Norfolk Pilgrim

Read this at https://medieval-graffiti.blogspot.com/ "A moment in time - when a resigned population took stock of what God had sent their way, and what the church had failed to protect them from, and carved, painted and gilded their own reactions to events in the very fabric of the church itself. A stark irreverence combined with open elements of humour and parody. Fat friars and stupid priests, lecherous monks and harlot nuns, green men and grotesque beasts - all thrust into the very body of the church. Gone is the quiet reverence, and instead flows out a stream of self expression that obliquely questions the very structure of the church and the society in which they lived." in  https://medieval-graffiti.blogspot.com/2018/11/messing-about-in-church-sublime-and.html I think it encapsulates so much about post Black Death religion in Norfolk. I will quote it often!

This font base was recently rescued from the church of Holy Trinity, Hautbois before the redundant church was handed over to the Guides as an extra building for their Hautbois Activities Centre . As far as I know it's providence is as follows : It had been buried and discovered in the 19th C when the nave of , the now ruined, church of St.Mary (a.k.a. St.Theobald) was being cleared. Historic England record the font in these terms: E arly C12 font base, supporting C19 square bawl. Base carved with entwined winged serpents, divided from the foliated base section by double keel moulding. I imagine "bawl" is a typo. What they do not say, although this is true, is,  "the square bowl it is utterly hideous!"  To my mind the lower layer of the font base is not so much foliate as waves of the sea, but perhaps I am reading too much into it. In any case, the meaning of the iconography seems to be clear enough, "We are rescued from chaos, through the wa...

Brilliant walk following the Norfolk Trails Circular Route   from the New Inn, Rockland With a warm welcome from  Claxton Church   and   The New Inn, Rockland I recommend both if you are thirsting after righteousness!

Caitlin Green's research on the Hayle Estuary ( http://www.caitlingreen.org/2018/05/phillack-and-the-hayle-estuary.html ) brought me to Phillack church to see the reused 5th century Chi Rho stone built into porch of the, Victorian re-build version of, a Christian place of worship. Many thanks to Caitlin for sharing her insights so freely! Here's my rather poor pics - A bit faint, perhaps, but none-the-less a witness to the on-going  Christian mission to Cornwall! 1,5000 years later this pilgrim was mightily impressed with the church's ongoing mission and the Children's Corner "Not many children come on Sundays," a faithful Church member told me . That may be so, but a proud dad, not a church-goer by any means, spoke enthusiastically about going to  Phillack Church for various school events.  Most especially, I liked a prayer station that opened a way into the heart of prayer I expect I will be suggesti...

In a small and crowded island rural tranquillity and the remaining wild places require protection. Protection from any developments that compromise their status and change their character.  In the Mediterranean and Canary Islands we label such developments as costa-isation but it happens elsewhere too.  Arguably, it has already happened in parts of Norfolk and the Broads   In the Ascent of Mount Carmel Book 3, Chapter 36, section 3 St.John of the Cross makes these observations. It is good to  "........withdraw ourselves from noise and from people when we pray, even as did the Lord. Wherefore he that makes a pilgrimage does well if he makes it at a time when no others are doing so, even though the time be unusual. I should never advise him to make a pilgrimage when a great multitude is doing so; for, as a rule, on these occasions, people return in a state of greater distraction than when they went. And many set out on these pilgrima...

I marvel at the synchronicity. After several weeks of heatwave and drought, we have had a couple of days of rain. Parking outside the church in advance of the 9.30 a.m. service,  Psalm 63 was playing inside my head by way of a prayer: “My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water." For whom did I pray?  There was no shortage suitable targets: wildfire raged in California and Greece;  I was reading, and had been deeply disturbed by Rebecca Stott's book on the Exclusive Bretheren, " In the days of Rain "; and I prayed  for my own relationship with the mystery called God.  Psalm 63 was soon replaced replaced by,  "Morning has broken, ... and I was straining out to hear Black Birds’call  in the wet churchyard. I had come to preside at the Eucharist and to preach in a thatched 13th Century church not far from Wroxham; excited/delighted that the Gospel reading for the day was St.John's ...

Pilgrimage of Morris Tour ?  A good question! In the end, I thought the best answer was,"Yes !" And, when I began to treat it like a pilgrimage something changed. Travelling down to Kent from Norfolk, we speculated about Thomas a Becket true martyr or something else? Silly fool, he bit the hand that fed him! That is the King's hand! What did he expect! Unlike Oscar Romero of El Salvador, gunned down in his own cathedral church for supporting the poor, Becket was trying to extend the rights of the Church. Not quite the same thing. And, of course, extending the rights of the Church was to the Pope's advantage. So, of course, he made Thomas a saint!  Who gained from Becket's martyrdom ?  Who still gains? It has even been suggested, on the basis of heraldry, that Canterbury Cathedral are offing pay day loans to cover the entrance fee! Later, dancing at the White Horse at Chilham, we were able to contrast...

