The gift of the peace of the Risen Lord comes to us in most wonderous ways. This morning, we needed some water to have a cuppa. The store manager at the TESCO Petrol Station in South Queensferry tool the two five litre cans and filled them with fresh tap water and handed it back with a smile, thank you to Caroline.
Last night we pulled up the Caravan into TESCO carpark and I asked the Store Manager Erin permission to park. She was most kind and gave permission to park. It reminded of some recent past experience where authority to enable and disable is used contrary to our Christian Hospitality. We are about to breakfast now. So, to continue... Sausage and Scrambled eggs on a piece of brown bread sets up for the day. Thanks to our Chef Mark Walker who makes the Big Breakfast. Enjoyed that wonderful breakfast and now all set to go. Yesterday I was walking through Aberdour and say 'The Rectory' sign outside St Columba's. I knew it is a Scottish Episcopal Church and I wanted to say hello to the Rector. On ringing the bell, with no answer I was about to get back to the road to Inverkeithing to continue my walk. A couple were walking along the pavement and asked if I was looking for someone. I asked if it was still the Rectory, as it was in a very good condition and looked after lovingly and thought it may be in private hands. But, Revd Dean and Elizabeth said that they are the ministry team in the area and offered me a cup of water. I received as a signal of 'Christian Hospitality' 'giving a cup of water!' and accepted it. An hour later I left with kindness, generosity and love with most delicious and nutritious meal. It was blessing to meet these wonderful people of God and make connections. Their son Ben is now a Monk at Pluscarden Abbey where Elizabeth was blessed by Abbot Hugh, eight days old and Michael climbed up the wall, feeling at home. Amu made pakoras for the monks twice a year. We were well integrated into the family of God at Pluscarden. Meeting Dean and Elizabeth felt like meeting an extended family of God. They both prayed a blessing upon our Walk of Prayer for Healing, Peace and Revival. They will walk with us in prayer. On arriving at Inverkeithing, I met my companions Nigel and Mark with Doner Kebab and Chips to celebrate the Feast of St Mark. We continued the journey on to the Forth Road Bridge to South Queensferry. Nigel remembers seeing the bridge being built, and crossing the Forth on the Ferry. He says, the Forth Railway Bridge was set on fire to ease the metal to put the last bolt in place. Today, Nigel is setting up the walk to end at Musselburgh. We are now ready to set off.
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Thank you very much for all our friends from near and far, for your kind and generous words and prayers as we embark upon another day's walk from Kirkcaldy to Queensferry. It is an 18 miles walk along the glorious Fyfe Coastal Path. The walk from Cupar to Kirkcaldy was full of joy and sadness. It was sad to walk through former mining towns once the heartbeat of the economy and looking isolate and deprived. However, we pitched out tent last night near the Dysart Carmelite Monastery. The atmosphere of prayer was palpable as we said prayers this morning on the Feast of St Mark near this holy place. We were unable to livestream as we were out of reach to our network.
The life of prayer is a life of holiness. When our hearts are bound with the Lord in its innermost part, every breath of our every day becomes prayer. We have done our first 100 miles and are about to embark upon our second. We will be returning to Aberdeen for our friend Jean Souter's funeral on Monday the 2nd of May 2022. We will be at the Sung Eucharist on Sunday the 1st of May at our beloved Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Aberdeen. We shall resume our walk on Wednesday and say, 'May the Fourth be with you!'. Many of you have asked about the Fundraising aspect of this walk. The Trustees of St Andrew's have set up the website to enable this. Please use the PayPal giving on this site. Bank details are also included here. We are in the process of setting up JustGiving and Facebook giving. Please watch the space for details of these options. Grant and Jo opened their home and extended hospitality with no notice. The dinner was a joy with the opportunity to explore much of God's wonderous creation. The recent trend in the church that 'real life experience' enriches the life of the church is a folly. The skill set and thought processes brought into the church is regarded a blessing. We unpacked this a bit and realised that this is not always the case. People in business bringing their processing skills to the 'Kingdom of God' may not necessarily be good because the ultimate objective in business is the 'company profit'. But 'Kingdom of God' in Christ Jesus turned the world upside down by making the cross, the core processing form. We considered that this trend in church requires a re-think.
Having experienced first hand, the hostile and aggressive behaviour of someone in training for ministry in the church, a through cleansing before entry into church's service may need to be considered. We are in the business of proclaiming Christ Crucified and Risen. May the Peace of the Risen Lord, permeate into the depths of our being and transform us to transform the world around us into the 'Kingdom of God.' It was expected! that we lingered at our hosts Fay and Vina at St Ninian's, Dundee longer than we had intended to - the problem of authentic hospitality.
