AN ASSISTANT curate from Exeter diocese is leading a team walking the 256-mile coastal path from Land’s End in Cornwall to Cranbrook, in Devon, to boost money to construct a church and community space in the brand new town of Cranbrook.
An assistant curate within the Broadclyst Team Ministry and Minister-in-Charge of Cranbrook, the Revd Jon Holder, is positive in regards to the experience, which is the equivalent of climbing one-and-a-half Mount Everests. “It’s a complete lot of walking, but I totally consider it’s value every blister,” he said at first of the walk last week.
“Cranbrook is an incredible place to live but there’s no church constructing and only a few community facilities. We have an actual vision to construct something that meets the needs of our community and share God’s love with them.”
Members of the congregation, walkers, friends, and locals are joining him for sections of the route. The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Mike Harrison, will probably be present on 31 May, and the Archdeacon of Exeter, the Ven. Andrew Beane, on Sunday 1 June. Supporters are following progress on a live tracker and every day updates on the church website.
Mr Holder spoke to the Church Times on Wednesday when he and his companions had just been met with a round of applause on arrival in Gorran Haven, a beach near St Austell Bay. An extended day was in prospect, he said, encompassing 15.5 miles of “tricky terrain,” including a climb of greater than 3000 feet.
“We’ll be doing an analogous distance and height tomorrow. It’s the quantity of ascent that has a draining effect, and it’s all the time harder coming down,” he said. “And we’ve one other day next week which will probably be 6000 feet of ascent.” But he was upbeat, buoyed by the quantity of support, the terrain and their vision for Cranbrook. “We have an actual heart for the community. We love Cranbrook and wish to bless it,” he said.
The walkers have met generous locals along the way in which who’ve made donations. “They give us a tenner or £20, or they take details so that they can sponsor us once they get home.”
The group is scheduled to reach at Cranbrook church, which currently meets at St Martin’s C of E primary school, on Sunday 1 June, after 18 days on the road. “We’re on Day Six. That’s a 3rd of the journey,” he said, as he prepared to resume the walk. “We only should do what we’ve done twice more. Brilliant!”
