Bishop Martin writes: 

Running the Pennine Way in ten days – as I did in August with my Border Collie, Jem – is a very hard experience to sum up. It was so many things. Extreme fatigue and discomfort (remember Storm Floris?). Mental anguish – fear of failing or getting lost. Along with friendship and kindness, incredible beauty, deep insight, gifts from God.

A lot of my run is recalled as a blur, as I simply put my head down and ploughed on, hour after hour. I try to jog my memory by looking back over the map, but all I find is the bits where I recall getting lost! It seems that this is when one’s senses are most alert. Even on the final day, the Pennine Way continued to test and challenge as I came off a ridge in the wrong place, lost far too much height, and had to hack back up the mountain to regain the path. I was not happy – and I don’t think Jem was impressed either.

The photos here tell a story: ‘no idea’ cheerfulness at the start; big blue skies and rolling farmland after Hebden Bridge (so many sheep!), the garden ‘summer house’ at Ickornshaw where I spent my second night; the towering heights of Pen y Ghent at the end of a long day; wild horses at High Cup Nick after the storm; resting in the bracken in the rain, Jem eyeing up my pasty; boggy, featureless moorland; Cross Fell, tiredness etched on my face; Sycamore Gap (such mindless destruction); the beautiful St Francis Church in Bryness; sunrise over the Cheviots; the sheer joy and relief of having made it to the Border Hotel at Kirk Yetholm, pint in hand.

My spirits were hugely lifted by the support and encouragement I received along the way – not least from the churches of the Kingston Episcopal Area, which got behind the challenge in spades. On day 5, I received a beautiful and moving message from my friend, the Bishop of Matabeleland, the Rt Revd Cleophas Lunga, including a joyful song of encouragement from the Mother’s Union and senior clergy. ‘We celebrate with Him,’ they danced and sang in their rich harmonies. ‘We dance with Him in heaven; we will receive our reward together’. I was moved to tears.

I ran and push myself physically and mentally to discover who I am before God. It is part curiosity – what will I discover? It is part because there’s no hiding when you take yourself to the edge. I thanked God every time a way marker confirmed that I was on the right path. I prayed

like the Psalmist for God to protect me. But, above all, what I saw so clearly was what it is to be a child of God – vulnerable, fragile and dependent. In the past, I may have got stuck on this, preferring a different self-image of invincibility and strength. But I realise this vulnerabilityis God’s gift to us. It is how God made us and it’s a beautiful thing, deeply to be cherished and loved.

I was running so that children in our Link Diocese of Matabeleland will not have to walk long distances to school, with all the associated risks that currently presents for them. I am bowled over by the success of our fundraising appeal and the generosity of all those who have given. To play a part in seeing St Cecilia’s Anglican Secondary School built, along with the development of other schools, is hugely gratifying. I look forward to the Link between the Kingston Episcopal Area and the Diocese of Matabeleland going from strength to strength, a mutually enriching relationship in which together we learn who we truly are before God.

And may the cicadas indeed sing their song of praise in Matabeleland!

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