Welcome to the Pilgrimage of Prayer  ~
Day 8 of a 40-day journey of prayer leading us to General Council 42.

As the commissioners to GC42 prepare to make a physical pilgrimage to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, we invite the entire United Church of Canada into a prayer pilgrimage.

This is the eighth day of 40 days we will pray together. The following prayers have been prayed, written, and shared with us as a daily prayer practice. As you pray each day, please hold in your heart our whole United Church. Think of the power of all of us praying together. So “May it be so.” Amen.
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You are invited to say the following prayer out loud each day in the 40 days of the Prayer Pilgrimage leading up to General Council 42, along with the specific prayer for the day. We also invite you to pray this prayer during each day of General Council.

Pilgrim Prayer

May I love this day and all that it brings
The dust, stones or mud beneath my feet
The air I breathe, food I eat, water I drink

May I open my heart to mysteries along the way
Greet fellow pilgrims with welcome and grace
Move lightly and simply through the day

May I give thanks for the Earth, our fragile home
For all my relations who have gone before me
And for all who will follow… I am not alone

May the spirit and blessing of the One who is love
– Holy One among us, all around us, and within us –
Be with me today, and surround me with love

Allison Rennie and Diane Ransom, Naramata, B.C. Created in 2010 by Allison Rennie and Diane Ransom and said aloud each day while walking the Camino de Santiago.

Week 2 ~ Prayer for Day 8 – Monday, July 6

I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. -Isaiah 43:15-21 (NRSV)

Behind me I leave a path of shadows.
I walk apart from it and into your magnificent light, towards the horizon, oh God.
I see your gracious arms leading me back from astray.
No longer shall I weep tears of yesterday but smile in joys of today.
I have journeyed from great tragedies and struggles, faced deceit and loss, anger and death. And in the quiet of my devastation I saw you, oh God.
I saw you in all beautiful things among this world and remained in awe at your wonder.
I shall not thirst, I shall not starve, I shall not doubt for my god is good.
And, as rivers are provided to the deer and food for the birds,
you will meet my needs all in good time.
So praise to you,
my setting sun and rising morn,
my quiet afternoons and content nights.
In peace shall your name be spoken. Amen.

Siobhan Browning, Trinity United, London, Ont.

Photo: Allie Caulfield, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)