During this season of Lent we invite you to connect the practices of prayer, reflection and discussion with our life in worship together. Each week in worship, the Pastors’ sermons will explore themes generated by the content and history of African American Spirituals, each paired with a companioning Biblical text. Below are lyrics, music, scripture and reflection questions so that you might as an individual, family or small group continue to be shaped by God through the Spirituals, the scriptures and prayer.
The Music and Lyrics
Guide My Feet
Guide my feet while I run this race,
Guide my feet while I run this race,
Guide my feet while I run this race,
For I don’t want to run this race in vain!
Hold my hand while I run this race,
Hold my hand while I run this race,
Hold my hand while I run this race,
For I don’t want to run this race in vain!
Stand by me while I run this race,
Stand by me while I run this race,
Stand by me while I run this race,
For I don’t want to run this race in vain!
One scriptural source for Guide My Feet is found in Hebrews 12:1-2 – “And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” This tune dates back to before 1900, and was harmonized about 40 years ago by Wendell Phillips Whalum.
Listen below to an arrangement of Guide My Feet by composer Jacqueline Hairston (b. 1938 in Charlotte, NC), a graduate of the Julliard School of Music, Howard University, and Columbia University. This arrangement was done in tribute to Leontyne Price.
Sunday, March, 9 2014 – 11:00 am service
Billy Wayne Coakley, tenor and Gabriel D’Abruzzo, piano
The Scripture
The Reflection
Week One – Walk of Faith
As you begin this week, reflect upon your walk of faith, knowing that no one’s journey ever looks the same.
Reflect:
- What has your walk of faith looked like? What words might you use to describe it? What have you learned about God or yourself along your journey?
- Have you had any companions on your walk of faith? Who has had an influence on your faith journey?
- Where does your walk of faith intersect with the needs of others? With those you have known? With those who are strangers?
Act:
- Take a walk around your neighborhood – as an individual or with your friends or family – and pray for the people in your neighborhood. Pray for the students in your schools, any businesses you pass, the needs of your neighbors. If you are unable to walk – or would like to extend this action beyond your immediate community – pray for those you pass by on a route you commonly travel, by bus or by car.
- Pray for your household. Pray in each room, for the needs of each person who lives there, for those who have been a part of your household, for friends who visit.