A Postcard from the Pilgrims Way

Dear Trinity friends,

Greetings from the village of Chilham, where I am about to walk to Canterbury and take your prayers with me. I wanted to share a few moments of my travels so far. Check out the videos below, and see the pictures for more detail. I didn’t want to disturb people by making videos inside churches, so I took pictures instead.

In Christ,

 

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara Slade, Associate Rector

 

The Temple Church, London

Mother church of the Magna Carta and the common law

A wonderful example of Norman architecture

The round interior of the church is an allusion to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and to the ties between the Knights Templar and Jerusalem

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford

Reformation Memorial

The chancel is built at a slight angle to the rest of the church — your eyes aren’t deceiving you! This is called a “weeping chancel” and signifies the image of Jesus inclining his head towards penitent sinners in mercy.

The flat notch in this pillar was cut to hold the platform where Thomas Cranmer was supposed to publicly recant his Reformation ideals — and refused to do it.

A Few Bonus Pictures:

A procession for the feast of St Mary at the Anglo-Catholic parish of All Saints’ Margaret Street in London. The gentlemen in red coats are Chelsea Pensioners, retired soldiers who participated as an honor guard.

I ran into recent Princeton graduate (and ECP alum) JJ not once, but twice on this trip! If you are an 8am person you may know JJ from Trinity as well.

I also had the pleasure of dinner in Oxford with AKMA and Margaret Adam, who were at Trinity when Leslie Smith was rector.