Bishop Mark led a group of clergy bikers on a ride across part of the boundary of the diocese, recreating an old medieval tradition called 'Beating the Bounds' which involved praying for protection, praying for the crops, and also giving thanks to God for the animals and for the children who had been born.
Eight other bikers accompanied Bishop Mark on the ride. Together they are known as 'The Sons Of Jehu (pronounced 'Yayhoo')". The name is taken from the following Bible passage:
2 Kings 9:20
New International Version
20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”
The ride took place on Friday 14 July starting at the westernmost point in the diocese in the parish of Higher Kinnerton, one of ten Welsh parishes that form part of the Diocese of Chester. From there they rode up the Wiiral where they prayed for the Golf Open and visited a school where they spoke about road safety. And then it was on to lunch at Foxhill, in Frodhsham. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the afternoon took a turn for the worse, with heavy rain and thunderstorms, so it was decided to cut the ride short for safety reasons.
The plan is to ride the boundary of the whole of the diocese over the course of the next three years, for a day each year, covering a third of the diocese each time.
Bishop Mark was interviewed about his Boundary ride on BBC Radio Merseyside on the Sunday morning show 'Daybreak with Paul Beesley' The full show is available to listen to on BBC Sounds for a limited time, but Mark's interview can be heard below.