"God is Found Everywhere Even in a Quiet Moment With a Cuppa."- A reflection

Brother JT, the Ministry Area of Barry Bear, reflects on his pilgrimage to Assisi with a little help from his friend, Ministry Area Leader Rev'd Zoe King, as she prepares to walk another unexpected journey.

Let me introduce myself. My name is brother JT and I live with Rev Z in Barry. I started being a contributor on our social media through Lent with a pilgrim called Baruc. Baruc and I enjoyed learning all sorts of things that were going on in the ministry area and about the Christian faith. When Lent came to an end, Baruc decided after reading Croeso, so he would go off on his own pilgrimage, and I stayed to help with the MA social media (and enjoy breakfasts out!)

Rev Z and I are Franciscans and she had been to Assisi before, and when she said she was going again, I asked if I could go too so I could learn more about Saint Francis and where he ministered. I was a bit nervous as the pilgrimage she had written about in Croeso was a difficult one in Cambodia.

Assisi is beautiful it’s on a hill and the Basilica of Saint Francis is at the lower end of the town and is a huge complex - the tomb of St Francis is in the crypt in the bottom then there are two levels of churches with lots of artwork by famous artists, including Giotto. They are very beautiful and the building is very busy with lots of tourists, nuns with cameras and priests but I’m not sure St Frances would’ve been comfortable. It is truly a piece of architectural art but it’s a bit too much for me.

We walked down to San Damiano, which is where St Frances built his original church. The story is he heard God tell him repair his church, and he got muddled and rebuilt a new stone church and when he finished, God said again, rebuild my church. Then he understood he needed to go out and care for people and show them God. We walked down listening to the birds through olive groves and we agreed we heard and felt God far more there than in the basilica.

It is very busy in the day in the town with lots of tours coming just for the day, but early in the morning and later in the afternoon the town is quieter and especially at 5 o’clock you hear all the bells ringing and it’s quite special.

Being on pilgrimage was nothing like I expected. We spent lots of time walking around and seeing all sorts of places, some of them places that St Francis had lived or worshipped. In some shops and restaurants there’s glass on the floor and you can see Roman ruins underneath. I expected that we would spend a lot of time in church and a lot of the time being serious, but it was a time of rest, watching the swifts in the evening dancing in the sky, enjoying nice food, specially gelato.

I liked sitting in the sunshine listening to the birds and bells whilst Rev Z read, both of us felt very close to God in the quiet and ordinary. She says life is a series of pilgrimages some easy, some not, and I think I now understand. It’s about walking with God wherever you are, and seeing him in everything.

The highlight of the trip was Rev Z organised a surprise. We visited the Benedictine Church of St Peter, which we both thought was stunning in its simplicity, and when we went outside there on the bench was Baruc. It was so nice to hear all his adventures on his pilgrimage and he hopes he join both of us in Walsingham. He calls himself pilgrim Baruc and I think that’s what we should all endeavour to be and do, pilgrims walking with God.

We’ve started a different pilgrimage now, as Rev Z has found out she has a tiny cancer that means she needs an operation. We’ve already discovered how people are very kind and helpful. It was scary when we first heard, but God has sent so many people to walk alongside her in this pilgrimage and our pilgrimage to Assisi reminded us that God is found everywhere even in a quiet moment with a cuppa. So it’s my job, as we walk this next path, to remind us both to see God in the ordinary and everyday, and also to make sure there is good food and gelato 'cos that really was important in Assisi.

Rev Z and I will keep walking with God, and we hope to see you as our pilgrimages cross paths.