Authentic hospitality when the hosts and the guests are truly united in love where the exchanges are not self centred but self giving and therefore transformative. Fay and Vina touched the lives of the three men and their Ella so deeply, the gift of grace was stamped all over the place. On leaving Dundee to pick up the coastal path, the contrast between the old docks and the new museum was evident. It was a joy to see life in its fulness when young people of Dundee learning swimming skills in the sea. That became more meaningful when I saw poster by Breathing Space. I have been made to be mindful ever since the first day of our walk, that while we celebrate the life of the 'Risen Lord' the reality of suicide was more real in Stonehave and every stop thereafter that the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on human mind is more serious that we realise. One of the purpose is to transform the way we view life and treat others with the dignity that Jesus secured for each human life, that we are the children of God made in the image of God that we matter. People matter. While life thrives there is death around us. It is our duty, it is my duty to make life possible and flourish. All that is not life should be resisted, changed and transformed. Crossing the Tay was a poignant time. St Mary's Scottish Episcopal Church in Newport on Tay looked stunning. We stopped and proclaimed the words of the Risen Lord, 'Peace be with you.'. It was a joy to meet Helena at Urban Grocery at Newport on Tay. Helena was most gracious and hospitable. We walked along the Tay and reached Wormit, thanks to our host guides - Fay and Vina. It felt effortless. Walk from Wormit to Balmerino Abbey through ploughed and green fields was most enjoyable. I made my way from Balmerino to Cupar, uphill and down hill about ten times before reaching the trading town of Cupar. The support team arrived ahead of me. During my walk from Balmerino to Cupar, a very kind and generous couple, Jo and Grant Milne welcomed me into their home with great sense of hospitality as it was the Lord Jesus, himself. God bless this amazing couple. There is plenty to say about 'Christian Hospitality' and they topped it all. There is more to say, but it is time to enter the Rest of the Risen Lord, 'Peace be with you.' We are at St Ninian's, Dundee enjoying the hospitality of the Dean of the Diocese of Brechin. Dean Fay is a great friend and we have journeyed together in our beloved church for some time. We travelled together through some tough times and it is a joy to reconnect.
It was a very bright and sunny day and a joy to behold the sea walking along the coast line. I met some incredible people along the way and wished the Peace of the Risen Lord to be with them. On arriving at Carnoustie I followed the footpath close to the famous Championship Golf Course. I realised, I was not moving in the right Direction and asked for help. Colin and David were most helpful. Colin knew exactly where to go and took me to the point where the rest of the walk was almost straight forward. Walking past there I met an amazing couple Jon and Trish who were very interested in our work. They were a great encouragement. Reaching Monifieth the sun was shing and the gentle breeze drew me to the sand dunes. I sat on one of the benches and before long dozed off for a couple of minutes. On waking up and resuming the walk, I bumped into David, an Elder the local church with the Royal Navy jumper on. It was fascinating to hear about his service in Falkland Islands. He was very please to hear of the connection with my walk to the Queens Platinum Jubilee and was grateful for the service to the Queen and Country. Christopher H just joined us for a cup of tea. He suffers from ADHD and hence unable to hold a job or go into higher education. So, he decided to travel around UK. He finds seaside calming and happy to live frugally. We prayed, 'Peace be with you.'
We had a brief music session this evening with Nigel on the fiddle and I on the drums. It was good to be joined by people online. We walked today from Montrose to Arbroath through Lunan Bay, following the Angus Cycle Path. Most of it was through ploughed fields, Oil Seed Rape fields and daffodils. It was a joy to hear the birds all along especially a woodpecker. On arriving at Arbroath I was desperate to spend a penny. I have used Coop in Inverbervie but the Coop I went into had none. I asked the Store Attendant for directions to the next point. Paige was extremely helpful. She laughed out when I said she should do voiceover for TomTom. I mentioned I was on a walk to Revive Mental health care support through Just Friends Kitchen, Young Trebles Choir and the historic heritage Church of St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen. She spoke of her friend who took his own life on the early hours of Sunday. Declan M was just 22. I said a prayer with her wishing the presence of the Risen Christ to speak in that still small voice, 'Peace be with You.' Please pray for the repose of this soul. This morning, a dear friend helped me set up a donation page on our Facebook Page. Before the ending of the day, Creator of the world we pray ... Peace be with you. The day began with meeting Donna and Michael at the Inverbervie Leisure Centre. It got better with the most helpful and generous Post Master Hugh, his colleague Rhona and the Security Officer (Labrador) Tilly genuinely excited about the walk and donating £10 each.
