Quoted from a letter to the Prime Minister signed by Faith leaders including the President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference
It is the urgent, moral responsibility of the Prime Minister to ensure that people on the lowest incomes have enough to live in the months ahead. Spiralling costs are affecting everyone, but for those who were already fighting to keep their heads above water, this winter’s challenges will be a matter of life and death.”
As Jim says, I share..
Words by Jim Burklo
(Use freely, with attribution)
Tune: O Waly Waly (Welsh folk tune) — also known as The Water Is Wide (listen to James Taylor’s performance of it)
Alternative tune:“Jerusalem” – an unofficial anthem of England
For deeper love we share the bread
I won’t be full till all are fed
Till every soul has home and bed
The rest of us can’t move ahead
For deeper love we share the wine
I cannot taste the love divine
Till every soul has walked the line
And you’ve had yours as I’ve had mine
Now Mary sings her birthing song
Till every voice can sing along
And voices weak will rise up strong
Her choir is one where all belong
No one’s saved till all are healed
As Jesus on the Mount revealed
Your life and mine forever sealed
Just like the lilies of the field
We follow where the Christ has led
To table that for all is spread
And no one’s sitting at the head
But deeper love in wine and bread….
JIM BURKLO
Loving our Neighbours at a time of Harvest
We are fortunate in this Country to either live in the countryside or to be relatively near to it – farming country. And now is the season of Harvest Festivals. This coming Sunday some of the Lectionary readings contain the following words:
From Amos – 6:4 Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;
6:5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;
6:6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
And from Luke – 16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
16:20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores…
We are bid, in the midst of our harvest celebrations, to love our neighbours. The hymn reflects…
1 If we claim to love our neighbours
while the hungry queue for food,
are we prey to self-deception?
Is perception quite so crude?
If we sit beside our neighbours,
begging for the things they need,
we might share their own injustice
in a world that thrives on greed.
2 If we punish those with nothing,
blaming them for where they stand,
is this love of friend or neighbour,
do we still not understand?
Love of neighbour is not easy,
cuts us till we feel the pain,
sharing hurt that they are feeling
till they find new life again.
3 Love of neighbour sets us squarely
in the place where they now sit,
till the richness God has given
builds a pearl around the grit;
till each person shares the comfort
of the love of which we preach,
till we live as fact the Gospel:
none can be beyond love’s reach.
Andrew E Pratt – From More Than Hymns published Stainer & Bell Ltd., 2015.
Words © 2015 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 7 8 7 D Tune: BETHANY (Smart)
Sunday Night Live – A Nation Mourns – Premier Radio with Pam Rhodes
Here’s the link for a special edition of SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE – https://youtu.be/q_C9fsVgyb0
Includes a reading of A hymn on the death of Queen Elizabeth – Once a woman heard a message
This hymn reflects on the lectionary Gospel reading for this coming Sunday – Luke 16:1-13
People that manage, manipulate markets,
using their skills just to maximise gain.
This is the focus that holds their attention,
working for profit, their purpose is plain.
Stewards work hard for their own satisfaction,
building on networks of interest and need,
moulding, with passion, each new situation,
earning is motive and profit is creed.
How single-minded is our Christian service?
Can we see Christ there in poverty's face?
What is our vision, our main motivation,
selfish enhancement, or self-giving grace.
© Andrew Pratt 3/9/2013 Please include on your CCL return
Words © 2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Tunes: STEWARDSHIP; LIEBSTER IMMANUEL, ST NINIAN (Dykes)
Metre: 11.10.11.10
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