Lesson video

Hello there and welcome to this lesson.

My name is Mr. Robertson.

And I'm here to help you with a lesson about pilgrimage.

I absolutely love RE and can't wait to get started.

In today's lesson, we're going to be looking at the importance of Walsingham and Taize as places of pilgrimage.

I think by the end of this you're gonna feel way more confident about this part of living the Christian life and Christian practices.

So let's go shall we.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the importance of pilgrimage and the significance of Walsingham and Taize for Christians.

So in this lesson we have four key words and they're gonna help us locate some of the really important knowledge in this lesson.

If we learn these keywords, that's gonna be really useful.

So what are they?

Well, our first word is monastic.

And that word means living a religious life in a distinct community and being focused on prayer and devotion to God.

Pilgrimage is a religious journey to a holy site or sacred place.

And it's also an act of worship and devotion.

Taize is a Christian monastic community founded in the village of Taize in France in 1940.

And Walsingham is a village in Norfolk in England, which has been a Christian pilgrimage site since the 11th century.

So this lesson has two parts, and in the first part of this lesson, we're gonna be focusing on Walsingham as a place of pilgrimage.

So let's start by thinking about journeys in general before we get into pilgrimage a bit more deeply, I wonder if you've ever been on what we might call an important journey?

And by important I mean not a kind of journey that you might make every day, like going to school or visiting grandparents or anything like that, but something a bit rarer, a bit more outta the ordinary.

I wonder where you might have gone on a journey like that.

And I also wonder what was important about this journey.

You might want to take a minute here and pause the video.

You might want to talk to someone around you and think about any important journeys that you've undertaken.

Hmm, I wonder where you went.

It'd be interesting to compare your ideas and places you've been to.

I wonder why those journeys were important to you.

Was it to see a relative?

Was it for an important event like a wedding or a funeral?

Was it because of a sports team that you followed and you wanted to see them play in a cup final or a really important game?

Maybe it was a completely different reason.

Well, journeys are important in religion as well.

And a pilgrimage is the name we give to a religious journey, to a holy site or a place of religious significance.

And someone who goes on a pilgrimage is called a pilgrim.

Now many religions and belief systems have pilgrimages.

In this lesson, we're focusing particularly on Christians and places of Christian pilgrimage.

And of course anyone could go on a pilgrimage.

You don't have to be religious to go on a pilgrimage, but mostly people who would call themselves pilgrims making that special journey are religious.

Now we thought a little bit about a journey that you may have gone on that was important.

Why do you think that religious believers may want to go on a journey to a place of religious significance?

After all, can't one find God or the divine at home, in a church, in a synagogue or mosque?

Why might someone want to go on a journey?

Again, you may want to pause the video here to reflect for yourselves or talk to someone next to you.

Well, thank you for your thinking and discussion.

I wonder what reasons that you came up with.

Let's look at some reasons next, shall we?

So to answer that question, we're going to come up with some different reasons and you want to pay attention to these reasons 'cause they could be really useful for you when you are writing in your exam.

So one reason that people may go on pilgrimage is to draw closer to God and to strengthen their faith.

Another may be as a form of prayer or worship, and certainly many pilgrimages involve that at different points in the pilgrimage.

Another aspect is the idea of healing.

Many Christians go on pilgrimage to seek either physical healing or spiritual healing to feel whole in some way.

And it's not just the journey itself and the place that they're going to.

For many people, pilgrimage is about the other people that you travel with and the people that you meet who may share your beliefs or challenge your beliefs.

So that communal aspect to pilgrimage is really important.

Some of you may have watched the incredible BBC "Pilgrimage" series which follows groups of pilgrims to various sites, and they're a really mixed group of people with different worldviews.

But one of the things that comes across in that program is the importance of doing things together and doing things with other people.

Okay, so let's just check our understanding so far, shall we?

We've been thinking about why Christians might go on pilgrimage.

And one of the reasons we said is that Christians may go on pilgrimage to grow closer to God.

I wonder if you could think of any other reasons we thought of why Christians might go on pilgrimage.

Pause the video and have a think.

So what did you put?

Well, you may have said that part of pilgrimage will involve worship and prayer.

So Christians may go on pilgrimage to worship God and to pray.

We talked about the idea of seeking healing being an important reason why Christians may go on pilgrimage and that might be physical or spiritual healing.

And finally, we talked about the importance of journeying with other people and meeting different people to share their beliefs and experiences.

So well done if you manage to think of those answers.

Now, there are many different pilgrimage sites around the world and in the United Kingdom.

In this lesson we're going to focus particularly on Walsingham, Walsingham is in the county of Norfolk.

I actually grew up in Norfolk myself, so I know this place really, really well.

