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May we never be silent

O God, just and loving,
May we find a way to speak up
for those who are being brutalised,
ignored or forgotten.
May we be those who speak up for refugees,
May we be those who speak up for the oppressed in Palestine
May we bring support where we can and may we never be silent.

Love is never silent and justice is never silent –
May we find ways to speak up
Especially when our sisters and brothers are asking for our solidarity –

with our voices telling the story.
May we echo the Palestinian Christian “Cry for hope”
And stand against injustice and apartheid –
And stand against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
May we show the love and justice of Jesus
And find ways for our voices to tell the story.

And may the God who dances in creation
Who embraces us with human love
Who shakes our lives like thunder
Bless us and drive us out with power
To fill the world with her justice.

The final paragraph is a blessing from St Hilda’s Community

A song and a prayer for Easter

Song for Easter

Jesus of the Scars

If we have never sought, we seek you now;

Your eyes burn through the dark our only stars;

We must have sight of thorn-marks on your brow,

We must have you, O Jesus of the scars.

The heavens frighten us, they are too calm;

In all the universe we have no place

Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?

Lord Jesus, by your scars we know your grace

O Jesus of the scars we seek you now

We must have sight of the thorn-marks on your brow

We must have you, O Jesus of the scars

The other gods were strong but you were weak;

They rode, but you did stumble to a throne;

But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,

And not a god has wounds but you alone.

music by Garth Hewitt

poem by Edward Shillito, written at the end of the First World War

Prayer for Easter

O God, whether in India, Greece or Bethlehem

Or anywhere else in our global village

Lead us through the wilderness of worry, despair,

Illness, sorrow and suffering

And lead our wounded world to the resurrection of hope.

May we all learn from this world wide virus

That we are all in this together.

So no more violence and war,

No more greed and selfishness –

It is time to support one another

And genuinely love our neighbour as ourself.

Let Nothing Disturb You

Garth tells the background to the song:

“‘Let Nothing Disturb You’ was inspired by some words of Teresa of Avila, also known as St Teresa of Jesus (1515 – 1582). She was a Prioress and Carmelite nun, a central figure in a movement of spiritual and monastic renewal.

And she wrote these words as a poem, translated here:

All things are passing

God alone never changes

Patience gains all things

If you have God

You will want for nothing

God alone suffices

These words were taken by musicians at Taizé and turned into a short four line song – suitable for times of worship, and the song is repeated again and again. Taizé music is beautiful and very suitable for Lent. I heard the Taizé song from friend and guitarist Dave Perry who played it to a group of us one evening – Dave was the guitarist on my new album My Name Is Palestine, which includes this song.

I liked this chorus, and thought that for a song on an album it needed a bit more progression so I wrote three other verses and then a chorus section. The words are picking up on the original theme of Teresa and also Taizé, where again the song is normally sung in Spanish so I end the song with the Spanish words “Nada te turbé”. Read more…