Cancelled Pilgrimage?!

Of course there is no way that our Christian witness and pilgrimage can be cancelled. However there is sad news to report that this year's Glastonbury Pilgrimage has been cancelled as confirmed by a letter being sent out and signed by.....The Bishop of Plymouth. As a former member of the Council of the GPA I regret this very much and at such late notification too. It makes absolutely no specific reference to the departing brothers and sisters to the Ordinariate but only to "doubts about attendance" and that a service with the image of OLW taking place at Exeter Cathedral in May is the reason. I suppose that it was always going to be difficult as most of  the main supporters and all the flying Bishops and the former Chairman, Bp David Silk have been forced by the caring, sharing Church of England to make pilgrimage elsewhere. The future will be discussed at the AGM of the GPA in October; make sure you retain your membership until then if you want to vote.

Personally I think the future for the Anglican pilgrimage there and the future of the National Anglican Pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham lies as a joint ecumenical witness with the Roman Catholic Glastonbury Pilgrimage and Roman Catholic Walsingham one too. Whilst sacramental division remains each could have their own non- communicating Masses or separate prayers of consecration and then joint veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and sprinkling and healing services combined perhaps. There is no doubt that the full sacramental unity of Anglo Catholics with Rome will proceed apace as nothing much of any use will or can be offered by General Synod. And as a not very well focused extra remnant in the form of the Society of SS Hilda and Wilfred, it will struggle with the starkly reduced numbers and missing the most vibrant members of the former Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism . We can but keep praying with and for each other that God's will may be done (as soon as possible!).