Walsingham Pilgrimage: October 17th.

Friday will be a time of quiet of contemplation. It will involve a small pilgrimage hike,  a day of prayer and reflections at the Shrine itself and a solemn Evensong which will include a historic first for the shrine and the pilgrimage. 

What does all that mean? Well, read on, dear reader and find out....

At 7:30 A.M, interested pilgrims can meet at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Sheboygan Falls for the second annual "Peter to Mary" seven mile hike. This year, we'll be hiking in silence and prayer in honor of our dear friend Father Paul Coey who passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. He was the rector at St. Peter's and a Guardian of the Shrine. He blessed and participated in the first pilgrimage walk that took place at last year's pilgrimage.   

The hike itself will last around three hours and the plan will be to arrive in plenty of time for prayer at noon and to hear the rest of the reflections. 

Starting at 9:00 AM at the shrine, pilgrims can pray at Terce (9:00 AM), Sext (Noon) and None (3:00 PM). We love that Phoebe Pettingell editor of Ave Magazine and member of the Society of Mary will be leading us in reflection at each time. Of course, between the hours, you are welcome to pray at the shrine or the church at any time. It's also nice and lovely to take a walk down to the Lake Shore to take in God's creation between reflection times. 

At Evensong,  we will be lead in prayer by Dr. Geoffrey Williams and the choral scholars of Nashotah House.  During prayer, Bishop Brian Burgess of the Diocese of Springfield and the Bishop Visitor of the Guardians of the Shrine, will receive the first Oblate Prior of the Shrine and the first two oblate candidates will take their vows.

The Oblates and the Guardians are in the process of becoming a recognized religious community by the Episcopal Church. It's an important step in our history and one we've been working on for the past two years. 

​We'll explain the differences between Oblates and Guardians in a later post, but think of it this way: all Oblates are Guardians, but not all Guardians are oblates. Both work together to encourage more pilgrimage to shrine and educate people in general about pilgrimage. 

If you have any questions, please contact Grace Episcopal Church or Guardian Jonathan Weyer