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Faith walk for peace

The route for the August 2009 faith walk, led by the Bishop of Tewkesbury

Oct 19 at 1:04pm

Faith Walk
August 2009

Introduction
This faith walk begins at the door of Gloucester Cathedral and winds its way through Gloucester city, visiting ruins which tell of the beginnings of faith in the Saxon times and past memorials to the faith martyrs. Walkers can discover the diversity of the Christian church and how other faiths and cultures have added their own stamp to the city. The walk finishes in Barton Street at the Friendship Café, a familiar meeting place for the Muslim community.

During this walk you will learn about Gloucester's faith past, see what is happening with Gloucester's faith present and you may wish consider how those faith groups will shape Gloucester's society in the future. During the walk please think about your faith journey and how you came to Gloucester. Look around you and imagine others' faith experience and how you can have conversations with friends to understand this better.

Gloucester Cathedral
The journey begins at the Cathedral, one of the oldest places of continuous worship in the city. Worship has taken place here for over 1,300 years. It was founded by Osric, an Anglo Saxon prince, in 678-9 AD. This building was established as a Cathedral in 1541 after Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. If you have time you might like to visit the Cathedral to see bishops and kings who are buried there, or to spend time quietly sitting in the sunshine in the cloisters garden. The Cathedral is a place of prayer and contemplation as well as a place of historic importance, full of interesting corners that tell interesting stories.

Hooper memorial
Turning right across College Green and passing through St Mary's Arch you find the Hooper memorial on the green by St Mary de Lode. This monument is to Bishop Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester from 1551 to 1555. He was appointed Bishop by Edward VI and after Edward’s death was imprisoned by Queen Mary Tudor for holding a different view of faith to the Queen's. She was Catholic and he was Protestant. Your faith determined whether you were loyal to the throne and he was therefore considered to be a heretic. He was executed on this spot on 9 February 1555 by being burnt. It is interesting to note that two other martyrs also were burnt the following year for being Protestants in Gloucester; Thomas Croker, a bricklayer and Thomas Drowry, a blind boy. Both of them had visited Hooper the night before his execution.

St Mary de Lode
The building behind the Hooper monument is St Mary de Lode Anglican Church, the oldest parish church in the city. The word lode means ferry or water course, referring to the fact that a branch of the river used to flow past here in medieval times. This church is also said to be the burial place of Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain who established the bishopric of Gloucester. He died in 180 AD.

St Oswald's Minster
Crossing the road you can see the remains of St Oswald's Minster and the medieval priory. This Minster, (the name is taken from the Latin for large church) was founded in 900 AD by AEthelfead, daughter of Alfred the Great. At this time Gloucester was inhabited by Saxons and Vikings. The Minster takes its name from St Oswald, a Northumbrian king who ruled from 604 -642 AD. Oswald's bones were buried here after he was captured by the Vikings in Northumbria. It is interesting to note that St Oswald’s head is buried in Durham Cathedral and one of his arms is buried in Peterborough Cathedral. The Minster was considered by people to be a place of riches and was referred to as the Golden Minister. Until about 1000 AD it was the main church in Gloucester.

Congregational Church of St Mary's
The walk now passes the Congregational Church of St Mary's. The Congregational Church is a Christian church which came out of the Puritan movement. Its congregations are independent and the members of the congregation determine what happens in their church. There is a federation of Congregationals who bring together independent free churches for mutual support through a vision of unity in creative diversity.

The King's School
The walk now enters Pitt Street where the old outer walls of King's School are visible. The King’s School was known in 12th century as part of St Peter's Abbey. It is known that Gerald of Wales attended the school in 1155 to study Latin under Halmo. By the 14th century, a larger school had been established. In 1378 when Richard II held his first parliament it is recorded that monks were ousted from the Abbey (which is now the Cathedral) and ate here for several days. In 1540 during the dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII closed down the Abbey of St Peter and set up the Cathedral and the College School. The school was so well regarded that even in the Civil War and the Cromwellian period it did not close and has continued until today. (If you look to your left as you walk down Pitt Street you will also see the stone mason's yard for the Cathedral.)

Park Street Mission Church
Turn left into Park Street and on your left just before it meets the main road there is a small Mission Church. Outside there is a plaque which says "Park Street Mission preaching the Gospel for over 326 years". Park Street Mission was set up in 1678 as a meeting room used by the Quakers and consisted of two cottages joined together. In 1834 the Society of Friends left to occupy their current building in Greyfriars.

St Peter's Catholic Church
Turn right and walk along the main road to St Peter's Roman Catholic Church in London Road, a successor to the Abbey that we saw while walking past the King's School. Outside the Church there is a plaque which commemorates the seven Catholic martyrs who were executed by Elizabeth I between 1585 and 1601. Three of these martyrs were executed within the city of Gloucester, because they were considered traitors for being Catholic when the state religion was Protestant. Enter the building and you find a refurbished church that looks like it did in the 1700s when the Catholic Church was again permitted to practice in England.

St John's Methodist Church
Going out the church door, turn right and return back into the city by walking along Northgate Street. About half way up the hill is the Methodist Church of St John's. St John's was originally an Anglican church built in 1732 although it is thought that it has been a site for worship since Saxon times. Inside the church you will find memorials associated with people who were involved in the Civil War as well as Gloucester traders. The church also has connections with the pioneers of the Sunday school movement.

St Aldate and the Via Sacra
Cross the road and walk down St Aldate Street. St Aldate was a bishop and leader in Gloucester in 600 AD. His claim to fame is that he roused the region to resist a pagan invasion and his saint's day is 4 February. Also notice that this street is part of a 'Via Sacra' that runs around the city, this is the 'sacred walk' of the Romans that went around the walls of the Roman city of Gloucester. If you would like to do this walk, you can down load a leaflet from the Gloucester District Council website - look for Via Sacra Walk.

Ebenezer Gospel Hall
Cross King’s square and cross the Mall. Straight ahead of you is Russell Street and about half way down is the Ebenezer Gospel Hall. This congregation was established in 1872 at King's Street by the Christian Brethren. In the census of 1881 the morning and evening numbers were 78 and 203 respectively. This church was demolished in 1971 and was moved to its current site.

Salvation Army citadel
Go through a small walk way on the right, enter Eastgate Street and turn left. At the end of the road there is the Salvation Army citadel. The Salvation Army was brought to Gloucester in 1879 under the female leadership of Pamela Shepherd and moved to these premises in the 1960s.

Anglo Asian Centre
Opposite on the crossroads you can see the old church of All Saints which now been converted to the Anglo Asian Centre. This building is used as the meeting place for the Chinese communities in the city. The main meeting room houses a number of figures such as Buddhas and figures that we associate with the far eastern faith communities - reminders of their home cultures.

Jama Mosque
Continue to walk along Barton Street and notice on the right another small Methodist Church. This one announces that it also has a congregation of The Church of God of Sabbath Keeping meeting there. This shows how far we have moved on from murdering those of different faiths in the past. If you look to your right down All Saints Road you will see the Jama Mosque. This mosque is one of three in Gloucester, which are all located in this area.

Summary
We have moved from the past to the present and seen how diversity was crushed but never extinguished. Can we learn the lessons of the past and learn how to walk together with difference? So what will you do differently today as a result of this walk?



For further information
www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
www.british-history.ac.uk
www.thekingsschool.co.uk (Via Sacra Walk)
King Lucius of Britain by David Knight

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