THE selection of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams to headline at Glastonbury proved to be a preferred one. This was not the Glastonbury Festival, by the best way — that annual Somerset musical extravaganza that has been going because the Seventies (News, 5 July) — however the Glastonbury Anglican Pilgrimage. This has been made since 1924 and is resolutely more religious.
For this centenary yr, the stainless lawns of the Abbey grounds were verdant and welcoming. The chosen theme was “Who are these like stars appearing — Our Lady and the Communion of Saints”. It was a thanksgiving, said those that had arranged the day, “for the numerous saints who’ve been a part of this pilgrimage over the past century . . . the countless numbers of faithful pilgrims who’ve crowded into these hallowed, ruined partitions”.
“These stones which have echoed their praises are holy” was a line in one in every of the chosen hymns. Thousands have descended on the Vale of Glastonbury for the pilgrimage over the many years, and this yr there was a return to the type of numbers seen just before Covid: greater than 700 pilgrims were present, 500 of whom received holy communion. They had come from the Midlands, Cornwall, and across the south, together with customary coachloads from Wales.
Officiating for the primary time as chairman of the Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association, the Bishop of Oswestry, the Rt Revd Paul Thomas, presided in gold vestments and a precious mitre, with the help of greater than 80 concelebrating clergy, including five bishops. Tom Stockwell’s choir sang sumptuous polyphony.
In his sermon, Lord Williams spoke of the Glastonbury pilgrimage’s contribution to history. Founded within the aftermath of the First World War and the Spanish Flu epidemic, it had united a nation in grief “where not one family was untouched by bereavement” with the solidarity of our Lady and the Beloved Disciple on the foot of the cross. It was, he said, a gaze through which Christians continued to be held and loved today.
Special words of thanks were reserved for the Revd Steven Kirk, who has now stepped down as deputy chairman after an extended association dating back to 1988. That yr, as a recent deacon, he was one in every of the sacred ministers on the mass when Archbishop Runcie attended. The Archbishop flew in by helicopter across a field of hundreds, very like Dame Shirley Bassey for the pop festival in 2007. Fr Kirk has many completely satisfied memories of the pilgrimage, and was visibly moved by the day’s joyful tone.
After lunch, a procession of the Blessed Sacrament moved down the high street and back into the Abbey, thurifer’s incense melding with Glastonbury’s customary joss sticks and herbal cigarettes along the best way. After Benediction, lots of of cheerful pilgrims went on their way, taking something of the day with them.
