All Saints Day dawned very wet and windy, such that only the hardiest Wild Church pilgrims (and a very fluffy cat) gathered under Grandmother Yew in Dartington Gardens. To be beneath her ancient branches is to be in the presence of a living ancestor, a wild saint who is at least as old as the Christian tradition in these lands – what a wonderful way to start our walk today.
Sometimes the colours of late autumn seem to shine more brightly on a wet, overcast day and I still vividly remember all the rich hues as we wandered under the beech trees, past brightly coloured fungi in the grass of the cricket ground and on to Dartington graveyard. As if the falling leaves and bare branches were not reminder enough of processes of ending and letting go, a freshly dug grave in the church yard for a funeral in the coming days was a powerful ‘memento mori’ for us all. The pandemic this year has painfully reminded us that life is precious and death can be closer than we think – a gateway into the eternal.
After a pause for such reflections, we were on our way again… along rain slicked lanes and through deeply muddy woods. We found fallen trees blocking our path at times, from the strong winds in the night, and there were places where we had to wade through floods or clamber through brambles and over banks to find the Way again. A cross country walk to Totnes that would usually take less than an hour, took us more than two and it was growing dark as we finally approached St. Mary’s Church.
Yet how much more special it felt to have had a really wild pilgrimage to get here and arrive wind blown, soaking wet and tired… out of the woods and fields and into the sound of sacred music and light spilling out from the sanctuary of the church. As our wild pilgrim flock staggered late into the candlelit service, we were warmly welcomed by Father Jim and settled for a well earned rest in the socially distanced pews…. and there was our own dear Glynis singing ‘soul cake‘ and playing the harp. The service was an Eastern Orthodox inspired ‘Memorial Liturgy’ including the following words:
Today we come together to remember before God those we have loved and lost, to receive comfort in our grief and to affirm our faith in the communion of saints. Although human memory fails, God holds all things in eternal love.
With so many lives around the world lost to covid this year, this season of Remembrance seems more poignant and important than ever before. During the prayers everyone present was able to have the names of those ‘loved and lost’ who were special to them read out and the service ended with time to light candles and remember loved ones. Then our day of wild saints and remembrance drew to a close as our more sensible friends and sister pilgrims got rides home, while Tam and I wandered and wondered home through the dark.