Met the Walking Group from Fraserburgh, about 40 people most of who would have seen the Queen's coronation, walking from Johnshaven to Inverbervie with great zest for life. It was a joy and blessing to see people choosing life and enjoying the beauty of the Creation. The day began with sunshine but soon the mist covered the face of the earth never lifting. Between Gourdon and Johnshaven on the Coastal path, there is a wooden bridge. While crossing that bridge I received the news of my dear friend and colleague, Jean Souter, passing away, in to the life of the Risen Christ. I saw her before setting off on the Walk and we shared in the life of the Risen Lord in the Holy Communion. Jean gave me an angel to say that she will walk with me as my Guardian Angel along the way. Now I know she is walking with me in spirit. May her soul rest in peace and rise in glory. Please pray for Dave, Jean's husband and Clair, their daughter. 'Peace be with you, Jean.' The Coastline from Johnshaven to St Cyrus was beautiful, breath taking and on the cliff edge. In St Cyrus I met one more of my Guardian Angels, Wendy. I met Wendy asking for directions and she most kindly offered me a cup of tea and then walked some distance and then bade farewell. Wendy connected well to the purpose of the Walk, praying and blessing people with the gift of the Risen Christ, Peace be with you. On arriving at Montrose I met Mike who guided me towards the town centre of Montrose. We are in Montrose, parked near St Mary's, Scottish Episcopal Church. It is good to see churches in great shape and well used. Before the ending of the day, Creator of the World we pray ... This morning, Ella, Mark and I went to the Bervie Leisure Centre. We mentioned the walk. Donna the Manager and Michael who is a Life Guard were extremely kind. We had the most refreshing experience and the kindness made our resolve to continue, stronger.
How is it when there is so much kindness that we also suffer 'Trauma'? On the way back, I went into the local Post Office at Inverbervie looking for a replacement charging cable for Mark. Hugh the Post Master and Rhona his colleague and Tilly, Head of Security were extremely kind helpful. When I mentioned our Walk, they donated £10 each. I prayed for God's blessings upon them. Sarah, who fed us in Stonehaven also donated £10 in addition to the most delicious soup. Mark Edwards our Chair of the Management Team walked with me between Catterline and Inverbervie. The Jesus Movement is growing. May we spread the love of the Risen Lord in, 'Peace be with you.' We hear the still small voice of the Risen Lord say to us, 'Peace be with you.'
We hear it in the shadows of the Holy Week. We hear it in grief in the loss of a loved one. We hear it in the funeral of Allan who took his own life forced by the thoughts in his mind. We hear it with many of his friends who are deeply distress and would do anything to prevent those thoughts. How we wish that still small voice had spoken into the mind of dear Allan. How I wish that voice had spoken to my dear friend Dawn! How I wish that voice had spoke to the one who is in your mind. I baptised a baby girl, a grand daughter of someone who took her life. I prayed blessing on a daughter of someone who took her life. While I pray and baptise, I ask the Risen Christ to speak with that still small voice, 'Peace be with You.' Sleeplessness, my companion tells me leads to distress. Distress leads to habits of dependency. Dependency perpetuates sleep depravation. One enters this cycle, unable to break through. Can the still small voice of the Risen Lord speak into this cycle? I feel helpless to do anything on my own. But as we hear the Risen Lord speak to us tenderly, 'Peace be with you' I believe we can made a difference. Let us pray. Grant us your Peace O Lord. Grant us YOUR Peace O Lord. May it fill our lives always. The Platinum Jubilee Walk of Prayer is committed to raising funds to transform lives through Just Friends Kitchen, Youth Revival for Peace and St Andrew's Cathedral of Peace. Yesterday, I was blessed to pray at three Scottish Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Brechin - St James' in Stonehaven, St Philip's Catterline and St David of Scotland, in Bervie. I pray for the blessings of Bishop Andrew of Brechin for trespassing his diocese. Stonehaven hospitality was second to none, which meant we were finding it hard to move away from there.
When we finally managed to get away, we stopped to say a prayer at the harbour when we walked along the Stonehaven prison, the famous painting in every Episcopal Church where a Priest baptised children from inside the prison. Our tradition suffered much from others. We finally managed to get away and needed a breathing space on top the hill above the harbour after making a steep ascent! Walking past Donatter Caste, we stopped to say a prayer for the souls of all those who suffered cruelly. |
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