Pilgrims of Hope

Pilgrims of Hope

Pilgrims needed a place to sleep overnight. We offered our church hall.

It seemed simple, but they brought with them so much to think and feel and pray about. Like Wordsworth's newborn child, they arrived trailing clouds of glory.
These pilgrims were the Camino to COP, a multi-faith pilgrimage concerned with the impending climate catastrophe. They have grown out of the Extinction Rebellion Faith Bridge.  They are walking from London, scene of the recent extinction rebellion peaceful protests, to Glasgow in time for the internationally crucial COP26 talks on stemming the climate emergency.
On their way they are listening to the concerns of those they meet and telling their own stories.
As they go, a gathering groundswell of prayer buoys them up.

Before they arrived, I had felt no envy for them walking many miles each day in all weathers, dependent on the kindness of others for bed, board, showers and laundry.
But when they left their tread was light, considering that they carried our hopes and fears on their backs.

I felt my own heels lifting from the ground. The energy of their journey very nearly carried me with them.
Instead I turned to make sure our church hall was tidy. It was. They had left it spotless. You would never know that so many hopes and dreams had roosted there overnight.