Vicar's 215km pilgrimage to raise funds for families in Ukraine and Spen

Rev Brunel James, together with Dr Alex Bunn and Rev Greg Downes, will be walking 215km across northern Spain to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.

The group will be praying for peace in Europe, and specifically that some kind of ceasefire may be in place in Ukraine by the time they reach the end of their journey on April 1.

Rev James said: "This shared tradition of pilgrimage speaks of a Europe at peace, and united in prayer, and inspires us all to hope and pray for better things.

"If you would like to join us in prayer, we will be stopping each day wherever we are on our journey at noon (GMT) and broadcasting on Facebook - ‘Churches Together in Cleckheaton’."

The walkers are fundraising for St John the Evangelist Church Cleckheaton’s Family and Children’s Fund, which they use for work across the Benefice of Cleckheaton.

Rev James added: "We would like to send donations to the churches working with refugees close to Ukraine and also support any Ukrainian refugees who get placed in the Spen Valley.

"If anyone locally is considering signing up with the Government to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, please be assured that we would be able to support these efforts as church communities."

Donations can be made via the Justgiving page - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/brunel-james

Sponsor forms are available at the back of St John's Church and donations can also be made directly to the church's bank account via the following details: account number 30348840, sort code 05-03-73. The account name is Cleckheaton St John's Church (charity number 1134821).