Sunrise in Sparkhill 2

The Birmingham Faith Leaders Group were invited to Sunrise in Sparkhill to lead the crowds in the reading of our faith pledge. Written specially for the event this pledge was inspired by the Olympic aims of ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. We wanted to capture the aspirational element of that simple phrase and adapt it for a faith context. Our hope is that the pledge can be read by people of all faiths, and although it refers to faith we trust that people of no faith can also use it.

At Sunrise in Sparkhill people were given a copy of the pledge and 3 candles of different colours red, white and blue and Bishop David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham encouraged everyone to light these at home, perhaps when watching the Olympics and to recomit to the words of the faith pledge.

We were also jojned by faith leaders from different parts of the city who took candles and pledges back to their areas to be shared with members of their communities.

The pledge reads:
Inspired by the teachings of our faiths, and spurred on by the example of the Olympic athletes may we all seek to be the best we can be.
Increasing our compassion,
Growing in our generosity,
Becoming more hospitable,
Practising greater forgiveness,
Striving together for the good of our communities,
Urging one another on in acts of righteousness
So that we may bring hope and joy, friendship and laughter to enrich the lives of every person who lives in Birmingham

Feel free to use the Sunrise in Sparkhill Faith Pledge yourself and change the place name to your location.