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FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION (March 2013) (download PDF copy) >>

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Find meaning again in Easter & find fellowship in pilgrimage...
'Find meaning in Easter by walking on pilgrimage' – the annual Northern Cross pilgrimage prepares for its journeys through the Borders

PILGRIMS PREPARE FOR A WEEK OF LAUGHTER, FELLOWSHIP, PRAYER, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME. This annual Christian cross–carrying Pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne takes place once again during the week before Easter.

Pilgrims across the country and abroad are making final preparations before the annual Easter journey of the Northern Cross pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, in Northumberland. On their way, they provide those who see them with a reminder of the true meaning behind the Christian festival of Easter.

From March 23 to March 31, up to 60 pilgrims will journey through various parts of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, in 3 or 4 groups, known as 'Legs'. Most legs will walk around 70 – 120 miles during Holy Week; while one leg group for families is based on shorter daily walks. Another leg (for endurance walkers only) is walking unsupported from St Andrews in Scotland. Each main leg carries a large wooden cross as a sign of Christian witness. They stay in church and village halls along the route, and join in with people of local churches for worship. The legs will gather together on 29 March, Good Friday, to cross the Pilgrims Crossing to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The dramatic bearing of these crosses over the tidal causeway sands and the arrival onto Lindisfarne on Good Friday morning, will mark the beginning of the pilgrimage's unique celebration of Easter.

Margaret Williams, Overall Coordinator of Northern Cross 2013, said:“Northern Cross is a very unique experience, a week of fellowship that can be tremendously rewarding as we share a common journey of pilgrimage. Participants come from many different backgrounds, denominations and ages, leaving the dull routine of normal life; to enjoy pleasant walking, new friendships, and joyful liturgy. Linked by walking together, we are boosted in many ways through experiencing the beautiful countryside, the local communities and by sharing prayer, worship and song. Ultimately we all have a really good time"

Included in this year's pilgrims is Fr Paul Nicholson SJ, Director of Novices for the Jesuit Order in Britain & Ireland, who will walk for a time and celebrate the Easter liturgies with us on Lindisfarne.

Margaret went on: “You might think of pilgrimage as a medieval concept, yet Christian pilgrimage is alive and well today, as demonstrated each year by the 5 million people who go to Lourdes, or the 200 thousand who walk the Camino di Santiago (as shown in the recent film “The Way”, this is from the Pyrenees to North West Spain). Northern Cross is another example of this. On pilgrimage you are removed from extra possessions, and just require whatever can be carried in a small bag. Cut down to essentials, we are stripped of most trappings of modern living. A pilgrimage is a chance to mirror life, to step back and look to see what the important things are. We can spend the time to look for meanings in life; or to work out things that trouble you, or just to reflect.”

"Northern Cross, and any walking pilgrimage, is a chance to get away from the demands of the world. The destination alone is not solely important – it is a goal – but the important thing is to form a small Christian group of people, travelling together on the road, using each others skills, helping with each other's weaknesses, working as a team to achieve an aim. That community is an important part of experiencing the Easter celebration.”

There are still places available for the pilgrimage. Visit www.northerncross.co.uk for information.
Email us at walk [AT] northerncross.co.uk for more information, or to sign up, click here.

ENDS

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