Rogation Sunday

The fifth Sunday after Easter is known as Rogation Sunday, a date that varies from year to year, and in England has been the time for an ancient custom to be observed, that of beating the bounds .

The tradition dates back to Anglo-Saxon times and often a parish feast was held after the perambulation, so assuring its popularity and during the reign of Henry VIII, the occasion had become an excuse for so much revelry that it attracted the condemnation of a preacher who declared "these solemne and accustomable processions and supplications be nowe growen into a right foule and detestable abuse."

Beating the bounds also had a religious side and the practice originated the term Rogation, the accompanying clergy being supposed to beseech [rogare] the divine blessing upon the parish lands for the ensuing harvest. Although modern surveying techniques now make the ceremony obsolete in any practical sense, many English parishes still carry out a regular beating of the bounds as a way of strengthening the community and giving it a sense of place.

The custom had died out in Bourne until 2010 when it was revived by the Rev Peter Lister, newly appointed assistant curate, and was again observed two years later when churchgoers joined the walk on Sunday 13th May 2012. Traditionally, the route would encircle the entire parish but Bourne has now grown so large that this would be a time consuming task and so the walkers confined their outing to the northern boundary, blessing the crops and livestock en route.

"It is a walk with a purpose", said Mr Lister, "because we pause at particular points to pray for God's blessing. Rogation connects our spiritual life to the land and helps us recognise how precarious are the livelihoods of the people who depend on it in the rural area."

WRITTEN MAY 2012