01/09/25 – Reflections from Matthew Neville, before he embarks on the Peace Pilgrimage.

I am writing this in the garden of Oxford Quaker Meeting House, right in the centre of the city, it’s a beautiful oasis of calm surrounded by the busy-ness of ordinary life.

This little oasis is the starting place for the Peace Pilgrimage, a seven day walking journey from here in Oxford to the EXCEL centre in London. Beginning from this beautiful place of peace, we’re walking toward a place which is the very opposite of peace.

Tomorrow morning we set off.

Over the next few days we’ll be hearing a lot about way of violence and war which will inevitably disseminate  from DSEI into the lives of people all across the world.

So sat here, at the beginning, in a place of peace, I feel a sense of uneasy contradiction. 

For the Catholic church 2025 is a Holy Year, Pope Francis has given us the theme “Pilgrims of Hope”, it is in that spirit that we step out. As pilgrims, searching for hope in the face of the enormous evil of militarism.

It’s very easy to feel discouraged, what difference can our small, seemingly insignificant, witness to peace make?

At a previous arms fair I remember one response to that question, which was that our role is to go the place of evil and to pray there. Or put another way: our role is to go to the place of evil and very gently remind them of the presence of God, and in that way to proclaim the gospel of Hope.

Stepping out tomorrow, I step out with that as our task. 

Over the coming days we will walk slowly towards that place of evil, as we go we prepare ourselves to be that presence of God. 

I am hesitant to make the comparison to Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem. Of course what we’re doing is very little in comparison to that. We’re well equipped, in no real danger, certainly not in the shadow of any personal threat. Yet, I do step out in something of that spirit.

A journey of engagement, challenging the powers of violence and death. The big powers of the multinational arms trade, the powerful leaders, those who benefit financially of this trade in death.

And a journey of engagement, challenging myself, my own complicity; digging deeply into my comfortable compromises, my weakness. A journey of repentance perhaps.

At the heart of all of this we need to hang on to that which sustains, 

Deep deep love. 

Underneath all the messiness of mine, and all my fellow pilgrims’ lives; we seek to make our pilgrimage motivated by love. 

Tomorrow we step out as Pilgrims of Hope. 

Hope that there can be a world beyond violence, destruction and war.

Hope that our simple act of love will in some way make a difference.

And hope that we (and our feet) will be equal to the challenge.