Day 1

Today was something of a Baptism of fire. It is the first time that we have tried to walk such a distance on the first day, 21.1kms. We were joined by a number of people on the trail and one, Lennie, walked with us all the way from Brown’s Yard to Harcourt. It was great to have him because he kept up a steady stream of jokes along the way, which helped me take my mind off my aching limbs.

I was very pleased to celebrate Evening Prayer in St. Matthew’s, Harcourt. It is a little gem of a church on the side of the Rogersville Road. The parking lot is well known to me as it was the place where, if I was travelling from the North-Shore to Saint John, I would pull off the road to sleep. Having said that I have not been in the building before.

Part way along the road we stopped at the Fire Hall in Beersville. It is a beautiful new facility and we received a warm welcome from the volunteer firefighters. In addition, we had a great potluck lunch there, being joined by people from the parish of Kent. It was also a privilege to “bless the fleet”, the fire trucks and other vehicles belonging to the department.

The other exciting thing which happened was being able to climb into the number 1 fire truck to sound the siren and flash the lights. As one lady said, “Boys just never grow up”. Thanks to Vance, who let me sit in his seat on the truck.

All in all, it is good to be walking again. Today I was reminded of the importance of our Christian witness as we work in our communities for the good of everyone. Chris Ketch, the Priest in Charge of the Parish of Kent is a volunteer firefighter and the Rev’d Sandy Sutherland, the local Presbyterian minister, serves as Chaplain to the department and is a firefighter.

Part of our task as Christians is to be witnesses as we volunteer with organizations in our communities. In our readings today we were reminded that Jesus calls us to be his witnesses wherever we are.

David