It's located in the east of England and Walsingham is in the north of Norfolk, a beautiful village close to the sea.

Now Walsingham has been a pilgrimage site for many, many centuries.

And it all began way back in 1061.

And at that time there was a noble woman, which meant that she was an educated and wealthy woman.

Her name was Richeldis de Faverches.

And she had a vision of the Virgin Mary.

This vision was really important to her.

She was married to the Lord of the Manor of Walsingham Parva.

So she was a noble woman of influence.

And she was a religious woman who was devoted to the Virgin Mary.

At that time in England it was a Catholic country and the Virgin Mary was a really important part of everyday devotion and public piety.

And Richeldis was known for her generosity and her good works.

So in this vision, in 1061, Richeldis was taken by Mary and shown the house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel appeared to ask Mary if she would be the mother of Jesus.

If Mary in the story said yes wholeheartedly, you probably know this story, it's in the gospels.

It's a really important story in Christianity.

And that was the vision that Richeldis had of that place in Nazareth where Gabriel appeared to ask Mary if she would be the mother of Jesus.

And in this vision, the Virgin Mary then asked Richeldis to build an exact replica of the House in Nazareth, in Walsingham in Norfolk.

So this vision so profoundly moved and inspired Richeldis that she indeed went on to doing this.

And a replica of the Holy House in Nazareth was created in Walsingham.

And Walsingham became known as England's Nazareth.

Later, a priory which is a small monastery or nunnery was built around the Holy House and the whole place became a focus of pilgrimage.

You can see an illustration here of part of the ruins of original pilgrimage site.

A really beautiful arch now sadly overgrown, but it gives you a sense of the scale of the place.

And in the Middle Ages, Walsingham was the second most popular pilgrimage site in the UK after Canterbury.

So it was a really big deal.

However, over the Middle ages, Walsingham became a hugely important place.

But during the Reformation, there was a disagreement about the idea of pilgrimage.

The Protestants at the time of the reformation disagreed with the idea of pilgrimage.

They didn't feel it was necessary and they were also resentful of the wealth that the abbey of Walsingham had amassed over time as it was so successful.

So the shrine was shut, and over time it became ruined.

And today you can go and see part of this ruin as I've shown in this illustration, and pilgrims may go there as well as other people who are interested in history.

But that wasn't the end of the story.

You can see a photograph here that I took in Norfolk.

I wonder if you look at that photograph, you can see what it shows, look at it really carefully.

Maybe even pause the video and see what you can see.

You may have noticed that it says, "The shrine of our Lady of Walsingham, containing the Holy House England's Nazareth.

" That's what we were learning about, wasn't it?

That the replica of the Holy House was built there.

Now it says founded 1061, but you may notice as well that it says Rebuilt 1931.

So in 1931, the shrine was rebuilt and opened to pilgrims and that was because Anglicans, the Church of England, attitudes to this idea of pilgrimage had changed and some Anglicans now thought that this was a really good thing.

And so they wanted to reopen and reinstate this shrine.

As well as that, there's a separate Roman Catholic national shrine, which lies just outside the village.

So we have in the Middle Ages, the shrine of Walsingham being the second most visited pilgrimage site in the UK.

We have many centuries of it lying in ruins.

And in 1931 we have the shrine being rebuilt and a shrine for Anglican Christians and also for Roman Catholic Christians.

Here is another photograph of the Anglican shrine.

The shrine is quite extensive now, and there are places for pilgrims to come and stay because it might be quite a long way to come all the way up to Norfolk for some people.

And as well as the shrine and places to stay.

There are also beautiful grounds and gardens as well, places where you can walk and reflect.

Because as we said, pilgrimage is both a physical journey.

It involves physically moving to that place of pilgrimage and walking about there, being there.

But it's also a spiritual journey as well.

It's a journey within to meet the divine and meet with God.

So the best way to really understand what pilgrimage means is to talk to some Christians themselves and listen to their words.

So we're going to meet Fiona now.

Now Fiona is an Anglican Christian and she's visited Walsingham.

And she's going to explain about what her experience was like.

Fiona says, "I visited Walsingham on pilgrimage.

I began my pilgrimage walking slowly to the shrine, including walking last mile barefoot, which I did as an act of penance or repentance my sins.

I also attended a service called ' The Sprinkling at The Well,' where I gathered with others the 1,000 year old holy well to receive a sip of water and the sign of the cross was made on my forehead.

" So you can see some physical things that Fiona did as part of the pilgrimage.

Walking barefoot, attending a service and receiving some water and a sign of the cross from a holy well on the site.

She also goes on to talk about the impact that this pilgrimage had on her.

Fiona says, "Pilgrimage is like a recharge for my faith.

