Walking on water .......

Walking is good for the soul.

I walked with a group linked with the parish last week. Most of the group had known each other for years either as school friends or work colleagues so it was quite a privilege to be invited.

Walking with a group allows conversations to flow sometimes in pairs or threes and there were quite a few conversations some of which I was up to speed and some of which I could understand with the help of a little guidance or a pointer or just a clue.

It was at times a little 'Last of the Summer Wine' but all taken in good part and finishing with a very well kept pint of real ale.

My friend Syd and I did a lot of walking together. A few years ago we retraced some of our walks it was an exercise in nostalgia and to remind me he sent me a Birthday card when I was 70 showing three old gadgies walking:

One comments: 'It's windy today'.

The reply: 'No it's Thursday'.

The third response: '`So I am I, let's stop for a pint'.

But walking is good for the soul.

I have undertaken four long distance walks. One, along the Irish Border was challenging especially as we had ex soldiers walking alongside republicans, Sinn Fein politicians and church members.

Most of the time the 'Craic' was good but there were sensitivities and the odd indrawn breath but we met on good terms and the walk ended on good terms.

The nearest we got to an incident was in a pub over a pint of Guinness watching a football match. As a United supporter I was interested in the game and its outcome but a local who was obviously a regular in the Pub began a commentary in which Manchester United were consistently referred to as Newton Heath Rovers.

I knew about Newton Heath of course being a Mancunian but it was generally easier to go along with the banter than challenge the mans memory.

I also walked the Dalesway with my son William, that was a special walk in many ways and I am only sorry that other planned walks didn't happen because now I am left to walk alone with only the memory to comfort me.

During my time at Bradford Cathedral I walked from Sedburgh in the North of the Diocese to Bradford during my last Holy Week in 1999.

Here I stayed with Clergy and held a service and preached each night of the walk which made the whole exercise a pilgrimage in the very real sense of that word even though my pilgrimage was back to the City and my home

My longest and most challenging walk was the walk from Poperinghe in Flanders to All Hallows Church in London.

It was a pilgrimage in the spirit of Tubby Clayton, the founder of Toc H, the charity of which I was the Director.

My proposal gave rise to a variety of responses not least in relation to my crossing of the English Channel, was I planning to 'walk on water'? The answer to which was simple, no I would cross La Manche by le tunnel.

And I did and then walked the Pilgrims Way from Ashford to London and All Hallows Church.

Whilst I was sponsored and the members of Toc H were very generous in their support the walk was long and at times quite lonely but I was hosted along the way by Toc H members in their homes and that meant getting to know quite a few people extremely well.

Walking is a way of learning and developing: as we walk we think, as we think so we become more aware of our surroundings, of noise, of birdsong, of traffic, of other voices, of children playing. I find that the best way to 'write' a sermon is to walk with it and to rehearse it.

My pilgrimage walk during Holy Week in Bradford was such an example as I walked I read a book Death's Gift which allowed my to reflect on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus and gain some insight into how death is to be perceived and valued.

So I hope to rejoin my new walking companions for an opportunity to walk with them again soon.

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