Denton to Bungay Pilgrimage - June 15th 2008

It is 350 years since the nonconformists started meeting in Bungay in Suffolk. Emmanuel Church is celebrating throughout the year with a number of events. On the 15th June, to remember that the Denton dissenters encouraged the formation of Bungay nonconformity, there was a pilgrimage from Denton to Bungay. Members of both congregations walked the 5 miles in 17th Century dress, to be greeted at the entrance to Bungay by the congregation from Emmanuel, the Bungay Town Reeve, Mayor and Town Crier. The whole entourage, complete with horse drawn carriage carrying notables from Denton, progressed through Bungay to Emmanuel Church where a service of celebrations was followed by a feast.

The procession was due to start from Denton at 2pm. It had been raining hard for over an hour and the people gathered at Denton Chapel were amazed when the rain stopped at 1.58 and the sun appeared. The pilgrimage was held in bright sunshine, arrived at Emmanuel Church and worship began at 4pm. It started to rain again at 4.18 pm.

Denton is a shared congregation, URC and C of E. It is a part of the Waveney Valley Ecumenical Partnership and the Earsham Benefice. At the beginning of the walk, one of the people from Denton handed the Minister, the Rev. Bruce Waldron, a cross that the Earsham Benefice carry on their Annual Good Friday pilgrimage around the 6 churches of the Benefice. Mr Waldron carried the cross before the pilgrimage all the way to Bungay, where it was pointed out that no nonconformists of the time would carry such a thing, being a symbol of popishness. This is true, but its presence was a wonderful symbol of the healing that has been achieved in our generation. A nonconformist heritage celebration, carried a cross that was offered from an Anglican benefice as a symbol of our one faith. Surely it is the cross that breaks down our divides. It is the cross of our divisions and hurts that Christ bore. It is the Cross that symbolizes our one allegiance to Christ crucified for our sins. What better occasion could there be to carry the cross, than in celebration of bitter divisions which had once torn the church apart and caused so much suffering, and in celebration of the church that has come from it, that shares ministry in one organisation with Anglicans, Methodists and congregationalists.

I am reminded of the words "In the Cross of Christ I glory, towering oe'r the wrecks of time and I thank God that in this era, we again worship and work as one with very Christian traditions who once counted each other as foes.

The central part of the Celebration Service at Emmanuel Church was an imagined meeting between John Browne, 19th Cent. historian, the Rev. Thomas Lawson, expelled from his living in Denton, and the Rev. Zephaniah Smith, expelled from his living in Bungay. The script was written by the Rev. Roy Robinson who worships at Emmanuel Church Bungay. Copies of the script may be obtained from the Rev. Bruce Waldron, 01986-896501, or through bruce.waldron@uwclub.net