The Rt Rev Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and his colleague the Rt Rev Dr Mike Harrison, Bishop of Dunwich, invited the public to walk with them during their 10-day Lent Pilgrimage around the county.
They have been covering 80 miles on foot on a route from the west of the county, meeting people from all walks of life in a bid to discover what are today’s issues locally.
Bishop’s Martin and Mike started at St Stephen’s Church, Bures, and will finish on March 29 at St Edmundsbury Cathedral at Bury St Edmunds.
Each day starts and ends at a church and their aim is to spend time with people while walking at a leisurely pace, hoping farmers, villagers and people of all ages will accompany them, even if it is only for a couple of miles.
Bishop Martin said: “This will put us in touch with people and communities with far more time and being able to have conversations that don’t have an agenda to them.
“We are not turning up to a meeting, but we are meeting people and listening, so we hope to learn a whole lot more about how as Christians we can make a difference to others lives in Suffolk and also build on the excellent voluntary work that flourishes in our county.
“One of the things we noticed on last year’s pilgrimage around east Suffolk is that you have a different quality of conversation than if you were sitting facing one another.
“We are looking forward to seeing the enterprise and vitality that enables our Suffolk communities to thrive and the individuals that allow them to grow.”
Bishop Mike said: “A key role for a bishop is to be out and about meeting people and there’s no better way than to travel by foot, meeting everyone at grass roots level with the added bonus of taking in the Suffolk scenery.”
Their route includes visits to community projects, schools, businesses, a military base and prison and they are visiting Sudbury, Kentwell Hall, Cavendish, Kedington, Little Thurlow, Newmarket, Exning, Worlington, Mildenhall, Icklingham and Fornham.
A detailed itinerary for the Bishops walk around west Suffolk can be found online at the Church of England website.
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