north to the city of Coventry in the county of West Midlands.
Coventry has been an industrialized city in England and because of it's production of war munitions during the second World War,
Germany targeted it early on in the war. On the night of November 14, 1940, incendiary bombs were dropped on the wooded roof of the Medieval Cathedral
to light up the city for the rest of the bombing run. The walls and the bell tower were all that was left of the Cathedral
after the bombing was over eleven hours later. After the war, the decision was taken to leave the ruins of the Cathedral as they were
as a reminder of the brutality of war. Two charred beams, which had fallen from the roof and landed in the shape of a
cross, were hung where the apse of the Cathedral had been. The words 'Father Forgive' have been etched into the apse wall
in gold lettering. Every Friday prayers for reconciliation and world peace are led by the clergy at the place in the ruins
were the altar once stood. The pilgrims remained at Coventry Cathedral for evensong, where they were welcomed as the
'pilgrims from Oklahoma'!
After an over-night rest in Coventry, the pilgrims continue their journey heading south tomorrow,
Thursday, with a visit to historic Stonehenge and then onto the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.
(Weather outlook).
The pilgrims packed up and left London on a bright and sunny Tuesday morning and headed northeast towards the famous
university town of Cambridge. They visited and prayed in the beautiful chapel of King's College and the youth
members learned all about the wonderful Christmas tradition of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, that is transmitted
live each year from the chapel and heard worldwide. This tradition has transcended the globe and is also a part
of the Christmas celebrations at St Paul's in Delray Beach. Free time followed the trip to King's College and all
the pilgrims had fun looking around one of Cambridge's open air markets. After lunch, the pilgrims boarded their
coach and headed northeast to the city of Norwich, East Anglia.
On arrival in Norwich, the group visited the Shrine of St Julian
and Lady Julian's cell. Time was allowed for contemplative prayer before everyone headed off to explore the city of Norwich.
At 5:15 pm, the pilgrims went to Norwich Cathedral and participated in evensong which was accompanied by the Girl's choir, who
sang beautifully. The Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Reverend Graham Smith, personally welcome the St Paul's pilgrims and said a prayer for them.
Norwich Cathedral is a Norman Cathedral and quite stunning. It is especially known for the more than 1000 ornamentally
carved bosses that decorate the ceiling. The pilgrims returned to their hotel for dinner and afterwards feasted on some delicious
fudge that Fr Stokes had purchased in Cambridge. After dinner, some of the youth members went outside to a nearby field and
played with a soccer ball that had been purchased earlier at the open air market. They were entering into the spirit of
'Euro 2008' the European soccer tournament which is currently being played in Austria and Switzerland. Alas, the English National
squad did not qualify for the tournament finals.
Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, the group
will head west from Norfolk, across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and into Warwickshire, where they will stop at Warwick Castle and in Coventry. The weather has been great so far, but rain is expected for the remainder of
the week. No wonder England is so green!
The St Paul's pilgrims are having a wonderful time in England. They spent another full day in London today,
visiting the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
and the British Museum where they saw the original Rosetta Stone.
Following a delicious lunch in Covent Garden, the pilgrims were escorted
by their guide to Westminster Abbey where they saw the monument
to Sir Isaac Newton and the tomb
of Queen Elizabeth I. A private chapel was made available where our pilgrims were able to pray
together as a group. The accoustics in the private chapel were so good, that Fr Stokes led everyone in a group chant!
A boat ride on the River Thames follwed the visit to the Abbey, then dinner at a restaurant overlooking the banks of the river,
followed by a short stroll to the Globe Theater where
they saw 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. It was an incredible performance which the youth members loved. Fr Stokes
reports that after three full days in London, our band of pilgrims are expert 'tube' riders. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the
pilgrims bid farewell to England's capital, and head northeast to Cambridge
and Norwich. Fr Stokes advises that everyone is well and they are keeping everyone at St Paul's in their prayers. Stay tuned for more updates...
Thanks to itraveluk.co.uk for the image of the map of England used on this page. http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/maps/england.html
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