麻豆约拍

If the trend watchers are right, we鈥檙e about to see a boom in a particular form of travel鈥攑ilgrimage. Growing in popularity over the last decade, it seems many of us are wanting to journey to a sacred place, even if we aren鈥檛 religious. This Sunday I鈥檒l add to the number, joining Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, on a trek from Jarrow to Durham Cathedral, one of six new 鈥榥orthern saints鈥� trails into the city.

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This pilgrimage trend makes sense to me, even before Covid couped us up. Many of us spend our days at a desk, the world mediated to us through a screen, and a pilgrimage gets us out into the elements鈥攖he sun on our skin, wind tousling our hair, boots crunching on the ground. More significantly, pilgrimage gets us away from the everyday to see life afresh鈥攁 new path that opens up new possibilities.

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My first pilgrimage was also up north鈥攁 116-mile trek from Holy Island to Durham, following the footsteps of beloved northern saints like Cuthbert, Hilda and Bede. Feeling adrift at the time, I was looking for new purpose. After eight days walking we arrived late to the cathedral鈥檚 evensong service, where听a visiting bishop got up to speak. He said, 鈥淪ome of you have been on pilgrimage this week.鈥� That got my attention. He said, 鈥淪ome of you have trekked from Holy Island to be here.鈥� Now I was really listening. He said, 鈥淪ome of you have been following the footsteps of Cuthbert, Hilda and Bede.鈥� It felt like someone had orchestrated this moment just for us!

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It turned out we had stumbled into the cathedral鈥檚 one and only service dedicated to the northern saints and pilgrimage. If we鈥檇 come a day earlier, or even ten minutes later, we鈥檇 have missed this moment of serendipity鈥攚hich reminded me that, even when I didn鈥檛, God knew where my life was heading and I could trust he was leading me somewhere good.

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For me, it鈥檚 this possibility of divine encounter that distinguishes a pilgrimage from a walk in the woods. But however we see it, I can鈥檛 think of a better way to reset from these past months than to hit the path, boots crunching, wind tousling our hair, opening ourselves to new possibilities and maybe some serendipity too.

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