Western Morning News (Saturday)
New pilgrims hiking out of lockdown
A DEVON vicar and former Royal Marine is leading a one-day walking pilgrimage from Exeter Cathedral to Exmouth to celebrate the reopening of church buildings after lockdown and raise money for charity.
The Rev Steve Jones and others will set off from the cathedral this morning following a short service led by Canon James Mustard and a blessing by the Bishop of Exeter.
The “Radiant Pilgrimage” will carry a candle lit from the cathedral’s Paschal candle and vials of holy oil. The Paschal candle is traditionally lit in churches on Easter Saturday and placed by the altar until Pentecost, 40 days after Easter Sunday.
The pilgrims will visit each of the seven Anglican churches along the Exe Estuary to pass on the flame and deliver some of the holy oils. They will also visit the Royal Marine Commando training centre at Lympstone. The pilgrimage will raise money for local foodbanks and for the churches along the route.
Mr Jones, who served in the
Falklands, said: “The pilgrimage will be a visible sign for our estuary communities of vibrant spiritual life flowing back into the heart of our towns and villages after lockdown.
“We hope it will help to build closer relationships between the cathedral and the church communities and deepen our connections with Lympstone.”
The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev Robert Atwell, said: “Our generation is rediscovering the transforming experience of pilgrimage. Ancient pilgrim routes criss-cross our county and we are making new ones as we emerge out of lockdown and recover our sense of direction in life.”
The pilgrimage will cover about 14 miles and finish at Mr Jones’s church of St Margaret and St Andrew’s in Littleham, Exmouth.
The estuary pilgrimage will become one of the routes incorporated into the Devon Pilgrim initiative.