In a world often preoccupied with speed, noise and distraction, a unique spiritual journey unfolded across Canada and the United States on April 5 – not along winding roads or across distant borders, but within hearts and souls gathered in prayer. At the invitation of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer (Canada), the Very Rev. Richard Sewell, Dean of St. George’s College, Jerusalem, led people from across North America in a virtual spiritual pilgrimage.
The volunteer-run Anglican Fellowship of Prayer (AFP) is a quiet but vital force in the Church, promoting prayer as a foundational practice for spiritual life. This event, structured in two sessions and centered entirely in prayer, brought participants into a sacred space of reflection and renewal. Hosted online, each 90-minute session was a part of the AFP’s monthly online seminar series, “Let Us Pray.” The resources, including teaching guides, webinars and prayer materials, and the videos from this pilgrimage are freely available at anglicanprayer.org.
The Ven. Paul Feheley, the national director of AFP, welcomed attendees with these words: “As we gather today, we are invited into a pilgrimage – an ancient journey that stretches back through the centuries. This is no ordinary journey. It is a journey of spiritual renewal, a pilgrimage into the tenderness of Christ.”
Unlike traditional pilgrimages that require travel by foot or plane, this spiritual pilgrimage took place in the contemplative stillness of homes, churches and quiet spaces. In many parishes, groups gathered around the computer to share the pilgrimage and its learnings together. Participants were invited to walk inward, not with feet, but with soul, mind and heart.
The virtual event was structured with great intentionality. Each session began and ended in prayer, reinforcing the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer’s central mission to enable and encourage the ministry of prayer. Throughout the day, participants preserved a shared sense of reverence and focus, emphasizing that every moment of the pilgrimage was to be grounded in prayer.
Dean Richard Sewell, the day’s spiritual guide, is no stranger to the transformative power of pilgrimage. As Dean of St. George’s College in Jerusalem, he serves as both a pastoral leader and a steward of spiritual formation for countless pilgrims who visit the Holy Land. With more than two decades of ordained ministry, Dean Sewell brought to the session a deep well of experience, compassion and wisdom rooted in both scripture and life in Jerusalem.
The first video began on the Mount of Olives, with Dean Sewell sharing a vision of the Holy City. He descended the mount to show the Garden of Gethsemane and the gate through which Jesus likely entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In the second video, he led the pilgrims on the Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross within the old city arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where, according to traditions dating back to the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity are: the place where Jesus was crucified and the empty tomb of the resurrection.
Throughout the sessions, Dean Sewell drew from both ancient Christian traditions and his own lived experiences in Jerusalem, offering insights into how prayer shapes identity, mission and the rhythms of daily life. In inviting people to embark on a spiritual journey, he emphasized that pilgrimage is as much about transformation as it is about destination. He spoke tenderly of the inner landscapes that believers must traverse – the valleys of doubt, the mountaintops of joy, and the winding paths of surrender and trust.
“Pilgrimage is about allowing ourselves to be remade by God,” he said. “It is an invitation to open our hearts, to soften the places we’ve hardened and to step forward in faith, even when the way is unclear.”
The day was in every sense, a pilgrimage – a sacred movement of the heart toward God.
Those who participated felt drawn together in what one attendee described as “a communion of longing and belonging.”
As the final prayers of the day echoed across time zones of Canada and the U.S., there was a profound sense that something holy had happened in the hearts of all who had gathered to journey together on the eve of Passiontide.
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