Walsingham Day - Saturday 30th January 2010

A SPECIAL MISSION EVENT,
FOR BOTH WINCHESTER & SALISBURY DIOCESES

Our hope is that this day will draw many people, both churchgoers and enquirers,  into a new or renewed understanding of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, as we celebrate God becoming Man, Mary’s part in it, and give thanks for the Shrine’s witness.  The Day is very much planned as Mission as well as Celebration.

For nearly 1000 years pilgrims have been visiting the village in Norfolk  where a local noblewoman,, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision.  The Blessed Virgin Mary asked her to build a replica of  the house at Nazareth in which she heard that she was to become the Mother of God and in which Jesus grew up.  The waters of a well discovered during the building of the Holy House gave healing to many and during the Middle Ages only Jerusalem and Rome drew more pilgrims than the Shrine at Walsingham.  A  trickle of pilgrims continued in the centuries after the Shrine’s suppression under Henry VIII until in the twentieth century it was restored by Father Alfred Hope Patten.  It now, together with the Roman Catholic shrine one mile away at the Slipper Chapel, receives thousands of pilgrims each year.  It is a place of great love, joy and healing for everyone.

From the  Walsingham Pilgrim Manual

“ In these days of materialism, unbelief and indifference to Christianity the value of such a Shrine cannot be overestimated.  Walsingham boldly witnesses to the truth of the Incarnation…...all pilgrimage devotion flows from the mystery which is at the heart of Walsingham; that ‘the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us’.”

The day will include Liturgies in church, Talks and Films in the Hall, with Exhibition and Bookstall.  Refreshments and Lunch will be provided.

There will be a Eucharist at the beginning of the Day, and a Service of Healing in the afternoon, which will mostly follow the pattern of the one at the Shrine, and includes sprinkling with water from the holy Well at Walsingham, Laying On of Hands and Anointing of the Sick. 

The Bookstall is run by Robert Webb, manager of the Centre Bookshop, London Centre for Spirituality.  A wide range of books will be available on Walsingham and pilgrimage, and also on Lent  and general religious titles.

The Exhibition will feature many aspects of life past and present in Walsingham and the history of the Shrine’s foundation in 1061, suppression under Henry VIII,  restoration under Father Alfred Hope Patten, and the concurrent establishment of the Roman Catholic shrine at the Slipper Chapel nearby.

The Film is a moving account of the work of the Shrine today and the experience of pilgrims before and during their time at Walsingham.  It includes reflections from Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.  The film will be shown on a full sized screen. 

We are privileged to have as speakers:

• Bishop Lindsay Urwin, OGS, Administrator, Shrine  at Walsingham
  who will give a talk in the morning on ‘Jesus….The Flesh and Bones of God’ and will also talk at the Service of Healing in the afternoon and...
• Revd. Canon Alan Sessford on the experience of  Pilgrimage
• Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS, was Bishop of Horsham prior to becoming Administrator of the Shrine this year. 
• Canon Sessford is retired, an honorary assistant priest at St. Stephen’s, Bournemouth, and an experienced pilgrimage leader. 

Booking details

Numbers are limited for reasons of space, and so we ask people to book in advance with Mrs Madeleine Hemsley on 01258 480778.  There is a nominal £3 charge for lunch.  Car parking is available at St. Stephen’s Church for the disabled, and also without charge at the United Reformed Church nearby, and at Braidley Road Car Park next to the Church Hall (charge payable).  Please see map here.