From the Rectory July 2025

Rev Canon Simon Ward
Team Rector, Great Yarmouth Team Ministry, and Rural Dean

In the coming weeks, we will see the increased visitor numbers to our town. I really enjoy talking to visitors. I love to hear about where they have come from, whether they have been here before, what they have seen and what remains to be seen. It is a blessing that many visitors struggle into the Minster but of course many do not; instead choosing the joyful bright lights, sights and sounds of the Golden Mile 

Last month I returned from a very different sort of visitor experience. My wife and I travelled to Spain and walked some of the Camino which ends in Santiago de Compostela. In that beautiful, ancient city you find a colossal Cathedral housing the relics of the holy Apostle St James. For centuries it has been a place of pilgrimage but the striking news is the way pilgrimage has really taken off in recent years. Over the last 10 years I became aware of a number of people who had walked some of the Camino and so I thought it good to try the experience and see why it gets folk packing a rucksack and pulling on walking boots
 
First thing I noticed was the incredible diversity of reasons for walking some Camino. Often it seemed walkers were at a junction or changing point in their lives, therefore walking for several days or weeks gives an excellent opportunity to reflect. I noted some people were definitely Christian, others a little bit spiritual, others seeking or searching while others were just walking because it is an excellent walk
 
We met people from all over the world. This was one of the real pleasures of Camino; it is a unifying factor. We encountered people from every continent and sometimes a walker would draw alongside and you talk for ages then one of you stops and the other carries on. You may see them later or you may never ever see them again! There was a lovely feeling of shared humanity and many acts of solidarity and kindness
 
A pilgrimage walk slows you down. It takes time. Walking day by day often for several hours has a very stealing effect. That is one of the great offers of pilgrimage in a world where so many people find themselves frustrated by lack of time and the pressure of life
 
The Plaza outside the cathedral in Santiago is a joyful place to be because that is where peoples’ journeys end. People enter the square in 1s, 2s or 3s. Sometimes a joyful youth pilgrimage enters full of song. A small group of cyclists wheels down the hill. I remember seeing two middle-aged men stop, give each other a big hug, take a few photos, soak up the atmosphere then took their rucksacks off, lay down and fell asleep. The journey has to come to an end then, just like mediaeval pilgrims centuries ago, we must make the journey back to our normality but taking with us whatever reflection or learning we have gleaned along the way
 
You may not be able to walk for days on end or may not have the inclination to! But I do recommend slowing down, meeting others, reflecting and taking time to learn                                                                         Fr Simon

PIC: 
Fr Simon and
Georgette
outside the
Cathedral in
Santiago
 

this article  courtesy of Parish Life

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