Lantern procession commemorates 400th anniversary of Mayflower voyage to United States

Residents held a lantern-lit procession at the weekend to commemorate the Mayflower voyage to America and celebrate community, religious freedom and diversity, writes Kit Heren.

Schoolchildren and their parents walked nearly a mile with an array of elaborate lanterns, including birds, a large whale and a teapot, from St Mary’s Churchyard in Rotherhithe to St James’ Church in Bermondsey.

As the area where the Mayflower started its journey, Rotherhithe has particular significance. But Annabel Stockman, organiser of the event, believes that the themes of migration and tolerance are still important to the area today.

She said: “The notion of migration is important as a theme which actually enriches this area, it’s based on migration.

“Very few people here have been rooted here from the beginning, we’re all migrants of sorts. We’re celebrating the idea that we are a very mixed bag of all sorts of people. It’s a transient area which is enriched by the Russians who come, the Poles who come, the Brazilians who come… all sorts of people who are coming.”

The lanterns recall the words of William Bradford, the first governor of Plymouth, the community that the Mayflower settlers created in 1620, fleeing religious persecution. He said: “Just as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many.”

Local people, including community groups and schoolchildren in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, created the lanterns themselves. London artist Frog Morris held workshops to help people build their lanterns.

He said: “There were some really amazing lanterns this year, I was really impressed. I went into a lot of sessions thinking I might need to give people instructions, but they just went off and made all kinds of fantastic stuff, a lot of which was from their own imaginations.

“Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are changing rapidly, and we’ve got lots of different communities in the area, some of which are relatively new, and some who’ve been here for several generations. Events like this are important because they help bridge that gap.”

Canon Gary Jenkins and urban missioner Paul Warren greeted the procession at St James’ Church, Bermondsey.

Gary Jenkins said: “It’s a great community event, a very significant event to commemorate the Pilgrim Fathers going to America. The original voyage was actually about religious liberty, about freedom of worship. They were going from an oppressive regime to a place where they were able to pray. The reasons are ones we can all applaud today.”

Celebrations continued the next day at the Finnish Church in Rotherhithe with an evening of music, poetry and cabaret.

The events in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey were funded by Southwark council, Tideway and United St Saviour’s Church. They were part of a much larger scheme across the UK, the US and the Netherlands, where some of the Mayflower travellers lived for years before going to America.

September 2020 will mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage.