December 23, 2003

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds - With hundreds of walkers expected to take part in the annual Boxing Day pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Revd John Richard Packer, will use this year's occasion to pledge the church's support for rural concerns.

The now traditional four mile walk on 26 December has attracted up to fifteen hundred walkers in previous years and follows in the footsteps of a group of 12th century Cistercian monks who walked from Ripon Cathedral along the River Skell on 26 December 1132, to found Fountains Abbey.

This year the walk will again be led by Bishop Packer, who hopes that many people will be encouraged to join in. "This has become an occasion of celebration for many Christians as we follow in the steps of the first monks who went from Ripon after Christmas to found their monastery in search of a new dedication to God," he said. "The walk represents our commitment to following in Christ's way throughout the coming year."

After a service of Holy Communion in Ripon Cathedral at 10am, pilgrims will gather on the Cathedral's West Front before setting out at about 10.40am through the streets of the city and into the countryside. The one and a half hour walk concludes with a short service of carols in the ruins of Fountains Abbey, during which Bishop Packer will restate the continuing commitment of the church to rural concerns during 2004.

"The pilgrimage is an opportunity for the church to pray for countryside concerns and for those involved in the rural economy." says Bishop Packer. "I plan to reflect on the monks who in 1132 escaped from the temptations and power-struggles of the city to find a new direction in the wild countryside of Skelldale. There they learned quiet and stillness, found a place where God's creation is experienced, and came to know more of the love of Jesus, the good shepherd. So Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem, and not the city of Jerusalem. The appointment of James Bell as Bishop of Knaresborough, to live in the countryside at Exelby and have its spiritual needs on his heart, demonstrates the commitment of the church and diocese to rural concerns. Today especially we celebrate the way the infant Christ is to be found away from the bright lights, in solitude and his natural creation."

The traditional four-mile walk follows in the footsteps of thirteen monks from St Mary's Abbey in York, who stayed in Ripon on Christmas Day 1132, before walking on to Fountains on St Stephen's Day. The route goes through the Studley Royal estate. Pilgrims are fortified with mulled wine and mince pies at the half way point, the Studley Lakeside entrance of Fountains Abbey, where fewer mobile pilgrims also swell the numbers. The walk is open to all and those taking part in the walk are given free entry to the abbey grounds.

Anglican Communion News Service