How a pilgrimage changed my life

05/06/2025

Karen Dean, (pictured) describes her 'life changing' pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Karen's testimony

“Life was awful before coming to faith”, Karen recalls. “When I first came to St James and Emmanuel in 2018, I had struggled with addiction for 32 years. I tried treatment, but it failed, and then one day I came to church and it felt like they were speaking to me about my experience.”

Karen’s faith journey started there, and a pivotal moment came when the Rev Lisa Battye, Vicar of St James’ at the time, arranged for her to attend a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham.

“We went down to Walsingham, and the experience I had was life-changing”, Karen says. “I can’t explain it - I started crying while I was there, and God reassured me that it was going to be alright.”

After this, Karen started attending church regularly and was embraced by the church community. “The Rev Nick Bundock, now Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway, had a big influence on my journey”, she says.

“His preaching and compassion helped me a lot. Nick, Lisa and Steven Penny (Reader at St James and Emmanuel and Karen’s mentor) all bring God to life in a way that is understandable.”

Today, Karen sits on the Parochial Church Council, runs various church groups and is in St James’ choir. She recently took part in the Diocese of Manchester’s Foundations for Ministry course and is discerning her calling to ordination.

Karen hopes that through her experiences, she can help others battling addiction. “If I had to give advice to someone in the position that I was in, I would say seek help, pray, go to church, and don’t suffer alone. I’ve learned that we need each other; God wants us all to be together.”