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A NEW BOOK IS LAUNCHED .....
FAREWELL FROM OUR PILGRIM BLOGGER
PILGRIM'S BLOG - THE FINAL DAY
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY SEVEN
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY SIX
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY FIVE
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY FOUR
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY THREE
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY TWO
PILGRIM'S BLOG - DAY ONE
A WET START TO THE WEEK !
STILL WET - STILL WONDERFUL !
A PERFECT PILGRIMAGE
BEAUTIFUL BALLAUGH
AN EVENING AT BALLADOOLE
PILGRIMS TO CORRADY KEEILL
A MORNING IN MAUGHOLD
DEBATING IN PARLIAMENT ?
HISTORY AND HEAVEN IN BALDWIN
THE FINAL CHAPTER
HOW THE WEEK BEGAN in MAY 2006
KEEILL WOIRREY ON SATURDAY 20 MAY 2006
MAUGHOLD KEEILLS - SUNDAY 21 MAY 2006
MORE FROM MAUGHOLD .....
MONDAY IN MAROWN - 22 MAY
MORE FROM MAROWN - MONDAY 22 MAY
AN EVENING WALK - MONDAY 22 MAY
A BONUS AT SPOOYT VANE - 22 MAY
A MORNING WALK - TUESDAY 23 MAY
THE SOUTHERN KEEILLS - THURSDAY 25 MAY
A WET START TO THE WEEK !
Wet - but wonderful ! That's the verdict on the first walk of PRAYING THE KEEILLS WEEK 2007. On Saturday morning, a group met at Eary Cushlin car park and walked to Lag-ny-Keeilley under the quiet and confident leadership of Phil Craine who led short times of reflection and prayer at various points on the walk.
STILL WET - STILL WONDERFUL !
At Lag-ny-Keeilley, Reverend Mary Railton-Crowder celebrated a Celtic Eucharist in what could only be described as torrential rain! But this did nothing to dampen the spirits of the group, who agreed afterwards that it was a memorable spiritual experience, which gave a whole new significance to the words of the Celtic blessing spoken by Reverend Mary .... "may the wind be ever at your back ...and the rain fall soft upon your face ...." After a picnic lunch (in marginally drier weather!) the group climbed to the summit of Cronk-ny-Irree Laa.
A PERFECT PILGRIMAGE
SUNDAY AFTERNOON'S CELTIC WORSHIP IN PEEL CASTLE was led by the Lord Bishop, the Rt Reverend Graeme Knowles, in perfect weather and breathtakingly beautiful surroundings. Over 130 people gathered under clear blue skies to listen first to local historian Frank Cowin speak about Peel Castle and its ecclesiastical associations. Then the Lord Bishop began a CELTIC PILGRIMAGE which started in the Castle with prayers, a psalm, readings and a meditation reflecting upon the life of St Patrick. Then the pilgrims moved in (singing!) procession to the ruins of St Patrick's Church, where the readings and the meditation centred around St Columba, and a third and final walk took us to the remains of the old Cathedral where the Bishop bridged the centuries between the great Celtic saints and the present day, by praying "that God would send us out, as his saints in our generation" Our thanks to Manx National Heritage for their co-operation regarding access to this site.
BEAUTIFUL BALLAUGH
Monday's morning keeill walk provided an opportunity to explore Ballaugh Old Church, which is on an ancient keeill site with Viking-period crosses, and Jurby Church which has important crosses, too. Here's one pilgrim's account of the walk .... "Monday’s walk was wonderful. The weather was perfect, bright and sunny but not too hot, and we started with a short talk on the history of Ballaugh Old Church and a pilgrim prayer from the Reverend Cyril Rogers (Rector of the Parish of Ballaugh), before walking on the beach to Jurby Church, stopping on the way for a meditation on ten aspects of the sea, led by Methodist Lay Preacher Marilyn Cannell. At Jurby we heard from Barbara Bregazzi the complicated story of Sigurd, as portrayed on the Celtic crosses at the back of the church, and then concluded the ‘pilgrimage’ by singing – unaccompanied but heartily - appropriate verses from three hymns and joining in some prayers, again led by Marilyn. The party then dispersed, some heading home by car and others setting out sturdily to walk back to Ballaugh Shore along the road. There were fourteen of us, with an extra one or two at either end. We certainly saw the Isle of Man at its most beautiful!"
AN EVENING AT BALLADOOLE
On Tuesday night there were over sixty people at Balladoole, most of whom had walked from Scarlett. They had stopped at several significant sites for some historical information and prayers and then Frank Cowin also talked about the importance of the keeill at Balladoole itself and the burial site close by. Celtic worship was led by Peter Robinson, and it included some hearty singing. A number of stalwart souls then walked back to their cars at Scarlett while others took advantage of the lifts they had arranged. It was a fine evening and the scenery was stunning.
