FROM THE MINISTRY TEAM

I am writing this from northern Portugal where Anne and I have been enjoying a walking holiday. We are currently staying in a lovely spot in Vinho Verde territory looking down over the Lima valley towards the ancient bridge at Ponte de Lima which is the crossing point over the river Lima on the Portuguese Caminho to Santiago de Compostela. Over the past few days we walked along various sections of the Caminho, seeing quite a number of pilgrims on their way, most carrying a scallop shell as a symbol of their pilgrimage. In medieval times it served as a practical vessel for food and water. But the scallop shell is also the symbol used on the waymarkers. It is said that the lines on the shell are a metaphor for the various routes leading to Santiago de Compostela where St James is believed to have been buried.

There were people of many nationalities walking the Caminho - we met, among others, people from South Africa, Australia and the United States of America. They had clearly travelled great distances to walk the Caminho and I wondered what motivates people to do that. Do they feel closer to God as they travel?
Following on from that, how do we feel closer to God? While the glories of nature help point to God, I think it is most helpful to study God’s word in the Bible, to pray and to meet together for worship and fellowship, as we seek to encourage each other and build each other up in faith. So, in the words of Hebrews 10.24-25, ‘let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’

Henry Stanford - Reader