A book about the growing impact of pilgrimages in today’s church has been chosen by the Archbishop of Wales as his book for Advent (starts November 27).
Dr Barry Morgan is recommending a new book by Andrew Jones, the Archdeacon of Meirionnydd, which explores the experiences of pilgrims to various religious sites in the UK, including Bardsey Island in North Wales.
Pilgrimage: the journey to remembering our story includes eight different pilgrim encounters from the author’s own experience as a retreat leader, linked to eight sites of pilgrimage. But the book’s wider purpose is to consider the growing impact that pilgrimage is having – and could increasingly have – on the Church today. Andrew Jones argues that the experiences of renewal and refreshment of faith taking place at sites of Christian pilgrimage now often far outweigh what is happening in many churches.
Andrew, who lives in Llanbedrog, says, “I have found over the years that the experience of Pilgrimage can awaken people at all stages of belief to remember the story of God’s creating and redeeming work in history—it helps to tell us who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. At the same time we are told by several writers that the contemporary church seems increasingly exiled and estranged from our culture and that part of this malaise is that we have forgotten who we are. Significantly, the act of remembering—pivotal to pilgrimage—not only offers a life-transforming way out of that exile situation but points to the way ‘home’, to the place where we can live authentic and balanced lives.”
Archbishop Barry said, “ I sense there is a renewed interest in the idea of pilgrimage – more people are embracing the chance to take time out of busy schedules to focus on their spiritual journey and visit sites made special by the prayers and devotions of generations of people before them.
“So I am delighted to recommend Andrew’s new book as a inspiring companion for our journey through Advent.”
The book also traces parallels in the experiences of the sixth-century BC Babylonian exiles, who faced with a chain of events that not only changed their lives radically but also the whole structure of their theological thinking. Under the leadership of prophetic voices, they found a new, relevant way to ‘sing the old songs’.
Andrew says, “Just like those ancient exiles, pilgrimage provides the catalyst to recover and reconcile our past stories, to heal memories and to see the hope of the current and the future—a hope that finds expression in discovering a deep sense of the inheritance of God’s story through sites of pilgrimage. I often like to think that tourists pass through particular sites but for the pilgrim the place passes through them.”
Ray Simpson, Founding Guardian of The Community of Aidan and Hilda, describes how the book: ‘speaks to our condition: we feel exiled from our former sense of a familiar environmental, political and religious landscape. It compellingly points a way forward through prophetic, ancient faith-future faith pilgrimage.’
Pilgrimage is published by BRF, £8.99, 208pp, ISBN 978 1 84101 834 8
