Last Sunday we had a group outing from St Mary’s Church to mark the day in our church year when we celebrate our patron saint, Mary the mother of Jesus.  It was organised by my colleague, Reverend Louise, and it took the form of a pilgrimage after our morning service.  If you have ever been on holiday in southern Europe when the Feast of the Virgin Mary is celebrated (most frequently on 15^th August), you will know that it is a huge occasion with processions, music and flowers – a fiesta and a public holiday.

Our celebration was a little more restrained, but nevertheless very special.  We held our regular Sunday service at 10 am in St Mary’s Church with a particular focus on Mary who said yes to God when she agreed to become the mother of Jesus, God’s Son.  Her willingness to play her part in God’s saving plan for humankind marked her out as a remarkably brave woman, and her experience of watching her son die in the cruellest circumstances on the cross was further evidence of her resilience in suffering.  This is why so many Christians down the ages have found her to be an inspiring role model of human fortitude and complete trust in God.

Pilgrimage might be defined as a special journey, where people go in search of a new or expanded meaning about themselves, another person, nature or a religious belief.  At the end of a pilgrimage, the pilgrim returns to daily life, changed by the experience.  Pilgrims often travel in company with others, and it is this shared sense of journeying which can bring a deeper sense of companionship with the people with whom we have travelled.

Our pilgrimage on Sunday took us to two other churches in the Banbury area which are also dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Blessed with beautiful sunshine and unexpectedly warm temperatures after the disappointing grey skies of August, we were able to enjoy a group picnic in the churchyard at St Mary’s Broughton which is in the grounds of Broughton Castle.  During our lunch, we had the unexpected bonus of hearing jazz music played in the background which was the accompaniment to a classic car rally at the castle.  We enjoyed each other’s company as we munched on our picnics, and we finished with prayers and Louise’s reflections about St Mary.

Those of us who wished to continue to St Mary’s Bloxham had a beautiful walk across the fields, which included navigating our way through occasional herds of cows.  I had to overcome my nervousness by stepping out with feigned confidence until we reached the gateway into the next field.  There I felt huge relief at passing through the challenge unscathed!  Was this how Christian felt in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress as he made his way through the fields to the Wicket Gate? 

We walked down the long grassy slope towards the spire of St Mary’s Bloxham, and I had a feeling of joyfulness at the beauty of the scene before me on this hot late summer’s afternoon, and the sense of reaching a destination.   I hadn’t actually walked particularly far (unlike some of my companions), but it still felt an achievement: a walk with a purpose.  We enjoyed prolonged rest and a drink in the cool shade of Bloxham churchyard, with the opportunity for more congenial conversation.  We finished with a final reflection on St Mary and closing prayers before the parting of the fellowship, some of us retracing our steps to our cars at Broughton (back through those cows!) while others walked the full 10 mile circuit which started and finished at St Mary’s Church in Banbury.

Sarah Bourne, Chaplain for the Arts – 8^th Sept 2021            sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk