Dear Friends,
The question ‘Where are you going?’ is one we often ask each other at this time of year as we anticipate the summer and maybe even a holiday.
St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers. Apparently, he was a large man, and he embarked on a quest to find and serve the greatest king there ever was. His search led him to a holy hermit who took him under his wing and suggested he could fulfil his wish to serve by carrying people across a dangerous river. As he performed this task a small child appeared and asked to be ferried across on his back. As they crossed the river the child became impossibly heavy, and Christopher barely reached the other side before collapsing with exhaustion. The child then said, “You had on your shoulders not only the whole world, but Him who made it. I am Christ your King who you are serving by this work”. This is the best-known story of St. Christopher, told in the Middle Ages in the book The Golden Legend. St. Christopher is sometimes pictured carrying the child who is carrying the world.
‘Can you define the difference between a pilgrimage and a holiday?’ I was once asked by a vicar before I was ordained. I think the question misses the point. Every journey, whether it’s a package holiday to the beach or a pilgrimage to a religious site, is an opportunity for the risen Christ to meet us somewhere along the way, if we keep our eyes open.
Christopher, whose name means the ‘Christ bearer’, found in his work of serving others, that he was visited by Christ himself.
Whether you’re going away or not, having a ‘stay-cation’ or visiting friends, may the love and peace of Christ be with you this summer.
With love and best wishes,
Rev’d Ian Hepburn, Team Rector
Turton Moorland Team
