Unexpected encounters are one of the great blessings of walking pilgrimage. On the first day of the St Matthew’s Way between Cardiff and Newport, on a lonely section of the Welsh Coast Path, we spotted another walker on the shoreline, heavily laden with two large rucksacks.
We caught up with this mysterious walker. She was a young woman called Emmeline, who told us that she was on a pilgrimage as well. Hers started in Cornwall and was planned to end in South Wales, but she had decided to keep walking back to England and on along the Thames Path to London. She was walking alone and camping along the way.
She explained that she is the founder and director of the Voices of Water Foundation (VoW), which believes that the ‘root’ to some of the many environmental and systemic issues harming rivers, is the fact rivers are treated as 'objects' under current UK environmental law. They believe this allows for exploitation and harm by causing a subconscious separation that disconnects us from nature. The change they propose is to allow rivers to be recognised as legal persons. This would shift a River from being an ‘object’ under law, to being recognized as an entity with legal standing, one with intrinsic value and rights that could be enforced and protected. VoW argue that this would change and deepen relationships between humans and nature, away from one of domination, to one of balance.
We explained our pilgrimage to her; exchanged good wishes and set off again.
I was intrigued by the fact that Emmeline talked about her journey as a 'pilgrimage'. She could have 'marched' or 'trekked' for water rights, but she had chosen to call her journey a 'pilgrimage'. The VoW website reveals that:
'A deeper message behind the pilgrimage, and another core focus on VoW, is one of reconnection with the waters we all come from. This our ancient ancestors knew, honouring water bodies as entities, flowing beings, reflected in stories, beliefs, and sacred traditions.'
We were walking on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1st September. In his
letter for the Day Pope Leo wrote:
‘Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain. As a result, God’s creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources. We see this in agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines, “scorched earth” policies, conflicts over water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes the poorer nations and undermines social stability itself.’
2025 is the 10th Anniversary of
Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for our common home. The title comes from St Francis’ Canticle
Laudato si’, mi’ Signore
–
Praise be to you, my Lord in which St Francis reminds us that the Earth, our common home, is like a mother who sustains us. He calls water our ‘Sister’.
The Canticle of the Sun
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessings.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures;
especially Brother Sun, who is the day, and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night;
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks,
and serve Him with great humility.
Amen.
Eight hundred years ago St Francis did poetically what
Voices of Water aim for legally: he prayed that creation be regarded personally.
Later in his letter for the World Day of Creation Pope Leo wrote:
‘In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.
Now is the time to follow words with deeds.’
Emmeline is certainly following her words with deeds through her epic pilgrimage!
If you would like to know more watch Emmeline’s recent reel on Instagram
here.
If you want to support the VoW petition you can do so
here.