I attended a healing service, which left me feeling healed, not physically, but spiritually.

I felt a profound sense of unity and peace at Walsingham.

As well as taking parts in acts of worship.

I also enjoyed being with other Christians.

The fellowship makes me feel part of a community while we are here.

" So you can see that Fiona, it's not just a physical journey, but actually it's something which refreshes and recharges her.

It enables her to connect with other Christians and feel inspired to go back to her daily life afterwards.

Danielle says, "During the pilgrimage, I felt a sense of peace and as though the Virgin Mary was walking with me.

I also enjoyed spending time with others who share my beliefs.

After the pilgrimage, I felt renewed and it reminded me of the power of prayer and devotion.

I would love to go back to Walsingham again one day.

.

" So you can see how her feelings about the impact are very similar, aren't they to Fiona's, that same sense of spending time with others and feeling peace and feeling renewed or recharged.

Let's just check our understanding so far.

I'd like you to outline three activities that Christians may take part in during a pilgrimage to Walsingham.

I'm going to give you one now.

So one thing that Fiona talked about was taking part in The Sprinkling at The Well.

Can you think of anything else that they mentioned?

Again, please pause the video whilst you have a think.

So what did you come up with?

So you may have come up with attending a mass, you may have talked about prayer and worship.

You may have heard about a healing service and you may have heard about being in fellowship or community with others, people.

Well done if you thought of any of those possible answers.

Okay, I'd like you to think about our first task.

Laura is explaining why Walsingham is a place of pilgrimage for Christians.

Laura says, "Walsingham is a place of pilgrimage because it's believed that the Virgin Mary appeared there.

Christians go on pilgrimage to Walsingham following this vision to feel closer to the Virgin Mary and connect with God.

" Now, Laura has made some good points, but she's missing some key details about why Walsingham is a place of pilgrimage for Christians.

I wonder if you could add to her answer to include some missing details.

So you may want to put in a bit more detail about why Walsingham is important and a bit more specific about what the vision entailed.

And you may also want to put in a bit more detail about what might actually happen at Walsingham.

Good luck and I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Well, great thinking everybody.

So you may have mentioned that in 1061, there was a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, who was the wife of the Lord of the Manor of Walsingham Parva.

And in the vision the Virgin Mary showed Richeldis the House in Nazareth where she was asked if she would be Jesus' mother.

She was told to build a replica of this house in Walsingham.

So you may have added in some extra detail there about what the visions entailed.

And brilliant if you did that, if also you added any extra reasons in about why Christians might go on pilgrimage to Walsingham, that's brilliant too.

So really good thinking and well done.

In the second part of the lesson, we're going to be thinking about Taize as a place of pilgrimage.

So there are Christian pilgrimage destinations all over the world.

We spent some time looking at Walsingham of an example in the UK.

But we're now gonna be thinking about a different pilgrimage site.

Taize is a village in Eastern France and it's also a popular Christian pilgrimage site.

Taize has been a place of pilgrimage since Roger Schutz, who was a Protestant Christian leader, founded a monastic community there in 1940.

So monastic communities can be found in both Catholic and Protestant traditions.

Roger Schutz dedicated his life to promoting peace, reconciliation and unity among Christians.

In 1940, during the second World War, he moved to Taize and began sheltering refugees.

Over time, he formed a monastic community of brothers from different Christian traditions where Christian monks live a communal life dedicated to religious practice.

So it's a really special place where people can belong to many different Christian traditions.

What did Rogers Schutz set up in Taize?

Was it A, a nunnery.

B, the holy house.

C, a monastic community.

Or D, a basilica?

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It was C, a monastic community wasn't it?

Fantastic if you got that right.

And today, pilgrims still visit Taize.

Many thousands of people go every year, but why do they go?

Well, they go for a number of reasons.

Firstly, they might take part in monastic life as an act of devotion.

So they might want to spend some time living in community and seeing what it's like and spending that time in worship.

They might want to follow in the footsteps of Roger or the brothers who are part of the community.

They may be inspired by his story and want to spend time there.

They may want to go as an act of atonement, as an act of repentance for sins that they feel they have committed in the past.

And they might want to go to learn more and grow in their faith and spend time with other people.

So pilgrims who visit Taize and join in with the life of the monastic community will often be involved in the following acts of worship and devotion.

They may pray three times a day at the Church of Reconciliation.

They may spend some time in private prayer.

They may spend some time in Bible study groups.

They may share some communal tasks such as cleaning and caring for the building and for each other.

And there are also events and activities throughout the year for pilgrims to attend, such as the friendship meeting between young Christians and Muslims.

The vision of Taize is still very much geared towards young people and for bringing Christians together from many different traditions.

