Diocesan News
Bishops Complete Joint Walks of Witness
Two bishops in the North–West have completed a series of joint ‘Walks of Witness’ which they hope will promote reconciliation in their dioceses and highlight their shared Christian witness.
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Ken Good, and the Bishop of Derry, Dr Donal McKeown, posed for a symbolic photograph beside a flood–damaged bridge near Claudy before setting out on their penultimate walk. They said they – like the workmen carrying out repairs to the structure – hoped to build bridges in the community.
The bishops, who are both in their mid–sixties, began their pilgrimages back in April, when the Gospel reading recalled the story of the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They hoped their example would serve as an inspiration to others working to achieve peace in the community.
‘We are eager to heighten the profile of faith traditions in our dioceses,’ the bishops said, ‘and hope our shared witness to the Gospel will further reconciliation in our community. We want to raise awareness of the long ecclesiastical history of our community and its rich Columban heritage.’
Their first walk, which was completed over three days, took them the 34 miles from Saint Columba’s birthplace at Gartan to Saint Augustine’s Church in Londonderry. In June they led a group to the Scottish island of Iona where Saint Columba was buried in 597 A.D. And last week, they completed the last two Walks of Witness from Claudy to Strabane (a distance of 15 miles) and from Limavady to Glenullin – via Garvagh – a distance of 16 miles.
En route, scores of children from a cross–community school choir performed for the church leaders In St James’ Church Hall in Donemana. And in Garvagh, around 80 people met the bishops for lunch in St Paul’s Church Hall.
The last of the walks was completed in driving rain, which failed to deter around a dozen parishioners from accompanying the clergymen. The bishops said they wanted to acknowledge how they themselves had been inspired by the example of their predecessors and been eager to build on their shared Christian identity.
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Derry & Raphoe
Mr Paul McFadden
028 7126 2440
07525 826290
press@derryandraphoe.org