‘Open up, you gates!

Open wide, you aged doors

And the glorious King will come in.

Who is this glorious King?

The Lord, strong and mighty.’ (Psalm 24:7)

These past 2 weeks have seen us rejoicing with students collecting excellent results. Results that open doors, that release the gates that held them.

University places, College courses, apprenticeships and higher education await them as they see the pathways ahead stretch out in front of them.

Maybe you remember the elation, the joy of seeing doors opened to you and you considered the future looking hopeful and full of promise. We pray for those students – some I spoke to preparing to go to Leicester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Greenwich Universities – for their aspirations, hopes and safety and we celebrate with them.

We also came alongside those students who didn’t get the results they’d hoped for. The doors were only partially opened, the gates to other directions were opened instead. In these moments, we probably all have stories of having to pivot from one direction into something different. We may reflect on the sadness or the anti-climax, the lack of confidence in what comes next and how we might step forward into something we hadn’t dreamed of.

This September we will welcome students and staff back again. We will welcome students and staff afresh.

Some will have planned this step, some will have planned differently. Even those whose plans have been fulfilled may be facing circumstances that has shaken their footing – a health diagnosis, an accident, a life-event, financial or housing problems. We pray for those.

We pray for their safety, their hopes and dreams and the daily tasks that still need to be done.

Let us – regardless of who we are and what we face – roll up our sleeves and face the year ahead with boldness and faith.

Let us – regardless of how life feels at the moment – set our jaws to the task of generously caring for ourselves and those around us with humility and the stamina that comes from God.

Heavenly God,

Open up our eyes to the vision you have for our year ahead.

Set our strength to do the best we can with what we have.

Guard our hearts and minds as we seek to serve and be served in the terms to come.

And reward us with your peace, the joy of your love, and the warmth of your presence in all we do.

Amen