Blessing of the Feet / Boots
At 8.30am on the 22nd May 2011 walkers were invited to gather in the Old School Garden by the Village Hall for a short ceremony as they begun their challenging day. Following the success of this a similar service was held on the 27th May 2012.
The Leaden Boot event was devised in part to help raise money for St Peter’s Church and Alstonefield Village Hall both of which are needing funds to help their maintenance and development. So the short ceremony is our gift to you for helping us along our way.
Long distance walks and physical challenge are very much part of the Christian Pilgrimage heritage. The earliest Christians brought the gospel to the hidden places by foot and there are well~established routes networked throughout the British Isles. It is documented that the Celtic saint Chad, first Bishop of Mercia, disciple of St Aiden, visited Alstonefield on foot in the 600’s. Most major faiths embrace an element of physical self~discipline as one way to come closer to realising the Divine Presence. But anyway, in our beautiful surroundings we don’t need an excuse to go out and enjoy God’s creation!
So our short ceremony will consist of a reading and prayer of blessing with optional sprinkling of “Holy Water” and a song to set you on your way.
Rev Anne Ballard, Vicar of Alstonefield
listen to vicar Annie Ballard during her blessing of the feet service……Leadenboot_Blessing (recording by Dom Boucher)
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