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It feels really good to be going back to visit and I'm looking forward to sharing in worship and fellowship with the brothers. I'll also have an opportunity to catch up with one of the brothers, Brother Julian, who was there in when I was a volunteer and is still a part of the community today!
Well - this is exciting...I've just sent the booking form for my walk to the travel company. My plan is to walk from Assisi in Italy down to Rome, following in the footsteps of St Francis. And I've also applied for my Pilgrim Passport - looking forward to that arriving in the post in a little while. I'll be using this to collect stamps along the route and this will allow me to collect my "testimonium peregrinationis" which is a certificate that verifies the completion of a pilgrimage to Rome.
Now, you might be asking why am I following in the footsteps of St Francis? Well, a few years ago now instead of going to university after I'd finished my A-levels I did a year of voluntary service with an organisation called Time for God. Part of my placement was as a nursery worker linked to Memorial Baptist Church in Plaistow, but I also worked one day at week at the local Franciscan Friary where the Friars run a charity called 'Helping Hands'. Whenever I was there, at lunchtime we'd make our way down the garden to a porta cabin which was their chapel space. We sat on the simple wooden benches around the edges of the room and the worship I experienced there was profound and beautiful and so special that the memory of it has remained with me throughout my life.
So as I began to think about what shape this sabbatical would take for me I wanted to go ensure that the Franciscan spirituality that has shaped my faith life since those days was recognised. And so that is why I will be walking in the footsteps of St Francis from Assisi to Rome.
It's also interesting to note that St Francis thought of himself as a troubadour or fool which links rather well with the date of my baptism - 1st April 1990 and my very appropriate Baptismal Bible verse - 1 Corinthians 4:10:
We are fools for Christ
I've always said I've been trying to live up to this verse ever since!
So - the first day of 2025 - the year of my sabbatical and the theme for this, when it starts in three months time, will be 'walking...'
Over the past few months I've been drawn back over and over again to some verses from Matthew 11:28-30 - taken from the Message version:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
It's this sense of walking with God that He has drawn my attention to and my focus of my three months will be retracing my footsteps to connect with the places and people who have been significant on my journey of faith and ministry so far and taking time to be with God and seeking His heart and guidance for what He would have me do in the future.
The thing is, I've journeyed with God my whole life. I was brought up in a family of faith with God and church life at the centre of our lives. The church I attended in South East London was where my family had worshipped for years - firstly my maternal grandparents, then my aunts and uncles and parents and then myself and eventually my own children.
I will begin my sabbatical on 1st April - maybe a funny date for some, but it will be the 35th anniversary of my baptism so the date seemed very fitting.
So my "walking" will begin with a journey back to my childhood church - Blackheath and Charlton Baptist - following in my own footsteps. I'll visit the folk there and worship with them and spend some time at the church that was so significant to me growing up. It was here I went to Sunday school, being taught at least for part of the time by my aunt. It was here I attended Girls Brigade and was a part of the youth group. It was here I sang my first ever solo at the age of 7 singing the 'Cat and Mouse carol' accompanied by my father on the piano. Here that I eventually taught Sunday School myself, and helped in the creche, and became the leader of a youth group. It was here I learnt and grew, where I worshipped and prayed and sang and served. And it was here that I entered the waters of baptism - committing my life to a life of following God. This place was my spiritual home, and still is if you like. The place where my faith was kindled and the place in which I heard the call from God to go and explore a call to ministry. So for all that and more I shall remain ever grateful.
But this church, this very special place will be for me an opportunity to also remember my parents. I don't have a gravestone to visit, nor a place where their ashes are scattered (this just wasn't a thing for our family), but this church - this is where I shall remember them. I shall remember them and be thankful - so very thankful for the way they shared their faith with me as I grew. Thankful for their love and support rooted in their own faith. Thankful for all the years that we shared together in that place and for all that God brought to birth in our lives, individually and together.
So this is how my sabbatical will begin. I'll be walking in other places of significance and walking with people who have been important along the journey, but I'll share more about that another time.