Author: SY

The Camino Chaplaincy goes online

10th October 2020 – Reflection by Revd Tim Daplyn for this coming Sunday. The PDF can be downloaded here: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Camino-Graffiti-1.pdf

3rd October 2020 – Reflection by Revd Tim Daplyn for this coming Sunday, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. The PDF can be downloaded here: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Francis-and-The-Camino.pdf

26th September 2020 – Reflection by Revd John Cunningham for this coming Sunday:

18th September 2020 – Reflection by Revd John Cunningham for this coming Sunday:

11th September 2020 – Reflection by Revd Gill Still for this coming Sunday:

3rd September 2020 – Reflection by Revd Gill Still for this coming Sunday:

30th August 2020 – Reflection by Revd Nick Finlay for this Sunday:

23rd August 2020 – Reflection by Revd Nick Finlay for this Sunday:

16th August 2020 – Reflection by Father Steve Danzey for this Sunday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Anglican-Chaplaincy-August-16.pdf

9th August 2020 – Reflection by Father Steve Danzey for this Sunday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Camino-sermon-2_8_20.pdf

2nd August 2020 – Reflection by Father Bob Bates for this Sunday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Camino-sermon-2_8_20.pdf

29th July 2020 – Reflection by Father Bob Bates for the Feast of Mary, Martha and Lazarus: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gospel-Sermon-M-M-L.pdf

25th July 2020 – Reflection by Father Bob Bates for Saint James’ Day: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/St-James-Camino-Chaplaincy.pdf

19th July 2020 – Camino Reflection Rev Canon Chris Stone

Audio:

Text in PDF form: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Reflection-for-19-July-2020-no-pictures.pdf

12th July 2020 – Camino Reflection Rev Canon Chris Stone

Audio:

Text in PDF form: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Thought-for-12-July-2020.pdf

Camino Chaplaincy Meditation, July 5, 2020, The Reverend Sean Ferrell

The Reverend Sean Ferrell was to serve as a volunteer chaplain for the Anglican Chaplaincy for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela this week, receiving pilgrims and celebrating the Eucharist from July 1-11, 2020. This is a reflection, prepared for the Chaplaincy to put online since the COVID-19 Pandemic has interrupted in person ministry. The reflection is about carrying burdens, and it is based on Matthew 11:25-30, and reflects on carrying rocks for 345 miles along the Camino Francés, from St Jean Pied de Port, France, to Cruz de Ferro, in June of 2019.

29th June 2020 – A message from Father Bob Bates for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul can be downloaded from this link: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/St-Peter-St-Paul.pdf

A message from the Revd Patrik Ahlmark for this Sunday, 28th June 2020:

24th June 2020 – A message from Father Bob Bates for the feast of the birth of John the Baptist can be downloaded from this link: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Birth-of-John.pdf

16th June 2020 – A reflection by Revd Maria Bergius for this week, some of the texts can be downloaded here: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/prayer-for-the-journey.pdf

14th June 2020 – A message from Revd Miriam Fife for this Sunday can be download at this link: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Sunday-14th-June-2020-Chaplaincy-Post.pdf

11th June 2020 – A message from Father Bob Bates for the Feast of Saint Barnabas can be downloaded >here<.

7th June 2020 – A message from Revd Miriam Fife for Trinity Sunday can be download at the link below.

https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Sunday-7th-June-2020-Chaplaincy-post-1.pdf

31st May 2020 – A message from Revd Matthew Buterbaugh for Pentecost / Whitsunday:

24th May 2020 – A Sunday message from Revd Matthew Buterbaugh:

21st May 2020 -A message for Ascension Day from Father Bob Bates can be downloaded >here<.

17th May 2020 – A Sunday message from Revd William Hogg can be downloaded >here<.

14th May 2020 – A message from Father Bob Bates for the feast of Saint Mathias can be downloaded >here<.

10th May 2020 – A Sunday message from Revd Annie Hogg can be downloaded >here<.

3rd May 2020 – Sunday thoughts by father Bob, the PDF can be downloaded >here<.

1st May 2020 – A message of encouragement by Father Bob Bates can be downloaded >here<.

