Throughout Autumn, Bishop Martin will be journeying around the diocese in a pilgrimage of prayer and hope, spending two days in each of our deaneries and visiting as many churches as possible. His pilgrimage started in Worcester Cathedral, where he was blessed by Bishop John.
Bishop Martin said: “I was very struck when, at the height of the pandemic, a member of the clergy said how sad he was that his font had been dry over the last year. I have really missed the sacraments, and this pilgrimage is an opportunity for me to bless our churches – both the buildings and the people - as the living waters of grace flow again.”
On each of his two days in a deanery, Bishop Martin will visit at least six churches to say a simple prayer of blessing over their fonts. He will walk between some churches and visit others by car. Each day he will say morning, midday and evening prayer in three of the churches and people are welcome to join him there.
“On one of the days, we’ll be having a slightly bigger prayer service for the deanery. I know one deanery is planning a confirmation service while another will host a deanery praise celebration. I’ll answer any questions that people may have, and it will be a chance for us to come together and pray for all that we’ve been through during the pandemic and for the future as things begin to ease.”
Join Bishop Martin’s pilgrimage of prayer and hope (more details will be posted here as they are available):
- Worcester Deanery – Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 September - download full itinerary
- Redditch and Bromsgrove – Sunday 3 and Thursday 7 October - download full itinerary
- Kidderminster and Stourport – Sunday 17 and Tuesday 19 October - download full itinerary
- Malvern and Upton – Wednesday 20 October and Thursday 4 November - download full itinerary
- Pershore and Evesham – Thursday 11 and Wednesday 17 November - download full itinerary
- Greater Dudley – Monday 22 and Tuesday 30 November - download full itinerary
Read more about why Bishop Martin is taking on this pilgrimage.
