Journeying

In the last few weeks, the theme of journeying keeps coming up - even more than normal. As the Archbishop of Canterbury started her pilgrimage from London to Canterbury, I had just flown over from Rome and set out from Whitchurch on a rather less direct route to Canterbury. In Nottingham, I visited a church in a deprived area that had been temporarily closed, and we heard from the team who made it a safe and welcoming space, and now a thriving church. I bobbed back down to the south to stay with friends in Coventry, before heading up to Leeds, where church leaders from across the North shared learning from their work. I zigzagged back to Whitchurch, before heading over to Kent (via London) and to Canterbury. 

++Sarah described her installation service as a celebration of women's ministry in the church, and all the women and men who worked towards it - people like my parents. There was a real atmosphere of celebration as people gathered gradually on the train and walking from the train station to the cathedral. I had lots of interesting conversations along the way, including with a vicar, a member of the selection panel, the Director of the RSCM, the Head of Religion from the BBC and a Jewish colleague, from an inclusive branch of Judaism. There was massive security, including 6 vans of riot police tucked out of sight, with the PM, William and Kate and the Archbishop all together, so we arrived a long time before the start of the service. We felt like school children on a trip, as we kept leaving our allocated seats to explore and people watch. 

The service involved representatives of schools, Anglicans from across Canterbury, the UK and other countries, charity representatives and leaders from different denominations. My colleagues and I were tucked away, with a view of the back of the heads of lots of bishops and a few cardinals, and just occasional glimpses of ++Sarah, watching most of the action on screens. Several processions lined up in front of us, ready to go past the more 'important' people. In one case, one group overshot and self-consciously reversed into their starting position, before setting off again.   

After the service, the ABC was greeting church and charity leaders in the grounds. As we left into the town, we were greeted joyfully by women campaigning for ordination in their denomination, and angrily by protesters proclaiming the heresy of the church in ordaining a female leader who cares about inclusion. A couple of women rushed up to ask if I could spare them a programme, explaining excitedly that they'd not been in the service, but that they'd seen the Archbishop. It was simple to add to their happiness.

At the train station, I squeezed into the crowded waiting room, becoming part of a conversation with a bishop and an ex Tory cabinet minister from the 90s, talking about churches across the bishop's diocese, fisheries policy and the parliamentary ecclesiastical committee, now and back in the 90s.

I ended my trip by running a workshop in London and flying back to Rome to the family. A busy, but very satisfying fortnight, connecting with friends, family, colleagues and others.