Another Year Another Season of # Lockdown Pilgrimages

 I go to church on Sunday. On foot, if possible. Following in the footsteps of countless others. 10th January 2020 was the Feast of the Baptism of Christ. So I walked to my parish church -  St. John the Baptist, Coltishall.


Questions abound: How many generations of Christians were baptised and buried here? On how many Sundays have Christians gathered in this place? How old is the church? 


You can catch a  glimpse of the oldest bit of the church from the road. There's the ghost of a quoin in red Roman brick and two double splayer circular wind-eye windows under the eves, by the North Porch. They suggest that this bit of the church was built in 11th or early 12th Century. 
By my calculation, that's 900 years X 52 weeks in a year = 468000 Sundays. And very few of those would have been without a service. Even during lockdown the church is being prayed in every week!


The church may date from the 11th Century, but people may have been gathering here for lonnger. Early in the conversion of England Pope Gregory advised Bishop Mellitus to take over  existing pagan places of worship; purifying them with holy water and choosing as patron, a saint whose feast coincided with the pre-existing pagan festival. 

The feast of Saint John the Baptist falls at mid-summer! But there's more! It doesn't matter what the noticeboard says, all the iconography says the chuch is dedicated to  St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. You can you see both their symbols at the West Door!  The Lamb and Flag, for St. John the Baptist (see John's Gospel Chapter 2) on one side; and the Eagle (quite weather worn)  on the other side (see Revelations 4.7),  the symbol for St. John the Evangelist, the Gospel Writer!




Two saints means two feast days! The feast of St. John the Evangelist is midwinter.  Midwinter and midsummer festivals. Going back I don't know how long! A lot of history, then!  And today?  

Well, if patron saints are meant to be examples for a church congregation to follow, the people who gather at Coltishall Church are to be like the two St. Johns.  Like John the Baptist, doing a lot of baptising! But also daring to speak truth to power, when it is needed. And like John the Evangelist, doing their best at being Jesus' best mate!  And sharing Christian good news as best they can.

No pressure, then..................



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