Feature Stories
In one week, we begin our pilgrimage – here’s how to support and follow us
On Wednesday, June 18, Bishop Hughes and 41 pilgrims will embark on the culminating event of the Diocese of Newark’s 150th Anniversary celebration with a powerful pilgrimage through Alabama. We will retrace the history of slavery and the brave souls who fought for civil rights, examining together what this means for our spiritual lives.
In preparation for this journey, we gathered on May 27 and June 5 to begin to build our pilgrimage community and to learn how to care for each other as we connect with this painful time in the history of this country. As we have said many times this is not a tour but rather an opportunity to learn, to examine our own lives as we walk in the footsteps of so many who struggled, fought, and died in acts of civil disobedience to gain basic civil rights. As pilgrims journeying in community, we support one another in the transformation of our souls’ inner landscapes and are invited by God to live more authentically as Christians and members of our communities.
We invite you, our diocesan family, to support us throughout our pilgrimage by praying for us daily as we are visiting sites of the civil rights movement and engaging in our own prayer, meditation, and reflection. We hope you will begin each day with the following prayer, adapted from an Episcopal Litany for Social Justice:
Siblings: God commands us through Jesus Christ to love one another. In baptism, we promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves and to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being. Let us now honor those vows as we prepare for this sacred journey and for the needs of others throughout our country and the world. We pray for continued blessings on all peacemakers, on leaders who value peace, and on everyone who promotes nonviolent solutions to conflict. We pray for a speedy end to all violence and warfare around the world. Amen.
Additional prayers you can pray to support the pilgrims, as well as instructions for how to follow our journey online through social media, will be posted on a special page on the diocesan website. The link to this page will be shared with all subscribers of The VOICE Online via an email that will be sent the morning of June 18, the day we pilgrims begin our journey. Watch for it, and join us both online and in spirit!
