All Saints Day in Derry/Londonderry was again marked this year with a pilgrimage in the centre of the city, incorporating six of the main churches here.
Starting at The Salvation Army hall on Carlisle Road, and wending its way to St. Columb's Cathedral, then First Derry and finally Long Tower Church, with a warming cuppa in the nearby primary school, it was a night of fellowship and for some like myself, renewing acquaintances with folk I have not seen in quite a long time.
From a purely personal perspective, I was particularly delighted that the annual churches 'Walk in the Light' event strayed onto Magazine Street. Have you ever noticed how crooked this wee street is compared to the regimented lines of the inner-city streets and the straight edges and angled bastions of the rest of the city's Walls?
First Derry
The photograph attached to this blog is of last night's 'pilgrims' entering First Derry Presbyterian Church - one of the jewels in the crown of the city's rich architectural heritage.
To see close to 150 people at peace with and totally accepting of each other's differences, entering a church that over the course of more than 40 years of political strife and fear that dominated this wee city, which had become for some the focus of hatred, warmed me to the very core.
I look forward to next year's pilgrimage Walk in the Light and to visiting First Derry again.