Armchair Pilgrim: Stepping Away From the World, But Still Living in It
“A journey once taken alone we now choose to take together . . .”
By the shores of a holy lake where pre-Christian Celts came to pray and with the roar of jet engines from the nearby RAF airfield flying overhead, 28 pilgrims began their journey with this pilgrimage prayer by Edward Hayes.
Earlier, we climbed onto a bright orange motorcoach for our first day exploring the legends and landscapes of northern Wales. Along the road, driver Dave shared his own spiritual journey as well as jokes about the Welsh weather.
The first stop was Llyn Cerrig Bach (“little stoney lake”), the site of the discovery of a large hoard of Iron Age artifacts when RAF forces were expanding runways during World War II. Many of the objects were deliberately broken, a sign that the lake was a holy site where Druids made votive offerings into a sacred body of water.
Prayers had to be paused because of the jets overhead; Martha G. from Asheville, N.C., remarked that this disruption of an ancient quiet space by the rumble of modern engines was a fitting metaphor for a group starting its journey to regain some peace. “We’re stepping away from the world, but we still have to live in it.”
After a quick lunch in Holyhead, it was on to St. Bridget’s Parish Church in Dyserth, which is celebrating 1,500 years of service. The Rev. Gregor Lachlann-Waddell led a brief Celtic prayer service and spoke about Mary Magdalene, whose feast day the church celebrates on July 22.
Church warden Roger shared the history of the church’s Jesse window, remarkable for having survived the Reformation and its destruction of iconography. Townspeople disassembled the window themselves and hid pieces in their homes to ensure its safety. However, there was no master drawing for reassembly. The scenes along the top of the window are complete, but as the window descends from heaven to earth it becomes more confused, ending in a random jumble of pieces.
As one of the clergy in the group remarked, “There’s a sermon illustration!”