special places

• significance of places of worship

  • people feel closer to god
  • gathering in places of worship encourages believers to love and to do good deeds
  • "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there i am with them"
• pilgrimage

  • a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion
  • faith in action
  • an experience that is likely to deepen or develop spiritual faith
  • sometimes for a specific reason, ie. healing or thanksgiving
• the holy land (place of pilgrimage)

  • the land where jesus lived so people can 'follow in his footsteps'
  • the church of the nativity is a place where pilgrims can feel a sense of closeness to god
  • jerusalem is where jesus spent the last few weeks of his life so pilgrims visit the sites connected with his crucifixion for prayer and reflection
  • all of these are special and help to strengthen their faith
• st david's (place of pilgrimage)

  • at st david's cathedral, a shrine contains st david's bones
  • there is a pilgrimage centre in st david's which offers worship, prayer, hospitality and time to reflect on the life of st david
  • special days with a programme of activities are also available
  • this helps christians strengthen and deepen their personal faith
• bardsey island (place of pilgrimage)

  • there was a christian community on the island from the sixth century and there are remains of a thirteenth century monastery
  • this encourages pilgrims as they consider the many years of christianity in the place
  • this site was important in the middle ages as pilgrimage to the island was considered equivalent to two journeys to rome