Written by Beth
After a couple of months rest, Wild Church took up its pilgrim’s stick again to continue its sacred journey along the river Dart, now beginning the route from the source of the river to the sea. The focal place on the map this time was Widecombe-in-the-Moor, beginning in the church of St Pancras and continuing through the mist covered moors. It was a particularly special day for Wild Church because, not only was it Harvest Festival in the Christian calendar – a time of celebration and gratitude for the bounties of the earth – it was also the Feast Day of St Francis, whose profound spirituality led him to rebuild a wild and derelict church outside of the establishment, to provide an alternative sacred space for a simpler way of life in closer relationship to the earth and all her creatures.
After sharing a period of rich silence together in the church, we sung St Francis into the space through “All Creatures Of Our God And King” and “Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace” – two hymns inspired by his poems. I absolutely adore both of these hymns so it was a joy to sing them together in such an intimate setting. The deep and beautiful spirituality of St Francis is as clear as crystal in the words; his relationship to the elements, to other creatures, and to ‘mother earth’, ‘brother sun’ and ‘sister moon’, as well as his passion for living a life in service to peace and love. Values true to the teachings of Jesus, which Francis saw had been corrupted amidst the power and riches of the institutional Church of Rome.
With the spirit of St Francis amongst us, we moved from inside to outside, from stillness to movement, and walked out in contemplative silence towards the tors of the moor above. I felt St Francis draw my senses into greater joy and wonderment at the rich and colourful life all around; the fruiting berries and the dying leaves, the acorns and conkers, the smell of the pine, and the shy but curious greetings of a group of alpacas. St Francis found his sense of Spirit in the natural world, stripped away of the things that only serve to separate us, and this is what he shared when he was alive and continues to share with the world today.
Reaching our mid point in the walk, a stack of rocks provided our altar and on top of the stack we each placed gifts that we’d collected along the way, along with leaves thrown into the wind with names of those no longer with us. We sat together beneath our altar of the earth, passed around communion of oatcake and water, and shared in prayer for friends, family and those in suffering around the world. We finished with a uniting of voice
s again, this time to the tune of a chant from Taizé…
O Lord, hear my prayer
O Lord, hear my prayer
When I call, answer me
O Lord, hear my prayer
O Lord, hear my prayer
Come and listen to me
For the rest of the walk returning to Widecombe we walked and talked in fellowship, ending at a local café for some warming tea and nourishing grub.