The Parish Magazine - Parish of Greater Whitbourne

Page11of Greater WhitbourneLetter from the Bishop of HerefordPilgrimage is on the increase.More and more people makepilgrimages; perhaps theywalk to Santiago de Compostelain north-west Spain, ortravel to Walsingham in Norfolkor Lourdes in France orone of a host of other holysites. There are many holyplaces in our border country,like Patricio just north ofAbergavenny. Each day ourown Cathedral welcomesmany pilgrims. It was the secondmost important mediaevalpilgrimage centre in Englandwith people flocking tothe shrine of St. Thomas Cantilupe,elected Bishop of Herefordin 1275. Chaucer‘s―Canterbury Tales‖ recordssome of the stories told onthe way to the most importantshrine, that of St. ThomasBecket.Our Epiphany season remindedus again of the journey/pilgrimageof the WiseMen to the infant Christ wherethey ―fell down and worshipped‖.But T. S. Eliot in hispoem ―Journey of the Magi‖stressed, what all pilgrimsknow to be true, that it‘s notjust the arriving that mattersbut also the journeying itself.The poem begins: ―A coldcoming we had of it, just theworst time of the year for ajourney and such a long journey.‖Journeys give us time to turnaside, to step out of our normalroutines and reflect, toask again the ―big questions‖about our lives. Journeys giveus the opportunity of meetingothers, for strangers to becomefriends, for us to seethings through different eyes,in different contexts andways, and to live at a differentpace.St. Paul wrote about our beingcitizens of heaven and pilgrimshere on earth. The pilgrimageswe make point tothe bigger pilgrimage of ourlives to God. Pilgrimages resonatewith all the language thatwe use about our Christianfaith as ―the Way‖, a journey,about our ―becoming‖, changing,about movement, with ourconstant need for being redeemedand transfigured.My wife, Kathy, and I shall beleading a diocesan pilgrimagefor young people (age 15 – 29)from 11 th – 20 th August toTaize in south Burgundy,( f u r t h e r d e t a i l s a twww.hereford.anglican.org/churchgoers/taize_2012). As Iwrite this, Bishop Alistair ison a pilgrimage to the HolyLand. Whether you have beenon a pilgrimage yourself, orare planning one, do take thetime to reflect on the journeyof your life, not only its goal,but also the steps you are takingto get there, and the fellow-travellers you meet on theway.Bishop of Hereford, AnthonyPriddisWhitbourne Garden Society– Entering Whitbourne Garden ShowLast year‘s show saw somevery good entries and we hopefor another increase in competitorsin 2012. It‘ll be in theVillage Hall at the fete again,and the schedule and regulationsare published on pages14 and 15 of the magazine.There were lots of lovely children‘sart entries in 2011 andit would be nice to see themhaving a go in the otherclasses as well.publish the guidance articlesagain over the next fewmonths with tips and hints onshowing, to dispel some of themystery surrounding it all.The first thing to do when enteringthe Show is to read theschedule carefully as this willguide the judge. Items ‗NotAccording to Schedule‘ willnot be considered. It is veryimportant to enter the correctnumber or weight of items.Garden produce in Divisions Aand B (vegetables, fruit andflowers) is judged under RHSrules. The next article willdetail some of the requirementsand pitfalls of DivisionA and the third one will coverB, along with the rest of thedivisions.If it all sounds a bit much,why not just enter a photo orhandicraft and come along onthe day? It‘s amazing howmuch talent there is in thisvillage and it‘s lovely to see itall displayedat the fete.If you‘ve often wanderedaround the show, thinking ‗Ican do better than that,‘ thenwhy not have a go in July– youmight win something! We‘llElaineBrown