{"id":18254,"date":"2024-08-24T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T23:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/?p=18254"},"modified":"2024-08-19T20:44:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T19:44:43","slug":"prayer-for-the-week-24th-august-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/2024\/08\/24\/prayer-for-the-week-24th-august-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer for the Week – 24th August 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prayer for the Week 24 August 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read Exodus 23:16 and Hebrews 11:8-16<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pilgrims on the Way<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is harvest-time on our farm, the barley has been cut and gathered and we are now in the middle of the wheat harvest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Exodus 23:16<\/strong><\/p>\n

You are to celebrate the pilgrim-feast of Harvest, with the first fruits of your work in sowing the land, and the pilgrim-feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather the fruits of your work in from the land<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n

You probably, like me, love harvest festivals but I hadn\u2019t thought of harvest as a pilgrim-feast before, until I read this verse.<\/p>\n

I suggest you read the Hebrews reading now if you haven\u2019t already.\u00a0 Abraham set out and obeyed God\u2019s call, he became a pilgrim seeking the kingdom God had promised him, a better country, a heavenly one.<\/p>\n

In my very early days of being a part of MWiB, I discovered pilgrimage through Jill Baker when I joined her and others on a pilgrimage to Lindisfarne. I was so taken with that experience six years later I signed up for the Scottish pilgrimage with Jill to the Isle of Whithorn and St Ninian\u2019s cave.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now in my own area we have the newly developed Northern Saints Trails (www.northernsaints.com). There are six in total, five routes lead to Durham Cathedral, and to date I have walked sections of four of them with friends from Darlington and Newcastle Districts. I even discovered on a recent pilgrimage when I reached Finchdale Priory that I was at the start of the Camino Ingles, the English section of the route to Santiago de Compostela.\u00a0 I promptly produced my Pilgrim\u2019s Passport and had it stamped!\u00a0 Camino to Santiago de Compostela is on my bucket list, whether I ever get there is another story.\u00a0 However, when a group of us were visiting Porto in June for the European Area Seminar, during a sightseeing trip we discovered beneath our feet a brass scallop shell as we crossed the bridge over the Tamega river at Amarante.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Unbeknown to us we were on the Portuguese Atlantic route to Santiago de Compostela!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Just across the fields and the river Tees I can see the start of the \u2018Way of Life\u2019 at St Mary\u2019s Parish Church, Gainford. The \u2018Way of Life\u2019, an evocative name. So, what do we think of when we consider pilgrimage?\u00a0 A journey to a sacred, holy place perhaps alone, or with other travellers.\u00a0 Abraham was the first pilgrim in the Bible leading a nomadic tribe towards the promised land.\u00a0 Might we think of ourselves as Christians, temporary dwellers, strangers and pilgrims on the earth, each striving to follow Jesus on the way to God\u2019s heavenly kingdom?<\/p>\n

We are God\u2019s harvest, called to be his co-workers helping gather.\u00a0 We are pilgrims on a journey, and companions on the road; we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The scallop shell is the symbol of pilgrimage and a symbol of unity, its radiating lines symbolizing the various routes we take as pilgrims, all of which converge at the same spiritual destination.<\/p>\n

The scallop shell is also a symbol of baptism and re-birth, the transformation of each pilgrim as they travel along their Christian journey seeking to be more like Jesus. When we sing to God in heaven we shall find such harmony, born of all we\u2019ve known together of Christ\u2019s love and agony.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please use this song from Singing the Faith Plus as your Prayer for the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

God who sets us on a journey (website only)<\/strong><\/p>\n

God who sets us on a journey<\/p>\n

to discover, dream and grow,<\/p>\n

lead us as you led your people<\/p>\n

in the desert long ago;<\/p>\n

journey inward, journey outward,<\/p>\n

stir the spirit, stretch the mind,<\/p>\n

love for God and self and neighbour<\/p>\n

marks the way that Christ defined.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exploration brings new insights,<\/p>\n

changes, choices we must face;<\/p>\n

give us wisdom in deciding,<\/p>\n

mindful always of your grace;<\/p>\n

should we stumble, lose our bearings,<\/p>\n

find it hard to know what\u2019s right,<\/p>\n

we regain our true direction<\/p>\n

focused on the Jesus light.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

End our longing for the old days,<\/p>\n

grant the vision that we lack \u2013<\/p>\n

once we\u2019ve started on this journey<\/p>\n

there can be no turning back;<\/p>\n

let us travel light, discarding<\/p>\n

excess baggage from our past,<\/p>\n

cherish only what\u2019s essential,<\/p>\n

choosing treasure that will last.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When we set up camp and settle<\/p>\n

to avoid love\u2019s risk and pain,<\/p>\n

you disturb complacent comfort,<\/p>\n

pull the tent pegs up again;<\/p>\n

keep us travelling in the knowledge<\/p>\n

you are always at our side;<\/p>\n

give us courage for the journey,<\/p>\n

Christ our goal and Christ our guide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Words: Joy Dine (1937 \u2013 2001) \u00a9 Revd Mervyn Dine. Reproduced with permission; available for reproduction for the purposes of worship.<\/p>\n

Metre: 87.87.D<\/p>\n

Suggested tunes: \u201cHyfrydol\u201d (StF 103) was Joy Dine\u2019s preferred tune for this text. Also appropriate are \u201cBlaenwern\u201d (StF 503) and \u201cAustria\u201d (StF 301), both familiar to many congregations, However, for a tune that seems to better reflect the anticipation and energy of the journey, try \u201cJesus Calls Us\u201d (StF 28) \u2013 sometimes known as \u201cLewis Folk Melody\u201d<\/p>\n

Debs Coggrave is Area Trustee for Darlington, Newcastle & Cumbria<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prayer for the Week 24 August 2024 Read Exodus 23:16 and Hebrews 11:8-16 Pilgrims on the Way It is harvest-time on our farm, the barley has been cut and gathered and we are now in the middle of the wheat harvest. Exodus 23:16 You are to celebrate the pilgrim-feast of Harvest, with the first fruits of your work in sowing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer-for-the-week"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 06:26:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwib.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}