In the churches of the Anglican communion, including the Episcopal church calendar today, the 24th of September is the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham.
It commemorates an apparition of Mary, Jesus’ mother, to an English noblewoman at the dawn of the eleventh century.
Today they even have a YouTube channel.
Me, I’ve always liked appearances of Mary, who I’ve noted elsewhere is flat out my favorite goddess.
This particular feast represents a significant revival of pilgrimage within the Anglican church, a spiritual practice I heartily approve of.
This particular festival has also begun to take on an ecumenical aspect within the Christian community, drawing Anglicans and Catholics and in recent years Orthodox observers, and on occasion as co-celebrants…
All this is perhaps marred for a moment by the attempt to establish a Roman Catholic “uniate” body for Anglican rite Roman church, which has appropriated the name for their upstart organization.
But. Whatever.
I think the Lady is big enough for all of us to gather with her.
Truth be told, I’d welcome an interfaith aspect, as well. As far as Buddhists go, she sure looks like a face of Guanyin…
But, I guess, such is the life of a dreamer…
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