Lament & Hope

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By Rev'd Jon Swales as Part of the Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation Course

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A talk given by Rev'd Jon Swales as part of the Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Course. 

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Words and Voice by Rev'd Jon Swales
Music by Santoor and Tabla at Assi Ghat, Varanasi by Samuel Corwin | https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Samuel_Corwin
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A Prayer for Pakistan (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of the Nations,

Words fail to describe the horrors of climate breakdown

Unleashed upon Pakistan.

A photo,

A video,

A screaming child,

A vacant look of disbelief on a parent's face.

But even these are but a window,

A glimpse,

A snapshot,

Of the carnage and catastrophe,

That falls upon millions.

We live in our panelled houses,

Whilst 33 million lives are changed,

184,000 camped out in relief camps.

By extreme floods.

By extreme suffering.

Hundreds dead.

Do you care?

Is heaven silent?

We ask that you calm the raging sea,

But it seems you are absent without leave.

Asleep at the wheel.

In trembling faith,

We ask,

For mercy.

In the fragility of our brokenness,

We plead,

For mercy.

We cling tentatively to the hope and truth that you, 

Really are as beautiful and loving as that which is seen in Jesus.

Let your love be shown,

Let Pakistan hear your voice, saying,

Peace, Be still.

Wake up and set the world to rights.

And yet, we know,

We reap what we sow.

But this is not strictly true.

For we sow injustice and consumerism,

Yet the brown skin nations reap.

We have made our bed in unrestrained capitalism 

But it is the most vulnerable who lie in it.

Those nations who have done the least per person to contribute to climate breakdown,

Are those who suffer the most.

We are hypocrites,

Like sheep who have gone astray,

We call out the shepherd, 'Is he really good?'

Whilst embracing and maintaining economic systems,

That are driven by domination and bring destruction.

Lord, have mercy on Pakistan,

And have mercy on us.

Amen.

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Words and Voice- Jon Swales
Music:  Blue Nights (Royalty Free Music)

A Prayer for the Energy Crisis and Rising Costs (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We lift up to you the energy crisis.

With rising financial costs,

Emotional and social costs increase,

Anxiety and Fear abound. 

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God and Father of our Jesus Christ,

You are the defender of the weak, &

Have compassion for the vulnerable.

Draw close in your comfort and compassion,

To those who choose between food and warmth,

To those who choose between school uniforms or having the lights on.

Draw close in your comfort and compassion,

To those who are fearful as to what winter may bring.

To those in mental anguish as the pressure builds.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

We ask that you would empower and equip your church, to 

Enact hope and embrace compassion,

That with open doors and open hearts,

We may look and love like Jesus within this crisis.

Help us,

To help others,

Empower us,

To embrace others,

Support us,

To speak out.

Comfort us,

To bring comfort.

Bless us,

To be a blessing.

We know, O Lord,

That this crisis is intimately connected,

With the beast of war and in the context of climate and ecological breakdown.

We pray for the cessation of war and the flourishing of peace.

Lord,

Grant wisdom, compassion and courage to those in leadership.

That they may enact justice,

And make decisions that are in line with mercy for the oppressed and love towards the vulnerable.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We lift up to you the energy crisis.

With rising financial costs,

Emotional and social costs increase,

Anxiety and Fear abound. 

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Amen.

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Teaching by Katie Dowds.

Katie Dowds is Senior Pastor at Lighthouse, a Christian community for those who have been battered and bruised by the storms of life. A contemplative activist and passionate communicator, she sits on the Advisory Board at JustLove and has led seminars and performed spoken word poetry at national conferences such as Soul Survivor, Proximity and ISAAC. She really loves Jesus and is hungry to see his Kingdom come.

A sample lecture taken from Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Course.

This dynamic learning environment aims to equip the church to engage the contemporary world in justice, peacemaking and reconciliation. Through a mixture of live lectures, discussion groups and assigned homework, this introductory course will particularly focus on a Christlike and prophetic response to the interrelated issues of climate breakdown, violence and conflict and racial injustice. This course is a partnership between Leeds School of Theology and Lighthouse West Yorkshire following the success of the Mission, Theology & Ministry for the Margins course.

Topics

Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

. The course will be delivered fully online via Zoom, all you need is a device and an internet connection. Each month the online content will consist of a mixture of live-lecturers, pre-recorded video resources, reading material and conversations between tutors and other practitioners working with those on the margins.

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Words by Rev'd Jon Swales
Music from Gavin Luke 'Beyond Imagination' https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2gLylp09Qi/ 

A Lament for the Summer of 2022: Heatwaves, Water Shortages and Forest Fires (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

In the beginning,

The earth was formless and void,

And your Spirit 

Hovered over the waters of the deep. 

