Lament & Hope

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Sermon by Re'v Jon swales

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Words- Jon Swales
Voice- Katie Dowds
Beats- CHris Sayburn

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Heatwaves and Forest Fires : A Prayer for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion.

Our world warms,

Your world burns,

Our hearts ache,

As heatwaves and wildfires rampage and ransack,

Leaving a trail of 

sweat and sorrow

death and destruction.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Heatwaves and new record temperatures ,

A Conflagration of Chaos

We reap what we sow.

Fire and Flames

Through unrestrained capitalism  

We reap what we sow

Father of Compassion,

God of Creation,

We know not how to pray,

Yet we pray,

And look to you,

Help us!

Father of Compassion,

God of Creation,

We lift up to you

the heatwaves in the UK, 

forest fires in Europe,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

In the heatwave, 

We lift up to you those who are vulnerable as temperatures rise,

We lift up to you those who dwell in housing which cannot keep cool.

We lift up to you emergency services who will face extra pressure.

Lord have mercy. 

Christ have mercy. 

For those experiencing forest fires, 

We lift up to you those whose homes have been destroyed, 

We lift up to you those feeling scared.

Christ have mercy,

Lord have mercy.

We lift up to you those who are fighting the fires,

We lift up to you local and national leaders,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

We grieve the rise in temperatures,

The risk it poses and the deaths it will bring.

We grieve the loss of forests,

Destroyed by the flames.

We lament the death of wildlife

Destroyed by the wildfire and rising temperatures. 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of creation, 

We reap what we sow,

May these heatwaves and fires wake us up to our direction of travel,

May these heatwaves and fires expose the dark forces that put their foot on the pedal of climate breakdown,

May these heatwaves and fires lead to sustained action from those in power to adapt to what will be and avoid the worst of what may be.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation, 

God of Compassion,

Calm the raging fires,

Cool our soaring heat, 

Calm our anxious hearts,

Renew in us a commitment to justice and peace,

Until that day when death will be no more.

Amen

-Swales , July 2022

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Prayers by Jon Swales
Voice: Alice Brencher, Sarah Swales, Jon Swales
Piano: Alice Brencher

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A Sermon by Jon Swales at St George's Church,  Leeds

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn 'Father' and ' Waves'

Long ago,

Many years before the beast of unrestrained capitalism roamed the land,

The Great King,

Remembered his sacred oath,

And sent his Son,

To proclaim and enact the Kingdom.

To embark on a great mission of reconciliation and restoration.

The long night was over,

And the tender compassion of the King was made manifest,

The image of the eternal

Enfleshed,

Jesus

To him be all praise and glory.

In him,

The broken became beautiful 

 the rebellious glorious

the cursed blessed 

As homesick exiles, East of Eden,  found their rest in him.

For in him

The blind see, 

The lame walk,

The demons tremble.

As the rule and reign of the great King is embodied and enacted

Yet,

Empires of Evil,

Powers and the Principalities,

Deceived by lies and the lust for power,

Crucified the Eternal Son,

And he lay silent in the grave.

Will injustice triumph?

Will death have the last word?

Hours  went by.

All seemed silent

Will the Great King remember his sacred promise? 

Days went by,

All seemed silent,

Will the Great King King move with compassion?

And love spoke into the darkness

And there was light.  

And life came into being. 

And the Great King 

Raised his Son to Life.

And so many years later, 

Here we live and move and have our being. 

As covenant partners of the great King,

We have pledegd our allegiance to his Son

And we, living in the Anthropocene, 

Must improvise on the basis of our ancient story.

These are indeed strange and difficult days,

But love wins

Hope wins

To him be all praise and glory.

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn 'Waiting' Used with Permission

Long ago,

Many years before the great migration and in an age when the rainforests flourished,

The Great King rescued his people from the Empire of Egypt.

With a strong and mighty hand,

He demonstrated,

Decisively,

& definitively,

That he was committed,

And Is committed,

To his compassionate covenant.

The Greta King  remembered, rescued and redeemed his people,

And gave them proximity and presence 

As they embarked on their servant calling,

To tend & keep and be a light to the nations,

Image bearing priest Kings

And hope for the Cosmos.

The Cosmic Temple.

The covenant people,

Gifted with law and land,

And in that land,

In the city of the Great King,

A temple was built,

And the glory of the Lord,

The Spirit of Great King,

Dwelt with his people.

The covenant community,

Called to compassion

 raised their voice,

He is good,

 For his covenant  love endures forever.

And we raise our voices,

For he is good, for his covenant  love endures forever.

And yet all was not well,

The image-bearers did not reflect the image of the Great King,

Deceived by lies and the lust for power. 

Covenant broken,

East of Eden

The path of curse was chosen,

As the people of purpose,

Faced Exclusion.

Exile

For they bowed the knee to the economy and evils of the Empire.

And the Spirit of the Great King departed. 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy

Yet the prophets spoke,

And longed and yearned,

For the Return of the Great King,

For the time of great Blessing,

For the great reversal.

Years went by.

All seemed silent

Will the Great King remember his sacred promise? 

Years went by,

All seemed silent,

Will the Great King King move with compassion?

Then,

The great king heard their cries,

remembered his promise,

and moved and acted.

Love spoke,

Hope sang,

And the Great King 

Embarked on a rescue mission

to liberate his covenant people.

To him be all praise and glory.

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn 'Mountain Tops' - Used with Permission

Long ago, 

Many years before the oceans acidified and in an age when the great waters  teemed with life, 

The King made a sacred promise 

and 

Bound himself by solemn oath.

Challenging the curse,

The Great King,

Entered into covenant,

With Abraham and his descendants 

And blessed them to be a blessing.

Challenging the curse

The Great King,

Promised presence and proximity

To Abraham and his descendants 

And blessing to the scattered nations.

But alas,

The sacred tribe,

Is trapped and tested,

In the Empire of Egypt,

Slaves to systems and structures of domination.

Years went by.

All seemed silent

Will the great King remember his sacred promise? 

Years went by,

All seemed silent,

How long will the  Empire of Egypt & desires of domination enact injustice?

Then,

The great king heard their cries,

remembered his promise,

and moved and acted .

Love spoke,

Hope sang,

And the Great King 

Embarked on a rescue mission

to liberate his covenant people.

To him be all praise and glory.