Over 200 churches. Ten regions. 500 miles. On Saturday 5 September, the Congregational Federation’s year-long walk marking 500 years since the first printing of the English New Testament reached its finish line at North Nibley, Gloucestershire — the village where William Tyndale is believed to have been born, beneath the monument built in his memory (pictured above).
Over 50 people from congregational churches and ecumenical friends walked up to the Tyndale monument in glorious sunshine to mark this final event. One of our Ministers led Informal worship at the top which included singing “I will walk 500 miles” with a slight word change by another Congregational Minister. More than 80 people gathered at the chapel for worship, testimony and singing. We then all enjoyed some hot food and fellowship together.
The walk began small. Following the Congregational Federation’s National Assembly in Sheffield, I led a short walk that unknowingly kicked off a nationwide effort. Each of the Congregational Federation’s 10 areas was invited to notch up 50 miles between them — however their churches chose to do it. Some kept it modest: Southam church covered 6 miles. Others went further: a minister in the Eastern Area walked 59 miles from Felixstowe to Wivenhoe over four days, our Youth Ambassador and his friend walked 10 miles round the Bosworth Trail in Leicestershire, and members of the South West Midlands Area traced the 28-mile Tyndale Trail from Bristol to South Gloucestershire in stages. Added together, church by church, mile by mile, the total reached 500 — one for every year since Tyndale’s New Testament first reached English readers.
The walkers carried a specially produced booklet — combining a short history of Tyndale, the story behind the walk, information about the Congregational Federation, and a copy of the Gospel of Mark — and handed it to people they met en route. More than 2500 booklets were given away to passers-by.
North Nibley, where the Congregational Chapel is one of our member churches, was a fitting place to finish. Tyndale is thought to have been born within a few miles of North Nibley around 1494. Determined that ordinary people — not only clergy — should be able to read the Bible for themselves, he left England to complete his translation abroad, working directly from Greek and Hebrew. His New Testament, printed in 1526, was smuggled back into England and swiftly burned by the authorities who saw it as a threat. Tyndale himself was betrayed a decade later and executed near Brussels — but his words endured, shaping the King James Bible and the English language itself.
The response to this project has been incredible, as churches and areas have come together to walk and to share the good news of Jesus with people they have met along the way. This project has brought joy and celebration and a new sense of revival.
Find out more about the Congregational Federation.
Photo credits: Congregational Federation