Make Easter mean more by joining Northern Cross Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne

Crossing the sands to Lindisfarne

The annual Christian cross-carrying Northern Cross walking pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne takes place once again during the week before Easter. More than 80 pilgrims from across the country and abroad are making final preparations before the annual Easter journey of the Northern Cross pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, in Northumberland.

Now in its 40th year, the walking pilgrimage is a reminder of the true meaning behind the Christian festival of Easter to all who see the pilgrims pass. To quote a previous pilgrim: "Pilgrimage is a shower for the soul."

From the 28 March to 5 April, up to 80 pilgrims will journey through various parts of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, in four groups, known as 'Legs'. Most legs will walk around 70 - 120 miles during Holy Week. Each group carries a large wooden cross as a sign of Christian witness. They stay in church and village halls along the route, and join in with people of local churches for worship.

The legs will gather together on 3 April, Good Friday, to cross the Pilgrims Crossing to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

The dramatic bearing of these crosses over the tidal causeway sands and the arrival onto Lindisfarne on Good Friday morning, mark the beginning of the pilgrimage's unique celebration of Easter.

Ken Williams, Overall Coordinator of Northern Cross 2015, said: "Northern Cross is a unique experience, a week of fellowship that can be tremendously rewarding as we share a common pilgrimage. Making this time for Easter, participants come from many different backgrounds, denominations and ages, all have left daily routines to enjoy pleasant walking, new friendships, and joyful liturgy. Walking together, we are boosted in many ways through experiencing the beautiful countryside, the local communities and by sharing prayer, worship and song."

Northern Cross was founded in 1976 by a small group who walked from Penrith to Lindisfarne that first year. Since then it has grown, and now typically consists of four or five main groups or 'Legs' as well as an occasional Leg focused on those with children.Included in this year's pilgrims are walkers who will have traveled from various distant locations.

Ken continued: "People may think pilgrimage is a historic concept, yet Christian pilgrimage is very much alive, demonstrated yearly by the five million people who go to Lourdes, or the 200 thousand who walk the Camino di Santiago. Northern Cross is another example of this. On pilgrimage we are removed from many trappings of modern living, and just require whatever can be carried in a small bag. Cut down to essentials - a pilgrimage is a chance to mirror life, to step back and look to see what the important things are. You have time to look for meanings in life; or to work out things that trouble you, or just to reflect."

"Northern Cross, and any walking pilgrimage, is a chance to get away from the demands of the world. The destination alone is not solely important - it is a goal - but the important thing is to form a small Christian group of people, travelling together on the road, using each others skills, helping with each other's weaknesses, working as a team to achieve an aim. That community is an important part of experiencing the Easter celebration and we share that community spirit with the places we pass through."

There are still places available for the pilgrimage. Visit www.northerncross.co.uk for information.Email us at walk [AT] northerncross.co.uk for more information, or to sign up, click here: www.northerncross.co.uk/join.htm