Ashton vicar is going places to raise funds for church

A vicar in Ashton is currently embarking on a sponsored walk of over 300 miles and a virtual pilgrimage to Lindisfarne to raise vital funds for her church.

Reverend Liz Devall, the Vicar at St John the Evangelist Church in Hurst, set off on a 309-mile sponsored walk on Whit Sunday last weekend and was waved off - from a safe distance - by some of her parishioners. 

It will run alongside her virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne - off the Northumberland coast in the north east of England. 

Liz will be marking off the miles she's walked on a digital pilgrimage map, which you can view here, so her congregation and other members of the community can keep track of her progress. 

She is looking for people to sponsor her, with all proceeds going towards the church on Kings Road - which cannot hold their usual fundraising events such as summer fairs due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Liz has also received a good luck message from local MP Angela Rayner on Twitter. 

Good luck to @lizdevall1 our all action vicar of my local church in Ashton Hurst 😁👍https://t.co/cxMCDm8qSs

— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) June 4, 2020

Rev Liz on her sponsored walk around Tameside.

Liz said: "The idea came about last Monday, St Bede's Day when I was walking and then on Sunday I set off on a 309 mile sponsored walk around the area. 

"I'm making an outward journey of 309 miles walking around the borough of Tameside, whilst also making an inward spiritual journey of the heart, alongside my congregation, to Lindisfarne.

"I'm calling 'virtually' at various holy sites along the way, such as the Monastery at Mirfield, Wakefield, Durham and Newcastle Cathedrals, York Minster and Whitby Abbey - arriving virtually at Lindisfarne on 31 August, the day the church celebrates St Aidan of Lindisfarne." 

Rev Devall says she will pray as she walks and as she reaches each destination, the people of those places will send her a greeting and a prayer or blessing.

The new Archbishop of York, Bishop Stephen Cottrell, has sent his recorded greetings and prayers to Revd Liz and the parish, which will be shared when she reaches Bishopsthorpe in York.

Bishop Mark of Middleton sent a video blessing as she set out last Sunday - as did the Dean of St George's College in Jerusalem. 

Last Sunday, Liz was welcomed to St John's Roughtown by Mossley vicar Rev David Warner and his wife, Stalybridge Vicar Revd Penny Warner, as well as Buddy the dog.

Rev Liz (right) with Rev Penny Warner, who is the vicar at St George's in Stalybridge, and Buddy. 

She received a blessing before walking on to Uppermill, where she greeted by Revd Canon Sharon Jones at St Chad's Uppermill. Her walk home mean that on her virtual pilgrimage map she made it to Marsden by the evening. 

Rev Liz (left) with Rev Canon Sharon Jones outside St Chad's Parish Centre. 

Liz reached her next stopping off point - Huddersfield Parish church - yesterday (Wednesday) ahead of schedule and Revd Canon Rachel Firth sent a virtual message of support. 

The Community of the Resurrection at Mirfied is Liz's next stopping off point. 

She added: "I'm excited about the pilgrimage and hope that it will bring the parish together in prayer at this time, that it will deepen their faith as they learn more about the saints and holy places, and raise much-needed funds to enable St John's to continue to reach out into the community -especially when the church is able to open its doors once more." 

People can follow the pilgrimage online by following @StJohnsHurst on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or go to the St John the Evangelist website at http://www.stjohnschurch-hurst.co.uk, or search for St John the Evangelist Hurst on the A Church Near You Page, where you can also find out how to sponsor Liz in her challenge. 

Watch Rev Liz Devall explain her challenge more in the video at the top of the page. 

Main image:

Rev Liz receiving a blessing from Mossley Vicar, Rev David Warner.