Vicar’s pilgrimage raises £1,000 for families in Ukraine and Spen

Rev Brunel James, together with Dr Alex Bunn and Rev Greg Downes, walked 215km across the country to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.

The group started the pilgrimage on March 22, returning on April 1 - praying for peace in Europe as they walked.

Rev James said: “It was a really positive experience.

“It was also quite an exciting experience because you are moving through beautiful landscapes and there is always something new to see - that gives you the strength to go on.

“There was one amazing moment where we bumped into a group of people who had come from different places in Latin America such as Peru and Columbia.

“They were having a big picnic meal on the roof and they invited us to join them.

“Greg then started giving a testimony, talking about his faith journey and one of them was translating it.

“It was amazing how you can be complete strangers from different countries from all over the world, but you can still understand each other and have a spiritual prayer experience - It was a really powerful experience for everyone.”

The pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain is more than 1,000 years old with many different routes.

The walk that the trio embarked on was the Camino Frances, a route from France.

Rev James said: “There is a whole network of routes over the whole of Europe.

“To me it is a symbol of how things should be, where everyone is peacefully able to travel, come together and pray, with something in common.

“It is a positive symbol of what Europe should be instead of what is happening with this war in Ukraine.

“But also people are responding from all over Europe, showing a unity in response - which we have to hold together.”

The pilgrimage has raised more than £1,000 so far, with the majority of the money being donated to the Church of England, which has a presence across Europe and is working with refugees in lots of different Eastern European countries.

Some of the money will also be kept locally for any families who get placed in Kirklees, so they can be supported by the church directly.

Rev James added: “A really big thank you to the people who have donated so far.

“We also want to thank people for praying for us - that really drove us on.”

Donations can still 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 in Cleckheaton 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).