Words from Bede Circuit

Dear Friends,

In May I joined a small group of women from all over the country on an MWiB Pilgrimage. Like many things it has been deferred three times due to the pandemic, sadly one early volunteer died earlier in the year and another was too ill to join us but spaces were filled and thirteen of us set off under the guidance of Jill Baker and Gillian Womersley.  For many of us St Mungo and St Ninian were merely names but we learnt a little bit about them as we travelled.  The pilgrimage began in Glasgow where, in the 6th century, St Mungo served the community.  Our journey then took us to Ayr where we picked up the trail of St Ninian walking up the coast to St Ninian’s Cove and Whithorn.

Many stories and myths abound about St Mungo and relatively little is known about St Ninian, who is often known as St Ninian of Galloway and is also venerated on the nearby Orkney Islands, and may be commemorated in the name of North Ronaldsay.  Facts may be sparse but they served their respective communities and witnessed to Christ in their respective areas, bringing many to Christ.

Our band of pilgrims will probably never experience such fame but it was a significant experience in so many ways.  We discovered new connections, we made many new friends, experiencing very emotional moments as well as light-hearted moments and times of deep sharing, we felt one another’s pain on occasions but also their joy. Some words by Ruth Sprague, written much closer at hand on Lindisfarne have stuck with me:

I have rested here a while,

been reacquainted with your peace, have felt your love.

Now as I push my coracle onto unknown waters

Watch over me, be my guide and my strength.

We never know what lies ahead, sometimes it is as well that we don’t but through it all God is with us, he watches over his children, guiding us and empowering us.  A coracle is small and somewhat at the mercy of a rough sea but God’s power is so much greater and his will, will be done.  Are we prepared to push our coracle into unknown waters and leave the rest to God?  That verse seems particularly pertinent in our present situation in this circuit but also in the country indeed the world at this time.

Shalom,

Rev Judith Oldroyd on behalf of the Bede Circuit Staff Team