John Lockey and I shall be walking from London to Canterbury as a pilgrimage in honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury, in the footsteps pf Chaucer's Pilgrims, starting from Southwark Cathedral after 8 am Mass on Sunday 11th March 2012 and reaching Canterbury sometime on Thursday 15th.

The stops are planned to be Dartford on the 11th, Strood on the12th, Sittingbourne on the 13th, Dunkirk on the 14th, and reaching Canterbury Cathedral on the15th.

Why a walk?  This time last year I was not able to walk more than about a mile due to an injury that had persisted for several years.  God in his goodness has given me back my health these past few months and I wish to express my thanks to Him by using my refound ability to walk for Him.

Our Church in Emsworth is dedicated to two Thomases - St. Thomas Moore and St. Thomas  of Canterbury.  Both died for their faith by order of the Monarch of the day , one in The Tower of london, and the other on the altar of Canterbury Cathedral.  

 Ever since the death of St. Thomas of Canterbury pilgrims have journeyed, starting in Southwark and ending in Canterbury at the altar in the cathedral where St. Thomas a Becket was killed. This journey follows the route that the king was forced to walk as his pennance for causing the death of his archbishop, and is taken to commemorate his  brave stand and untimely death.  With our church being dedicated also to St. Thomas Moore, in taking a pilgrimage from Southwark RC Cathedral, to Westminster Abbey, over London Bridge and onward to Canterbury I shall also be passing the Tower where St. Thomas Moore was executed at the order of King Henry VIII for refusing to acknowledge The King as the head of the Church in England.

Sadly today Christians all over the world are still dying and being imprisoned for their faith, particularly in Nigeria and Egypt currently, but also in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,  in some South American countries, and still to our shame in Northern Ireland.

In many of these countries the root of the sectarian violence against Christians  is ignorance rooted in poverty, and it is this that CAFOD seeks to overcome.  This year's Cafod Lentern appeal is for clean water for all, something we in England have taken for granted for the past 100 years, but which is still not commonplace in many parts of the world.

There is no shortage of water - two thirds of the world is covered in it - but often investment is required in technology to make it fit for drinking and available where people live and work.

We invite you to pray for the success of our journey and sponsor our  walk - giving the money to CAFOD's Lentern appeal. We  also invite you to send messages of support, or to join us for part of the journey - will you walk a mile with me, anything from a short mile to the entire 63 as you feel you would like to. 

Remember God is good and almighty and will reward our efforts to please him, and he will guide and keep us if we pray for that guidance.

 

God bless you.

Nigel and John