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I am frequently asked questions by some of you that touch upon the place and purpose of devotion to Our Lord's mother within our Episcopal Church and Anglican heritage. Bishop John Charles Vockler of our sister Anglican Church in Australia was fond of saying: "The Blessed Virgin Mary is not a deceased Roman Catholic!" He means of course, that there is a rightful place among our people for whom such devotion is helpful- just as the Bible is not just the exclusive property of Baptists or that the Holy Spirit only moves Pentecostals, Mary is not the exclusive property of our Catholic friends. But did you know that along with those places of apparition claimed by our Roman Catholic friends such as Lourdes, Fatima and Guadalupe, our own Anglican Church has its own center of pilgrimage and devotion,? It is in the little village of Walsingham, in Norfolk near the north coast of England? I've recently been rereading Walsingham Way, the history of this shrine written by the Reverend Colin Stephenson, and I thought that you might like to know a little about the place. What follows is shared with you from the website of the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham- you can find more there at www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk --J.A.H. Even in the eleventh century, when this story begins, the village of Little Walsingham was a thriving place, located mid-way between Norwich (then England's second city) and the wealthy town of King's Lynn. Richeldis de Faverches was a Saxon noblewoman, married to the Lord of the Manor of Walsingham. He died leaving her a young widow with a son Geoffrey. We know that Richeldis had a deep faith in God and a devotion to Mary. We know too of her reputation for good works in care and generosity towards those around her. At this time there was a good deal of interest in the Holy Land and people often undertook long and often dangerous pilgrimages there. Christian armies were soon to be engaged in a number of Crusades to liberate the holy sites from Muslim control and it is believed that Geoffrey eventually joined one of those Crusades as an expression of his Christian faith. For Richeldis, however, the life and prayer and good works was rewarded by a vision in the year 1061. In this vision she was taken by Mary to be shown the house in Nazareth where Gabriel had announced the news of the birth of Jesus. Mary asked Richeldis to build an exact replica of that house in Walsingham. This is how Walsingham became known as England's Nazareth. The vision was repeated three times, according to legend and retold through a fifteenth century ballad. The materials given by Richeldis were finally constructed miraculously one night into the Holy House, while she kept a vigil of prayer. Although we cannot be certain that this story represents all the details of historical fact, we do know that in passing on his guardianship of the Holy House, Geoffrey de Faverches left instructions for the building of a Priory in Walsingham. The Priory passed into the care of Augustinian Canons somewhere between 1146 and 1174. It was this Priory, housing the simple wooden structure Richeldis was asked to build became the focus of pilgrimage to Walsingham. Royal patronage helped the Shrine to grow in wealth and popularity, receiving visits from Henry III, Edward II, Edward III, Henry IV, Henry VII and Henry VIII, who finally brought about its destruction in 1538. After nearly four hundred years, the 20th century saw the restoration of pilgrimage to Walsingham on a regular basis as a regular feature of Christian life in these islands, and indeed beyond. In 1897, there was a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel, now at the center of the Roman Catholic National Shrine. Fr. Alfred Hope Patten, appointed Vicar of Walsingham in 1921, ignited Anglican interest in pre-Reformation pilgrimage. It was his idea to base a new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham on the image depicted on the seal of the medieval Priory. In 1922, this statue was set up in the Parish Church of St. Mary, and regular pilgrimage devotion followed. From the first night that the statue was placed there, people gathered around it to pray, asking Mary to join her powerful prayer with theirs. The work of intercession continues to this day. Throughout the 1920's, the trickle of pilgrims became a flood of large numbers, for whom eventually a Pilgrim Hospice was opened (a hospice is technically the name of a place of hospitality for pilgrims) and in 1931, a now Holy House encased in a small pilgrimage church was dedicated, and the statue translated there with great solemnity. In 1938 that church was enlarged to form the Anglican Shrine, more or less as we know it today. As pilgrim numbers continued to grow, so did the needs of those who came. St. Joseph's House was opened for pilgrims with special needs and Richeldis House opened in 1991 to provide yet more accommodation. During the build up to the millennium celebrations of 2000 a new Refectory was planned. HRH Princess Alexandra opened it in 2001during a year of outreach when the statue of Our Lady visited five cathedrals in Britain for a series of Regional Festivals. 2004 saw the Our Lady of Walsingham visiting a wide variety of different venues- a hospital, a prison, an airport, an army barracks, an Oxford college, a school- in an entirely new form of outreach called Magnificat. The two months culminated in a wonderful celebration in York Minster. Last Call! The Stained Glass Window Committee is wrapping up its proposal to submit to the Vestry for approval. As you know, there has been a most gratifying response to this effort. But it if there is anyone who would still like to donate a window, or any who would like to combine their gifts with those of others to donate a window, please speak to the Rector, the Treasurer Al Minzner, or to the committee chairman, Stuart Shoaf. The gift of a stained glass window to our church may be given as a memorial to the faithful departed or as a thankoffering for blessings received. SUMMERTIME Although most of the parishioners and residents of our community do not necessarily confine their vacations to the summer, it is still a good practice to remind ourselves that we should never take a vacation from God, since he never takes a vacation from us. When you travel, make every effort to worship God every Sunday in his church. Look for the blue and white signs that alert you to an Episcopal Church nearby. Verify the times of service by calling the church or priest's residence when you arrive- or we can do this for you at the parish office: remember, the times given in motel church directories and even yellow pages notices can often be very out of date. Introduce yourself to the priest, and stay for refreshments afterward when you can; and there's always somebody who can give you a brief tour of the church or share with you its history; know that your making an effort to be with them at worship is an encouragement especially to the members of a smaller congregation. And finally, don't forget to bring the church's Sunday bulletin or its newsletter back with you: your rector likes to read them, and quite often picks up a few good ideas from them. |
