Beating the Bounds

This is a free event and all are welcome, but please note that we will be walking, with breaks, for two hours, and a moderate level of physical fitness and mobility is required.

Though most of us live outside the Parish, our church is in the centre of the great city of Sydney, amidst the parliament, law courts, libraries, galleries, workplaces and shops. The streets we walk are shared with workers, shoppers, tourists and those who sleep rough. 

Each year we walk the bounds of the parish, stopping to pray for our city and its people, remembering that God’s redemptive purposes encompass not just our church but the whole of creation. The 'beating of Parish bounds' has a long history in the Church of England, helping to allocate burial rights and determine taxation levels, but as the authorities walked they also prayed for divine blessing upon the harvest. In inner Sydney, there is little in the way of a grain harvest to bless. We pray rather for the fruitfulness of all endeavours in our city. 

Please join us at 2pm outside St James’ Church on Sunday 18th October, and bring a stick or bush to help with the beating. All are invited to proceed afterwards to a local tavern (details tba).