ISLANDERS are being urged to join a pilgrimage to mark the 1,350th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity on the Isle of Wight.

The Island Churches Forum is inviting all churchgoers to mark the occasion by taking part in a pilgrimage walk via a traditional route across the island. Hundreds are expected to take part.

The event, which will take place from July 16-18, will celebrate the coming of the gospel in 661AD, when it is thought that the first evangelists arrived from Sussex.

It will include worship and fellowship on the way. Participants can join in for all or part of the walk, or join the walkers at one of the stopping places on the way.

The Anglican area dean of West Wight, Canon Michael Weaver, who is part of the Island Churches Forum, said: “I hope this celebration will not just be historical but evangelistic. By marking the coming of Christianity to the island 1,350 years ago, I hope we can also show how relevant that faith still is today.

“It’s also a significant occasion for church denominations to be working together across the island. We thought it would be appropriate to have an act of repentance right at the heart of the island for the division between Christians over the years, and also to celebrate the ways that churches do work together in a united service in Carisbrooke.”

Pilgrims will initially gather at 10.30am on July 16 at the Duver at St Helens to await the arrival of a boat bringing a copy of the gospels. After a short service of celebration at 11am on the Green by St Helens church tower, the pilgrims will walk three miles to St Mary’s Church, Brading, with the gospels.

There will be an Anglican Eucharist service at St Mary’s at 1pm, followed by a bring-your-own picnic in the churchyard. The walkers will then set off for St George’s Church, Arreton, where there will be refreshments and a short act of worship at 4.30pm.

On the Sunday (July 17), pilgrims will walk from Arreton to Newport Minster, where they will join in an Act of Repentance for Past Violence and Division. Free church leaders will lead this event in St Thomas’s Square from 12.30pm. After a picnic, the walkers will then head for St Mary’s Church, Carisbrooke, for a Service of Prayer for Christian Unity at 3pm.

On the final day (July 18), pilgrims will meet for prayer in St Mary’s, Carisbrooke at 8am before setting off for the National Trust car park on Lych Lane, Calbourne. At 10.30am there will be an open-air Roman Catholic Mass, and the pilgrims will then set off for Freshwater along the Tennyson Way.

At 1.45pm, they will meet pilgrims coming by boat from Yarmouth for an Enactment of the Coming of St Wilfrid and others with the Gospel. This will happen by the Causeway bridge, and there will be a short act of worship before pilgrims walk to All Saints Church, Freshwater. After a picnic in the churchyard, there will be a final Act of Celebration in All Saints.

Those who would like to join the walks are being encouraged to bring their own food and drink for picnics. Those with limited mobility are invited to join pilgrims at the various stopping points outlined above.

For more details contact Canon Michael Weaver on 01983 753786, or on junovicarage(at)hotmail.com.