Last Sunday Ros Chatburn placed a whip on our Lenten cross symbolising Christ’s humiliation by Pontius Pilate and read from Isaiah 53: he endured the suffering that should have been ours. Our service was led by Ian White who focused on the hymns of Fred Kaan. Born in the Netherlands his hymns, with themes of peace, justice and pastoral care, reflect his family’s suffering under the Nazis. He served in the Midlands as a minister in the United Reformed Church.
We sang God whose love is all around us. Chris Keeling led prayers of thanks for music’s power to transcend our worship and read to us from John 4, Jesus’ encounter at a well with a Samaritan woman. Ian reflected on this well known passage drawing attention to the importance of personal engagement with a stranger through a conversation in which the woman misunderstood Jesus’ words at first but eventually recognised him as the Messiah. We sang Put peace into each other’s hands. Christ and peace are precious and to be shared.
While the offering was taken up we read God! As with silent hearts we bring to mind how hate and war diminish mankind. Chris led prayers of intercession calling “reach in love” as we responded “put a song of joy into their hearts.” Finally we sang As the glory of creation.