A reflection for Holy Saturday

http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/artcollection/image33.htm

This image is from the Methodist Art Collection. It’s by Graham Sutherland, and was painted in 1947. Deeply touched by the atrocities and suffering of the Holocaust, Sutherland, formerly a landscape artist, painted this striking image.

We don’t like to linger too long at this moment in our story, preferring to rush ahead to the joys of Easter. Yet for many human lives, touched with grief, illness or abuse, this is the moment in which they remain. 

So let us stay here for a while, with Mary and the other women who have traveled from Nazareth, or looking on from afar with the disciples who ran away in fear. Or with Judas and the guilt of betrayal.

This was a political death, an execution, planned by those in authority to silence a potential trouble-maker.
We still hear today stories of torture, oppression, betrayal and violence. Nigeria, Syria, Palestine.

Jesus is dead. All Creation falls silent.
Silence
And yet…somehow…even at this moment… God is there.
Can we in this sad, lonely, confusing and scary moment sense a glimmer of hope?
Hope for those who grieve.
Hope for our violent and broken world.

Even… or perhaps especially…at this moment, He remains Emmanuel, God with us.

A Good Society

Questions to discuss in the run up to a General Election

What makes a Good Society?
What are our responsibilities?
What are the barriers to a good society, and how do we overcome them?

Find a Good Society conversation near you.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1622860677937122

A dedication of loving relationships for Valentine's Day

Leader:
As human beings we are created with desires and a need for companionship,
We have great capacity for love, yet also many failings and frailties.
We bring before today you all our loving relationships.
Those that have flourished, and those that didn't work out,
Those that have just begun, and those that begun long ago,
Those that continue in strength, those beset by adversity,
Those lost to us through death, whose memories are cherished.
Those accepted and blessed by our church, and those who long for such acceptance,
We offer the messy, complex ways of our human loving,
Lead us towards the perfect love for which you have created us.

I invite those who wish to re-dedicate their relationship today, to join hands with each other and join in the following declaration:


People who wish to dedicate their relationship today (P)

P: Before God, in the company of God's people,
I declare that I remain your constant friend and loving partner.
I promise to go on giving you the best of myself.
We pray for the grace to continue our journey alongside one another,
As companions in life's pilgrimage.

Amen

Leader: I invite you now to touch or hold any symbols or tokens of your love (usually wedding and engagement rings.)

Leader: Let us remember the day when these tokens were first exchanged. The hopes and dreams. We offer to you all that has happened in our lives since that day. The joys and the sorrow. The laughter and the tears. As we continue life's journey together, may they remain for us symbols of love and commitment.
P: Amen

All:
Loving God, grant your blessings to all before you today,
May our lives be filled with love,
Our homes be places of warmth and welcome,
May we together build communities of justice and hope.
Amen