This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 19 October 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
A reflection piece by the Revd Graham Sykes
Recently I saw this painting at an exhibition in Windsor Castle.Arthur Manton Lowe is an artist who has a studio on the Camino.
He is a deeply spiritual person and all of his paintings are in themselves acts of prayer.
His present collection is a series of pictures based around pilgrimage and the Camino.
Some are annotated with scriptural verses.
'Mine is the Morning' took me back to an incredible week beginning in Santiago and ending in Plymouth.
It reminded me that while we may make our pilgrim journey in the company of others, who play an important part as God's instruments in inspiring us, it is an intensely personal experience.
The pilgrim's progress is a lifelong journey as we seek to live life in the light of Christ, who is new every morning and to whom every morning belongs.
I was passing through Santiago de Compostella on my way to join a yacht delivery crew to bring a vessel back to the UK from Spain.
I had some hours on my own to wander through the town and to sit and pray in the Cathedral.
I was struck not only by the bands of pilgrims but also by individual pilgrims.
They were a rich variety of people of all ages and nationalities.
Our archetypal picture of pilgrimage is of a shared journey to a 'holy' place', of sharing our stories as we walk side by side with others.
I had not set out to make a pilgrim journey but found that I was.
As a child I sang, with all my heart, John Bunyan's He who would valiant be and later struggled through Pilgrim's Progress.
Like most people my life has been filled with the same experiences as Pilgrim.
The good, the bad and the ugly.
These thoughts framed my week at sea as I ventured out into that holy place which is the ocean. For me ocean sailing is a kind of retreat.
It helps me get back in touch with the elements of God's creation, to retreat from the world of concrete and the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
The awesome power of the wind and the sea remind me of the almightiness of God.
Out there, in the Bay of Biscay, with the wind howling through the rigging and the great rolling waves of the Atlantic lifting and dropping the boat, there is a wonderful rhythm.
Life aboard has a pattern and routine much like the regular offices in a religious community.
Four hours on watch and four hours to rest and eat.
You live in a small community of six people in a confined space 38 ft long and ten feet wide.
We gathered as strangers; the only person we all had in common was the skipper. As in all communities some people are easy to be with and others irritate and annoy, especially when you are tired.
Part of the journey is about finding an accommodation for the vagaries of each crew member.
I am by nature an introvert.
I need my space, so when below decks, once I have eaten, I snuggle up in my bunk and contemplate.
Above decks, especially in the small hours of the morning, I was generally in the company of just one other person.
For me that is a heavenly experience.
Many stories were shared at a very intimate level.
My being a priest somehow liberated my fellow crew members to talk about what they believe and what they don't believe. Some even found belief in God difficult.
Others had deep theological questions and had never met anyone with whom they could talk about these things.
It was a profoundly intense experience with the backdrop of navigation, boat management and keeping watch. In my four-hourly sojourns in my bunk I reflected deeply on the stories of my fellow crew members, their different perspectives and my own.
The whole experience honed my own understanding of scriptures and my personal journey with Jesus through prayer.
I could just imagine Jesus walking towards us, on the water, in the eye of the storm.
Through the night all you have is the lights of other vessels, the light on the compass and darkness.
Every sunrise at sea is a heartfelt experience as the envelope of your sight opens up. As the newness of the morning expands and the horizon becomes visible again I am always reminded of the God who is new every morning and Cat Stevens singing 'Morning has broken', one line of which is 'Mine is the morning'.
This surely is what a pilgrimage is all about. The Revd Graham Sykes is Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford and a trustee of PACT (Parents and Children Together) the Oxford Diocesan Council for Social Welfare. Arthur Manton Lowes pictures can be viewed on www. facebook. com/ArtMantonLoweGallery/