25th April 2020 – A message for the Feast Day of Saint Mark by our Camino Chaplain Father Bob Bates can be downloaded from here as a PDF: >Download<

Camino Chaplaincy Online Dates:

Please bookmark this page to see date and time of next meetings or follow us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/CaminoChaplaincyCoE/

As many of us are stuck at home and long for the Camino, we want to offer you a place to share prayers, thoughts and reflections during these challenging times. No matter which faith you come from. We don’t have the answers, but we are here to listen and share. Our next online meeting will be tomorrow, Easter Sunday, 12th April 2020 at 17:00 Spanish time. We normally chat for about 20 – 30 minutes and then end with a short service, time of prayer, a reflection or similar.

The meeting will take place on Zoom, so it might be a good idea to download it beforehand, if you haven’t done so already, and familiarize yourself with it. As all of this is new to us, we will keep it simple, much like the Open House meetings we used to have here in Santiago. So, please make yourself comfortable, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and join us tomorrow with the following details:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/823410447?pwd=TTU5dW5sTWpFRXYvOE5iajZpYTVDZz09

Meeting ID: 823 410 447
Password: Camino


And please be patient with us if things don’t work out smoothly – we are all new to this!

Father Bob Bates has also put together some resources that you can download and either ponder alone or use in preparation to join us:

Online Resources for Holy Week:

https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Easter-Camino.pdf

Good Friday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Stations-2020.pdf

Easter Saturday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Meditation-Easter-Saturday.pdf

Easter Sunday: https://egeria.house/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Short-meditation-Gardener.pdf

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

A Box of Kindness

Today I finally found a way to help the people in my neighbourhood despite of being in lock-down. I took a plastic box with a lid, filled it with surplus items I had around the flat, and put a sign on it that stated in Spanish:

“Please open the box and take what you need, but please, leave the box. Your neighbour.”

And left it outside my door. By the evening it was empty. I live on the crossing of two neighbourhoods, to my right middle class, to my left working class or even desperately poor.

I filled the box mainly with surplus cleaning supplies and cosmetics like soap, shampoo, and bleach. A few hours later, I was sitting on my balcony, a young woman I know from view, shouted up to me ‘Did you put the box out?’ ‘Yes’, I said. She waived the large bottle of hand soap she had taken from the box at me and shouted back ‘Muchas Gracias’ to which I responded ‘No hay de que’ (Don’t mention it/You don’t need to say thank you)

Because I was so happy to have found a way to share what I have. My whole adult life, and especially the last 20+ years I have been connected to the wonderful world of the Camino de Santiago has been about sharing. When the Camino closed down due to Coronavirus/Covid-19 I lost it, for a while. It seemed there was nothing I could do to help. Now I found a way to do so, helping the people that have lived, for generations, alongside the way. It is a privilege to be able to do this.

When, as pilgrims, we packed our backpacks, we held every item in our hands and asked ourselves ‘Do I really need this on my Camino?’ Now it’s time to hold up the items in our homes and houses and ask ourselves ‘Do I really need this or can this serve somebody else better than me?’ This is walking (stationary!at home!) the Corona Camino for me …

Tips and ideas for your own Box of Kindness:

  • It doesn’t have to be a box, it can be a table, a basket – or a box.
  • Fill it with things that are non-perishable and will hold up well.
  • Think outside the food box – cleaning supplies, cosmetics, yes, and toilet paper.
  • Add some so-called ‘luxury items’ – People may have the money to buy the bare necessities, so, put something in the box that really cheers up their day …
  • If you have a garden or allotment, share your produce.

If you can’t afford shopping for extra items, put the following in your Box of Kindness:

Inspirational quotes on nicely decorated paper.

A plant or seedling from your garden or balcony.

Anything really that would be of use to somebody and/or cheer up their day.

Anything really that would put a smile on your neighbours face.

Dare to be creative!

And do NOT put any prescription medication in it! You are not a doctor, just a neighbour!

Just fill your box with kindness and the rest will take care of itself.

As for handling the box, here is what I do with mine:

It goes out at sunrise and back at sunset.

