Gareth Thomas has started his 2000km walk to Santiago de Compostela. He describes himself as follows in his blog:
Following long and careful discernment, I gave up my job as a teacher in Canterbury last year to explore the question of vocation. I’m still waiting on the Lord to see what He intends for me now. I know the surest way to make God laugh is to tell him your plans… so I’ll speak no more about my hopes! Just now, the only part of my future that is planned is the walk to Compostela, and I am doing that as a Catholic pilgrimage of faith to the shrine of St James the Apostle. If, while walking, I can use my good health and energy to raise funds for Whizz-Kidz, that is a privilege, and I’ve set an ambitious target of £10,000. Help me realize that please. Follow the blog and watch my progress: pass it on to others, and please, of your charity dig deep. May God give you His blessing.
Gareth walks for charity and is hoping to collect 10 000 pounds for disabled children and young people in the UK.
Follow his progress on his blog here and have a look at the progress of his charity collection here.
Buen camino Gareth!
Hi Garrett,
Just want to let you know what you are doing is so remarkable and is already touching a lot of lives. The least lazy guys like us can do is to support you with prayers. Be rest assured of mine.
Your brother,
Valentine.
Hi Garrett,
i wish to use this opportunity to applaud your effort. don’t give up. Know that God has a way of rewarding those who consider the interest of the less privileged ones in the society. may God abundantly keep and sustain you.
from a spiritual father in the faith. Fr Jude Otaigbe
Hi Gareth,
last year we met on the camino
to Santiago. We both got bed
bugs in the refugio in Hontanas
and we had diner together on Ju-
ly 7 in the albergue in Boadilla
del Camino (together with Derek,
the former US-soldier, who star-
ted his pilgrimage in UK as well
and a woman from Italy who refu-
sed to talk french although no –
body of us understood Italian ).
I remember that we had a discus-
sion about the question whether
Rome ( the official church) sup-
ported pilgrimage at all times.
Actually I had the position that
this was not the case at all ti-
mes but you contradicted.I could
not give sufficient evidence for
my thesis at that time but some
days ago I refound the (German)
book where I read the facts
that I had in mind. It´s a book
about St. James roads in Germa-
ny ( Jürgen Kaiser , Jakobswege
in Deutschland , page 155 ).In
it there is a chapter titled
“Ende der Fernwallfahrten” (The
end of long-distance pilgrima –
ges).I hope you will understand
the German quotation :”Im 18.
Jahrhundert kamen Amtskirche und
die deutschen Kleinstaaten über-
ein,dass Fernwallfahrten abzu –
schaffen seien. Die Kirche nahm
vor allem am ausgelassenen Trei-
ben an den Wallfahrtsorten ,mit
Musik, Tanz und Feiern Anstoss,
wie es ihr überhaupt moralisch
verdächtig war, dass sich Ge –
meindemitglieder beiderlei Ge –
schlechts aus der Kontrolle ih-
res Ortspfarrers entfernten. Für
die Kleinstaaten spielten wirt-
schaftliche Gründe eine Rolle,
Fernwallfahrten abzulehnen. Denn
die Menschen waren in ihren Au –
gen dazu da, zu arbeiten und
Steuern zu zahlen und nicht, um
wochenlang durch fremde Länder
zu ziehen und dort ihr Geld aus-
zugeben…” But maybe it was re-
stricted to the German territo-
ries, that long-distance pilgri-
mages were not supported by the
official church during the 18 th
and 19 th century !
Anyway I hope you reached Santi-
ago in well shape and you got a
lot of donations for the Whizz-
Kidz ! I myself reached Santiago
on july 22 and got a second time
attacked by bed-bugs in a hostal
in Finisterre. By the way, have
you got a mail address of De-
rek ? He intended to go to Isra-
el and then return to the United
States to study law or town plan
ning .
E ultreia !
Alexander (Cologne to Santiago)