PILGRIMS TO CORRADY KEEILL
Undaunted by the temporary closure of the Mountain Road, about 30 people turned up on Wednesday afternoon for a short walk from the Sulby reservoir car park to the ruined old buildings high above Tholt-y-Will at Corrody. Historian Frank Cowin gave fascinating mini-talks about the locality and old way of life at various locations, closing each talk with a short prayer. As well as the long-derelict farmhouse and outbuildings, we looked at (and entered - see picture!) a walk-in well, with steps descending several feet underground to fresh water. Finally we strolled a short distance to the keeill itself, where prayers were read from the ‘Celtic Daily Prayer’ booklet, specially written for Praying the Keeills Week 2007 (to see the Celtic Daily Prayer Book, click on the Prayer Resources page)
A MORNING IN MAUGHOLD
Though the weather was dull, the rain held off for the visit, on Thursday morning, to the site of the keeills at Maughold. The group of about thirty-five gathered first in the church, where the Reverend Canon David Green explained how Maughold had originally been a Celtic monastery, with a variety of different buildings, following the Irish model. He gave an account of the conversion of St Maughold that might owe more to legend than fact, but all agreed that the story of his arrival in the Isle of Man and his founding of the monastery in this particular place was one they would like to believe! He then led the way out into the churchyard, where a number of interesting graves were indicated, together with the three keeills, two of which were observed in some detail, and a service of Celtic Morning Prayer was held at the most northerly one.
Most of the party then set out on the steep climb to St Maughold’s Well, enjoying spectacular views as the cloud cleared. Some examined the well and others were glad just to sit quietly, while the bird-watchers brought out their binoculars and identified some of the large numbers of seabirds around. A gentler slope allowed for a less arduous trek on the return to the church, and many of the group congratulated themselves on their unexpected ability to emulate the mountain goat! Refreshments were provided in the church hall, and these were much appreciated.
DEBATING IN PARLIAMENT ?
This evening event at St Luke’s Church in Baldwin had a different format from the others during Praying the Keeills Week as its focus was an illustrated talk by Frank Cowin on some of the key features of the island’s Christian heritage – particularly, of course, the keeills. The talk was to be given in St Luke's Church, which is built on a keeill site, but before the talk, Frank (pictured here in red) led a group of about 40 from the church up the Millennium Way footpath and into a field where there is a circular wall bearing a plaque which claimed that this was where Tynwald had met as an open air parliamant in the early 15th century - although Frank pointed out that the real site was actually 100 yards away, in a now gorsed-over quarry!
HISTORY AND HEAVEN IN BALDWIN
Having investigated the ancient site of Tynwald (see news item DEBATING IN PARLIAMENT) there was an opportunity for the Friday night group of around 40 pilgrims to drink in the fabulous views from their vantage point above St Luke's Church, while historian Frank Cowin told stories of the locality, followed by a Celtic prayer. Back at St Luke's we enjoyed welcome refreshments before Frank presented an enthralling talk and slide show. He started by looking at some of the pagan sites of which there are still remains and spoke of the interface between the Viking and Christian traditions. In a fascinating account of how the keeills developed into churches, he also spoke about the connections between the Isle of Man and Whithorn, emphasising the importance of St Ninian, and he drew comparisons, too, with the ecclesiastical architecture of Ireland. Some of the slides were from a number of years ago – for example, a picture of the excavations at Druidale before the keeill disappeared into the reservoir – whereas others were more recent and provided a reminder of some of our 2006 visits to keeills. The wonderfully informative evening ended with Frank leading a Celtic meditation.
Sincere thanks are due to him, as well as to Reverend Ian Davies and to Tom Cowell at St Luke’s for the use of their lovely church, and not least to the ladies who provided the refreshments.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
SATURDAY 26 MAY 2007
The last event of Praying the Keeills Week began on Saturday morning in the car park at Glen Mona, from which twenty-eight pilgrims set off to Cashtal-yn-Ard under the leadership of Blue Badge Guide Marinda Faragher. After a strenuous walk, pausing once or twice at points of interest, they arrived at the ancient burial ground, and Marinda talked about the site and led a simple act of Celtic worship, appropriate for a ‘high place’. The party then walked through Ballaglass Glen to the next planned stop, for lunch, in the garden of a deserted cottage.
The rest was welcome, and after this agreeable interval in the sun, the walkers then climbed to the Quaker Cemetery, by which time the temperature had dropped and the wind had risen. They were joined by about a dozen more pilgrims, and by Julie Walker, a member of the island’s Quaker congregation, who gave a short history of the Friends in both the UK and the Isle of Man, and then introduced a period of contemplative silence, which is the form of worship favoured by the Quakers.
With half an hour to go before their tram was due, the party strode purposefully to the Manx Electric Railway stop and hailed the next tram, arriving back at Glen Mona after an exhilarating ride to end the day – and the week.