I wear gloves to move it in and out of the house.

I wipe it down before moving it out or back in.

It ‘lives’ just behind the main door, never entering my flat.

It gets checked twice daily to see what needs stocking up.

It really ain’t rocket salad 😉 We all have things at home that we don’t need, but others will. Let’s share what we have, just like we did when we walked the sacred route to Santiago.

Until we meet again in person,

Buen Camino in your life,

SY

Lock-Down Thoughts from Santiago

Sitting here in was meant to be my ‘winter flat’, but now looks like it is becoming my spring and perhaps even summer flat, I try to organize my thoughts and get my head around this new reality. It all happened so fast …

When I started ‘house hunting’ beginning of the year, my prayer was always “Lord, show me the place which you have in mind for me, the pilgrims and the Camino Chaplaincy.” I didn’t realize that he had already done so and that the answer to my prayer had been already given: “You are already where I want you to be.”

The church of Santa Susana might be empty now, but it will be waiting for us …

Beginning of March I was literally a day away from signing a rental contract for a nice, big and expensive flat for the volunteers and me. I woke up to the fact that numbers of infected people here in Spain had doubled over night. I looked at the growth rate and did some simple math to see where things would go over the next two weeks if that continued. I first postponed signing and then decided not to sign at all. I stayed put.

The following days were very busy, stranded pilgrims needed help finding a way to go home. None of them stayed with me, this wasn’t a time for leisurely hospitality, it was a time for urgency.

  • Urgent to convince them that, yes, this is real and that they had to go home by any means possible ASAP.
  • Urgent to translate and transmit information to the different online groups I am a member of.
  • Urgent to accompany pilgrims to the airport and help them re-booking their flights.

That kept me busy until the last day before the lock-down started. Now I can only leave the house to take the rubbish out or go shopping for essentials. Police and military is patrolling the streets of Santiago to make sure everybody stays home that hasn’t a very valid reason to be outside. The homeless have been sheltered by the local government and the last pilgrims have holed up in Monte de Gozo where they get help finding their way home.

So, suddenly, there wasn’t anything I could do to help … Apart of praying for pretty much everything and everybody I know. For the safety of my friends and family, for the chaplains and volunteers as they face the challenges in their ministries at home, for the pilgrims still in transit to their homes, for the hospitaleros that own albergues and face now a very uncertain, financial future, for whatever and whoever else comes to my mind. Because there is not much else I can do to help, apart of praying and staying at home.

So, if you want me to pray for you too, have a look here: https://egeria.house/let-us-pray-for-you/ As I have become an involuntary hermit, I have plenty of time to do so. And I will do it with joy!

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the Camino have a lot in common.

We pilgrims often used to joke that we suffer from the incurable and very infectious ‘Camino Virus’ and that the only treatment is to walk another Camino … Now we are all facing a very different kind of virus …

Over the last few days I realized that the Camino has taught me a lot of things that come in very handy at this time:

  • You need less then you think you do.
  • Any food is good when you are hungry.
  • Basic things like water, food, a roof over the head are appreciated.
  • The company of others is important, and as we can’t meet in person anymore, we meet online, using messenger apps or simply ‘see’ each other on Facebook.
  • Nature is important: My two houseplants, the trees before my window, the dawn choir of the birds.
  • The kindness of strangers, the waving at each other from our balconies, the cheerful “Hola!” shouted at each other from a distance, the smiles are like the Buen Camino! we pilgrims used to exchange.

Ritual and keeping a structure is important. Here in Spain we are all clapping from our windows and balconies each evening at 20:00 as a symbolic Thank You to all that work in healthcare.

On our Caminos we were united as we traveled alongside each other towards Santiago.

On this Corona Camino we are doing now inside our own homes we are united even if we live apart. It is a very different Camino from the one we are used to:

We can’t meet in person and walk together as pilgrims, for the moment, but we can still stay connected, take care of each other and support each other in this ‘Corona Camino’. We can now use every single lesson we have learned on our Camino and apply them at home.

It is time we take our Caminos home, into our communities and live as stationary pilgrims with kindness.