How is it that a founding father was forgotten? When Herbert de Losinga built his new cathedral church in Norwich, he wanted to stress the continuity with the church that had been. Yes, he was a Johnie-come-lately Norman,  but he was a genuine successor of the founding father. So he placed an deliberately antiqued image of the first Bishop of  East Anglia - St.Felix - above the bishop's entrance in the deliberately antiqued north transept!  http://www.racns.co.uk/sculptures.asp?action=getsurvey&id=1109 . It is a door still used by the Bishop of Norwich. My servant Google searched high and low to see if he could find reference to the saint within the Diocese of Norwich. Save for an obscure mention in Norwich Cathedral's latest music scheme, to say 8th March is the feast Day of St.Felix, nothing! nada! zilch!  Why would a diocese not celebrate the feast day of a founding saint? St.Felix is said to have founded minsters in South Elmham , North Elmham...

It was a long overdue visit for this Norfolk Pilgrim. Seeing a re-creation of the informal shrine - with flowers, candles and messages -  outside Kensington Palace, on the 20th Anniversary of Princess Diana's death reminded me. to make the journey. In the 20 years that separate us from the events of that autumn, informal shrines have become the norm. The last I had visited was beneath the fire blackened Grenfell Tower at the other end of the Kensington . This week I finally got round to visiting Kensington Gardens. The Google Map shows the relative positions of the palace, the Memorial Playground and Memorial Fountain. Seen as a whole, it could be one big Princess Diana Pilgrimage destination. Not the only one, of course, her grave is on an island at the Althorp Estate is another . My visit to the Memorial Fountain gave me most to think about. Like other pilgrim destinations,  the  fountain is :-  1) Elemental  - made from Cornish granite, with...

Jim Cotter's grave in the churchyard of  St.Maelrhy's Church, just a mile or so south of Aberdaron. It names him as Priest and Wordsmith  -  a description that also fits the poet R.S.Thomas, who, like Jim, was vicar of these parishes. At Aberdaron,  St. Hywyn's Church,   sits at the end of North Wales' Llyn Peninsular. The jumping off point for pilgrims on their way Bardsey Island  -  Ynys Enlli  -   The burial place of 20,000 saints. In a guide book for the church  "Sauntering Around St.Hywyn's : a brief guide to our church",  a ware of his own mortality,  Jim had written:   If you think of a lifetime as a pilgrimage,  say half a mile a year down the Llyn Peninsular,  when you reach Aberdaron you will be near the end of your life.   The peninsular narrows, the sea (the eternal?) gets closer and closer on both sides.  Eventually it ends at a point.  It is yet another "eye of the needle...

Just back from church and an important discussion with Sylvia and Sue! I had read the gospel with my usual dramatic flair. They had heard it and nearly walked out! Why wouldn't you? St.Matthew's Sermon on the Mount -  ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.”  But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.' I should have said something in a sermon to put it in its context! As it was, our discussion afterwards went someway to putting it right. What I think is,  the teaching is related to that at Matthew 15.5  which is about people's hardness of heart B ut you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, 'Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.' A divorced woman might not have any means of supporting herself - save for ...

When she died in 1507, Agnes Parker owed a pilgrimage to St. Tebbald (St.Theobald) at Hobbies. In same year Thomas Wood of Coltishale left a legacies to the Guild of the Virgin at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Hautbois and to paint the new tabernacle of St. Theobald in the Church. Thomas and Agnes were going to be my Simeon and Anna. Riding through Coltishall and past the Guides, Patterson Lodge Activity Centre ,  I chained my bike to the fence and walked down the track to the ruined church.  To the right is the Golden Gates Pond where generation of village kids have grappled - without success - for the said, golden gates . I often wonder if the gates in question were from the tabernacle of St.Theobald and deposited there after the shrines were suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538. Candlemas Bells - Snowdrops - are sprinkled around the churchyard. Woodpeckers drum, Buzzards call overhead and  Anna's warning echoes in my ears - "a sword ...

“In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.” This explains how some who claim the name "Christian" have used the idea of the Wrath of God to excuse their own inexcusable wrathful behaviour and use the threat of God's Wrath as a means of evangelism. So for example, the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099 is excused by God's Wrath. An eyewitness account tells the history: Now that our men had possession of the walls and towers, we saw some wonderful sights. Some of our men — actually the more merciful ones — cut off the heads of their enemies. Others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers. Others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. One had to pick one’s way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon. You would ...

Jesus,   I paid particular attention to your remarks about the "fowls of the air" ( Matthew 6.26). Taking you seriously I belong to Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB both organisations encourage proper stewardship of the created order as set out in Genesis 1.28. But reflecting on the Jay I find that they do store up food - see http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/ask-an-expert/previous/acorns.aspx. So although I agree, they do not sow or reap,  they do gather. What's more they are forgetful and some of the acorns they stash away for the winter are in effect sown. That is one way that oaks are naturally propagated. So what ? I guess not being omniscient is all part of being human.............

Trevaunace Cove is my number one surfing beach. For at least one week in the year this is where you'll find me hanging with the other surf dudes. Mine is not a shiny fibre-glass board,  I am strictly retro and still use an old, wooden belly-board that I have had since the 60s.  As a nod to modern developments I now wear a wet-suit! ( Wooden body-boards are making a come back.Check out the  World Belly Body Board Championship Facebook Page Surfing and Spirituality? I like Peter Kreeft on this   find it here See also,   I do like to be beside the seaside.............. (2)