And foster a spirit of unity with other religions as well.

Hannah is a Roman Catholic Christian, and she talks about her experience of Taize.

She says, "My pilgrimage to Taize was unique and different from the other pilgrimages that I've been on.

Most people at Taize were young adults and there was a real community feel to the experience.

I spent time living, working and worshiping with others.

The pilgrimage felt like a new life rather than a trip.

It is an experience that I will remember forever.

" So you can see how for Hannah, there's a contrast between Taize and perhaps Walsingham where journey is really important and the time spent there in masses and devotion.

But actually Hannah at Taize spends time, an extended period of time living in the community according to the time of the community with other young people and really making that community work.

Now, I wonder what activities Christians might take part in during a pilgrimage to Taize.

We've talked about the fact they may engage in prayer at the Church of Reconciliation.

I wonder if you can think of any other activities that Christians may take part in during that pilgrimage.

And again, you might want to pause a video here whilst you have a think.

So, you might have noticed that we talked about Bible study as a thing that people might do.

We also mentioned Christians might take part in private prayer.

We talked about a friendship meeting between young Christians and Muslims and meeting people from lots of different Christian traditions.

Well done if you got any of those answers.

Here is a full evaluation question.

All Christians should go on pilgrimage to Taize.

So for your final task, I want you to think about this statement and you're going to evaluate this statement considering arguments for and against.

And in your response, you should refer to Christian teachings, refer to different Christian points of view.

And reach a justified conclusion.

So that is your final task for this lesson.

And you're going to respond to this statement by writing two paragraphs showing that you have considered argument for and against.

So to help you with that, we've got some guidance for you.

So I'd like you, first of all, you're going to be writing a point of view for the statement and you've got an example sentence starters here.

Some Christians may agree that all Christians should go on pilgrimage to Taize because.

And can you think about what we've learned about Taize?

Why might a Christian argue that Christians should go there?

And then what you've put forward your evidence, can you develop it with some examples?

This is because for example, this shows that, and you might want to think about some of the things that Christians do at Taize and why it might be important for them to go there.

And once you've done that, I'd like you to write your alternative argument against the statement.

And again, we've given you a sentence starter.

However other Christians may argue that.

And can you think of a reason why they may argue against pilgrimage Taize?

And you might want to think about our earlier example in this lesson of Walsingham and what might that might offer and then develop that with some reasons as well.

So by the end, you should have two really good paragraphs, a paragraph for the statement and one against the statement using our examples to help you.

Pause the video.

I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Well, thank you for working so hard on it.

So let's look at my example answers.

So for the point of view for the statement, I said, "Some Christians may agree that all Christians should go on pilgrimage to Taize.

Because it's a place where Christians can experience a monastic lifestyle.

This is because the Taize community was founded by Roger Schutz, as a monastic community, which Christians can still experience today.

For example, when Christians visit Taize, they can take part in worship, prayer or for communal living.

This shows that going on pilgrimage to Taize can be beneficial for Christians and give them the chance to grow in their faith.

" This is my example paragraph against the statement.

"However, other Christians may argue that there are other pilgrimage sites that might be more beneficial for Christians to visit.

This is because there are some pilgrimage sites where religious figures are believed to have appeared.

For example, Walsingham in England is a pilgrimage site that dates back to an appearance of the Virgin Mary in a vision of 1061.

This shows that there are also other places that Christians can/should go on pilgrimage that also have religious significance and not just Taize.

" So well done if you managed to create two paragraphs, one for and one against.

Well done if you managed to think of some specific things that characterize Taize about it being a monastic community.

And well done as well if you could use Walsingham as a counter argument to show that there are other religious sites, pilgrimage sites that you could visit and Walsingham is special because it links back to a vision of the Virgin Mary.

Thank you for working on those answers, and I hope you are really pleased with what you came up with.

Okay, let's summarize what we've learned today about Walsingham and Taize.

We've learned that a pilgrimage is a religious journey to a holy or sacred site or place.

We've learned that Walsingham became a pilgrimage site in 1061, after Richeldis had a vision of Mary and built the Holy House at the Virgin Mary's request, which was later surrounded by a priory.

We've learned that today Christians can travel to Walsingham to see the ruins of the priory and the restored shrine and take part in worship, prayer and activities that can strengthen their faith.

We've learned that Taize is also a place of Christian pilgrimage.

Roger Schutz founded the Taize community in 1940 as a monastic community.

And finally, we've learned when visiting Taize Christians can take part in the monastic lifestyle through worship, prayer, and communal living.

Thanks so much for being with me today.

I hope you've learned something and I hope you've got some really useful resources going forward.

Thank you very much.