Stay safe wherever you are, stay at home as much as you can and yes, pray for us here in Santiago and in Spain as I pray for you.

Buen Camino de la Vida (Safe/Good Journey of Life) and yes, one day we will meet again and we will celebrate life together and in person again.

SY

Camino Chaplaincy Start Delayed

It will come as no surprise that we have postponed the start of our chaplaincy (planned was after Easter) at the moment. Chaplains are still willing to come but with travel bans popping up more and more, we really don’t know when they would be allowed to travel here and allowed to travel back to their own country after their stay.

I am obviously staying as I live here, so if you need help or just want to chat to get your mind of things, please feel free to contact me https://egeria.house/contact/

The last few days I have been kind of busy helping pilgrims find their way home, but now it is much quieter. I am, like everybody else, in lock-down and only allowed to go out for essential things, so I have time.

Please also, pray for us all here in Spain and for pretty much everybody else on our planet. And if you are not the praying kind send good vibes, thoughts and apply a lot of kindness to whatever you do …

We will have shared Eucharists and meals again!

Albergues Closed due to Covid-19

I am leaving this post up for historic purposes, to show how things developed but the situation on the Camino and in Spain has since dramatically changed, my latest update about the current situation (October 2020) can be found here: https://egeria.house/egeria-house-2020/

Last updated: 14th March 2020 17:13 Spanish Time

Important! All albergues in Galicia are closed, and albergues in other parts of the country are closing fast also, and Spain has declared a state of emergency. If you are on a pilgrimage now, please stop and travel home!

I am NOT updating this list anymore as the Caminos here in Spain are de facto closed!

This is very much a work in progress, but here you go. The list of albergues / pilgrim hostels currently closed to prevent the further spread of the Corona Virus/ Covid-19. Please bookmark this page for further reference … And if you want to help, please post any news about closed/re-opened albergues in a comment. This list currently features albergues that are closed or about to close plus certain other, pilgrim related services that have been closed.

Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrim House in Rua Nova 19 – closed

Cathedral – closed

Pilgrim’s Office – closed. You can leave your Credencial in a mail box and they will mail you your Compostela.

Camino Francés

Roncesvalles – closed

Burgos – municipal
Navarette – Casa del Peregrino

Rabanal – Gaucelmo closed/opening postponed

Camino del Norte

A Carida (El Franco) – municipal
Sobrado dos Monxes

Bustio Asturias

Mar y Montaña in Vegadeo

Tapia de Casariego municipal albergue

Almuña


Via de la Plata:

Zafra – Albergue Vincent Gogh limited to 18 pilgrims max
Alcuescar

Camino Primitivo

Albergue Grado – Closed starting Monday, for a month.

Other Caminos in Spain

The towns of Igualada and Vilanova del Camí and Santa Margarida de Montbui on the Camí Catalan & Camino Ignaciano have been placed in complete quarantine isolation for two weeks, nobody allowed in or out of town. It goes without saying that the Albergue at Igualada is closed for business.

Camino Sureste
Albergue Santa Anna. CLOSED

Albergue O.Ninho. CLOSED

Camino Levante

Canals and Mouxent – Closed

Portugal:

Alpriate Albergue
Albergue de Conímbriga
Rainha Pilgrim Hostel Rainha D. Teresa, Albergaria-a-Velha
Albergue de S. Salvador de Grijó
Albergue Cidade de Barcelos limited to 20 pilgrims/day
Albergue Municipal de Pilegrinos – Casa da Recoleta – Tamel limited to 20 pilgrims/day
Rubiães
Pilgrim Hostel of São Teotónio
São Tiago de Labruge
Santa Clara Albergue- Vila do Conde
Albergue Sao Mamede
Valença Albergue
Povoa de Varzim: São José de Ribamar
Paredes de Coura – closed starting Friday
Ponte de Lima – closed
FARMINHÃO
Caminha
Marinhos

Azinhaga Casa de Azzancha closed

Camino Zamorano Portugues

Edral – albergue in old people’s center closed
Braganca and Vilhais – The fire brigade is not accepting pilgrims anymore at this time