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In this eleventh, penultimate, week of our pilgrimage, we pass through Oxford and Gloucester, places rooted in tradition, yet where change is present. We contemplate the roots of our own faith and how they can sustain us but not hold us back as we move forward in our ever-changing lives.
As you walk this week, think about how your faith has helped you in everyday experiences. Reflect on how your faith has changed because of those experiences, leading you to new understanding.
Offer prayers for strength and courage to persevere and grow in your faith as you walk through life. Ask how you might seek justice and truth that is rooted your faith.
This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
God of all, you give us each the ability to be in a relationship with you: May we seek to find you in our faith, always seeking your help to understand and to change. Amen.
Psalm 18: 1-2, 25-30
I love you, O Lord my strength,
O Lord my stronghold, my crag and my haven.
My God, my rock in whom I put my trust,
my shield, the horn of my salvation and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.
With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God;
with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
With the pure you show yourself pure,
but with the crooked you are wily.
You will save a lowly people,
but you will humble the haughty eyes.
O Lord, you are my lamp;
my God, you make my darkness bright.
With you I will break down an enclosure;
with your help I will scale any wall.
As for you, O God, your ways are perfect;
the words of the Lord are tried in the fire;
you are a shield to all who trust in you.
silence
Loving One, we hold fast to you.
Help us to understand and grow in our faith so that we may become the leaven of your justice and truth in our families, communities, and the world.
offer your thanksgivings and intercessions.
I pray in the name of Jesus, with the words he gave us:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.