Armchair Pilgrim: The Friendships Along the Way

A fine rain greeted us on our final day of pilgrimage, but by the time we boarded the bus and arrived in Llangollen the skies began to clear. It was an apt metaphor for much of life. 

At St. Collen’s Church, we were greeted by the Rev. Lee Taylor,who shared the history of the building, whose earliest architectural features date back to the Norman era. As Father Lee talked about the ornately carved 14th century wooden ceiling, he likened the nave of a church to an ark — a place where we come together in community to navigate the sometimes stormy seas of life. 

Community engagement is a large part of the mission of St. Collen’s. Father Lee’s pulpit extends to “the pub, the coffee shops, and the streets of the town” where he meets people and welcomes them to special events at the church such as sound baths and Gregorian chant workshops. In August the church is even holding a beer festival and blessing for the feast of St. Arnold, patron saint of brewers.

“As long as people leave the church feeling more peaceful, joyful, hopeful and connected,” he explained, “we’ve done our job.”

Our final stop on the pilgrimage took us to the nearby Valle Crucis Abbey for a time of final reflection and prayer. In the ruins of the 13th century Cistercian monastery, pilgrims wandered, journaled, shared quiet conversations and sat in silence as a refreshing breeze rolled down through the hills and across the valley. 

The pilgrimage closed with one final worship service in the chapel at Gladstone’s Library. Participants shared the blessings they were taking home from Wales — encounters with people in the places we visited, those who offered us hospitality, the landscape and the history, the rhythm of nature and days guided by worship and prayer. But most of all, the friendships made along the way.