The Pilgrim Path

Wednesday August 5 2015

Jackie Macadam discovers an upsurge in pilgrimage, both at home and overseas.

THE world around us seems to be spinning faster and faster. Life’s demands grow greater with every passing year.

            But there’s a growing trend of people stepping back – and using some of their time to take part in a pilgrimage.

            The Rev Joanne Evans-Boiten, minister at Athelstaneford, l/w Whitekirk and Tyninghame in East Lothian, knows the power of the pilgrimage well.

            She’s an enthusiast, using some holidays each year to do part of the great European pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago.

            “The route to the shrine is 1600 kilometres long and takes around three months to do. Obviously I can’t do it all at once, but two years ago I did a ten day section from the start in Le Puy (the oldest route though there are many others).

            “This year I did the six days with a donkey called Cadou. At first I was frustrated at his pace. I wanted to go faster, to charge on and complete the distance, but Cadou had other ideas. He went at his own pace and I had no choice but to slow down and fall in beside him. He taught me that patience is important.”

She adds: “For me, life is a journey and when you’re walking a pilgrimage route, the whole act of putting one foot in front of the other is symbolic of journeying with God in daily life.”

            Joanne’s interest in pilgrimage extends beyond the Camino.

            “The church in Whitekirk is a medieval pilgrim church. In the 1970s a modern pilgrimage was introduced that linked St Mary’s, Whitekirk to St Mary’s, Haddington.

            “Though the pilgrimage had dried up, the minister at St Mary’s, Haddington, the Rev Jennifer Macrae, got together with me and we decided it would be a good idea to resurrect it.”

            Jennifer takes up the story.

            “The route is round about 12 miles long. There is some road walking, some hills and some countryside walking to get to St Mary’s at Whitekirk. Parts of it are from the old Pilgrim route, and some of it is more modern.

            “We have a short worship service at Haddington and a chance to use the loo etc before we set off.

            “We settled upon having seven stops along the way where we read a psalm or a gospel reading – just something that reflects the reasons we are here.”

            John Henderson, in Melrose, is one of the founder members of Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum (SPRF), a group trying to increase and improve accessibility of pilgrim walking routes throughout Scotland and the north of England. John also runs a walking business that is currently promoting 14 long distance walking routes.

            “The first we promoted as a business was St Cuthbert’s Way. Though there was a walk, there was no web presence and no formalised arrangements to assist walkers with planning and support.

            “Around the same time Action of Churches Together (ACTS) got involved and from them came the development of the Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum, designed to try to assist and encourage the development of Scottish walking pilgrimage routes.

            “There are new pilgrimage projects going on all over the country.”

            Jeneffer Zielinski is another keen pilgrim – but Jeneffer takes groups of people on pilgrimages in the Holy Land.

                        “I am so blessed to have been the first Programme Director at the new Scots Hotel, and the Staff family there, in the Guesthouse at Jerusalem and in Tabeetha School are still my family in my home from home.

            “I retired from World Mission service in 2008, but have led groups every two years since then, in 2010, 2012, 2014 and am currently making plans to travel again in 2016.

            “Holy Land Pilgrimages are special to the people who go on them"

Further information on the Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum is available at www.sprf.org.uk

This is an abridged version of an article that appears in the August issue of Life and Work. Subscribe here