The Scallop Shell
 
The diocesan Year of Prayer began with a Hereford Cathedral flourish, last week. The gathering was the biggest the cathedral has seen since before the pandemic.
 
“As part of living out our values in every corner of our diocese, Bishop Richard has called us all to join in a Year of Prayer in 2023. This invitation is offered to explore different ways of praying, there are activities to join in and opportunities to create your own prayers and prayer activities either as a church or as part of a small group, or in the quiet of your home.
We hope through prayerful engagement across many communities, villages and towns of our diocese that lives will be transformed and that more people will come to know Jesus Christ.” Hereford Diocese Website
 
Amongst a wide range of prayerful activities planned, many pilgrimages are being organised across the diocese for later in the year. Walks from one significant point, usually a church, to another (often the Cathedral). Some will be over several days. Pilgrims can join for the whole thing or just one section. I’ve seen these events work incredibly well from the church school perspective too. It doesn’t take much of a twist to turn the sponsored walk into a pilgrimage, with all its spiritual and prayerful richness.
 
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• How our church schools are more than a happy, caring and sharing place.
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A few years ago, while on holiday in the south of France, we came back from a daytime excursion to find that someone had pitched a tent in our garden and had taken residence. We (somewhat nervously) approached the two men who were cooking on a gas stove, to discover what on earth they thought they were doing. It transpired that they were pilgrims on one of the most famous pilgrimages in Europe. The Camino de Compostella or the Way of St James. The Pilgrimage ends at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north western Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.
 
Created and established after the discovery of the relics of Saint James the Great at the beginning of the 9th century, the Way of St James became a major pilgrimage route of medieval Christianity from the 10th century onwards.  (Wikipedia).
 
In around 1493 the route was declared as one of the three great pilgrimages in Christendom Pope Alexander VI, along with Jerusalem and Rome. The emblem of St James and the mark of the Camino pilgrimage is the scallop shell. Every pupil at St James’ Primary in Hereford will know this already because it is also their school badge. Centuries ago, pilgrims would collect scallop shells enroute to Santiago de Compostela and use them to prove they had made the sacred journey.
 
The two uninvited pilgrims in France hadn’t realised that the garden was a private space (which slightly offended my horticultural sensibilities). They still had a very long distance to travel from the Languedoc, so we let them stay for the night and in the morning, they continued on their journey.
 
You can also find a scallop shell at the entrance to the north porch, engraved in the paving stone as Hereford was for centuries a very popular destination for pilgrims seeking healing from the shrine of St Thomas Cantilupe. Many pilgrims still come to Hereford Cathedral today. The St Thomas Way is a modern route from Swansea to Hereford, following in the footsteps of the Welsh outlaw, William Cragh who walked it barefoot in 1290 with a noose around his neck. He was hanged until dead for his crimes, but life miraculously returned. The miracle was attributed to St Thomas of Hereford and William made the pilgrimage to give thanks at the tomb of the saint. The tomb of St Thomas Cantilupe is still visible today and is one of the best restored medieval shrines anywhere in England.
 
There will be a perfect opportunity for an education focussed pilgrimage to Hereford (probably by car rather than on foot) for school leaders and governors on 7th March for our education conference. We have an exciting day planned, the details of which you can read elsewhere in the bulletin. The day begins with a prayerful service in the Cathedral led by Bishop Richard. We will spend the rest of the day in The Left Bank, overlooking the beautiful Old Bridge and the River Wye. Bishop Richard will join us and share thoughts on the way forward for our diocese in the coming years. We also have some wonderful education thinkers who will share their wisdom with us. It will be heartening and energising, if we can have a really large gathering of educationalists who can come together for a day in professional fellowship and valuable networking.
 
Collect
 Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
 
Well done to Vicky Reynolds and the team at Onny CE Primary who survived  a two-day OfSTED inspection this week. Always great to hit the ground running in the first full week of term!!
 
Thank you for all you are doing in support of schools across the diocese, at the start of this new spring term. Have a restful weekend.
 
Blessings and best wishes,
 
Andrew
Canon Andrew Teale
Diocesan Director of Education

There are some excellent seasonal prayer cards produced by the diocese as part of the Year of Prayer. Ideal for use in collective worship to mark the church year with ideas for how to use them creatively or for passing onto to your parents.   You can download them here and find out more about the other prayer events and resources that are being added throughout the year here Year of Prayer 2023 - Diocese of Hereford (anglican.org)