On 11 Sept 2016, Fr Jonathan together with 11 parishioners representing 3 generations of St Columba’s and St Theresa’s parishes, revived the tradition of walking to the nearby well of St Plegmund. It was a lovely warm sunny day for the 3.6 mile walk which is now mostly along the Millennium Greenway. We said prayers at the well and were then welcomed with tea and chocolate biscuits by Mike, the verger to St Peter’s at Plemstall where we were impressed by the carvings mostly done by the Rev Toogood in the last century. There followed a picnic in the historic graveyard before a leisurely walk back to St Columba’s.
St Plegmund lived on an island in the marshes to the east of Chester in the late 800s until he was persuaded by King Alfred the Great to become his spiritual adviser, and later to accept the Archbishopric of Canterbury (AD 890-914). He was an immediate success in those turbulent days of the Danish invasions. He travelled to Rome twice to be confirmed in office by the Pope, and set about the reorganisation of many diocesan sees.
A forgotten saint? This link takes you to an article about St Plegmund on the Diocese of Shrewsbury website.
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