In love you spoke,

And light and life came into being. 

To you be praise, honour and glory.    [Gen 1:1-3]

Father of Creation, 

God of Faithfulness,

You have shown your love to us,

In providing and sustaining, 

The seasons, 

The weather, and 

The rain.

As a tender shepherd,

You have led us by

Still waters, &

Green Pastures. 

To you be praise, honour and glory.

Yet, 

We have moved East of Eden,

And have opened the door to unrestrained capitalism,

It has overwhelmed us.

Yet,

In our arrogance and greed we have  built Babel,

And take up a place that only belongs to you.

We now reap what we have sown.

We have plundered,

Now temperatures rise.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy

We have pillaged,

Now sea levels rise,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

And so in the summer of 2022,

We have been weighed on the scales and found wanting,

The writing is on the wall.

The earth mourns,

The rivers grieve,

The land laments. 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

The fields wither,

The forests weep,

The land laments 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation, 

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

We ask that within this unfolding nightmare

We may dream a kingdom dream, &

Hope a hope-filled future

That would cause us to repent,

Change Course,

And avert the worst of what may be.

Empower us O Lord so that we would be those who,

Seek good, and not evil, 

That we would be those who 

Hate evil, and love good, 

and establish justice in the gate.   [Amos 5:14-15]

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion.

The time will come when you will sit as judge

And set the world to rights.

Glory to you who made the heavens,

Glory to you who made the earth,

Glory to you who made the sea and all springs of water.

Amen.       

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A lecture on mission from Rev'd Jon Swales
This is a sample from the 'Mission, Theology and Ministry for the Margins Course.

More details here. https://leeds-school-of-theology.org/mission-theology-ministry-for-the-margins/

Leeds School of Theology are pleased and excited to partner with Lighthouse West Yorkshire in facilitating a dynamic learning community which will serve Christians already working alongside the marginalised or who have a heart to pioneer in this area.

Lighthouse is a fresh expression of church that serves adults with multiple and complex needs including poverty, mental health, homelessness, trauma and addiction.

Course Overview
The course, will include passionate teaching which fuses together Biblical studies, theological reflection, interviews with people with lived experience, cultural analysis, historical case studies and cutting edge research on addiction and trauma to inspire and equip the church to engage with those on the margins in a way that looks and loves like Jesus.

Topics Include

Visions and Values of Healthy Theology
Missional Theology for the Margins
Justice and the Heart of God
The Image of God
Suffering, Lament and Spiritual Warfare
Building Community & Leading Accessible worship for Vulnerable Adults
Why the Hell do Bad Things Happen?
Addiction and Recovery
Helping without Hurting
Trauma: Hope for Healing

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Words- Jon Swales
except 'Justice is what love looks like' comes from Martin Luther King
Music: Chris Sayburn

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

To raise ones head above the parapet of indifference,

Singing a song with actions,

With melodies so sweet,

Captivating  and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

To set a fire of hope in the hurting hearts of the unheard,

Stoking the fires of change in the fortress of status quo.

Captivating and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

A never failing stream flowing with truth, and reconciliation,

A living cascade of freedom and forgiveness,

Captivating and compelling, 

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

Word made flesh wrapped in extravagant mercy 

To know God is to do justice, 

Captivating and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

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An audio sample taken from the 'Justice, Peace and Reconciliation' Course. 

This dynamic learning environment aims to equip the church to engage the contemporary world in justice, peacemaking and reconciliation. Through a mixture of live lectures, discussion groups and assigned homework, this introductory course will particularly focus on a Christlike and prophetic response to the interrelated issues of climate breakdown, violence and conflict and racial injustice. This course is a partnership between Leeds School of Theology and Lighthouse West Yorkshire following the success of the Mission, Theology & Ministry for the Margins course.

Topics

Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Tutors

Rev’d Jon Swales MBE lives in Leeds and is married with 4 children. He heads up Lighthouse and serves as a Team Vicar at St George’s Leeds. Jon also teaches Old Testament at St Hild Theological College and, as an activist, has participated in and led a number of peaceful protests, actions, and vigils for the climate and ecological emergency. Jon is passionate for the church, within the context of climate breakdown, to wake up to its calling to be the justice-shaped people of God.

Katie Dowds is Senior Pastor at Lighthouse, a Christian community for those who have been battered and bruised by the storms of life. A contemplative activist and passionate communicator, she sits on the Advisory Board at JustLove and has led seminars and performed spoken word poetry at national conferences such as Soul Survivor, Proximity and ISAAC. She really loves Jesus and is hungry to see his Kingdom come.