Lament & Hope

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Music: Used with permission Chris Sayburn

The Ancient Story- Act I (Draft) 

Long ago, 

Many years before the Anthropocene, 

Long before the wars of empire and spiral of ecological ruin

the Spirit of the Great King hovered over the waters of the deep. 

All was silent for the earth was formless and void. 

And love spoke into the darkness

And there was light.  

And life came into being. 

Over six days the great King 

created other than himself.

Forming and filling,

Blessing the beautiful,

Physicality bathed in holiness. 

A cosmic canvas,

A glorious tapestry,

A rich symphony,

And he declared it to be good. 

On the sixth day the Great King  

dignified the dust, 

soil became sanctified.

A human being, 

A living soul.

A living , 

breathing, animate

image of the invisible.

Imago Dei

Image of God.

Receive a holy calling,

To tend and keep,

Guard and Protect.

Imago Dei,

Image of God.

Receive a Holy calling

To enact and embrace the reign and rule of the great King,

To serve as Priests of the High King of Heaven. 

On the Seventh day the great King Rested,

For his work was done,

He had a place to dwell.

A place of presence and proximity,

A Cosmic Temple.

And the Great King declared it to be very good,

And it is very  good.

For it is his home,

It is our home.

To him be all praise and glory.

The Ancient Story: Act II (Draft)

Long ago, 

Many years before we were seduced by the beast of unrestrained capitalism

Our ancestors,

Full of possibility and potential,

Betrayed their calling to tend and keep.

Deceived by Lies and the lust for Power

 the beautiful became broken,

 the glorious rebellious 

the blessed cursed 

And humanity began its long walk as homesick exiles East of Eden. 

We built Babel,

But this did not satisfy 

And we opened the door to sin.

It has overwhelmed us.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Yet the Great King 

Full of great love,

Did not forsake his Cosmic Temple

Nor did he forget his plan for humanity to

take up its calling to 

tend and keep,

to be faithful and fruitful.

As image-bearing  Priest Kings.

Love spoke,

Hope sang,

And the Great King 

Embarked on a rescue mission

to liberate his cosmic temple.

To him be all praise and glory.

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Music: Used with permission  from Chris Sayburn 'Mountain Tops'



Long ago, 

Many years before the Anthropocene, 

Long before the wars of empire and spiral of ecological ruin

the Spirit of the Great King hovered over the waters of the deep. 

All was silent for the earth was formless and void. 

And love spoke into the darkness

And there was light.  

And life came into being. 

Over six days the great King 

created other than himself.

Forming and filling,

Blessing the beautiful,

Physicality bathed in holiness. 

A cosmic canvas,

A glorious tapestry,

A rich symphony,

And he declared it to be good. 

On the sixth day the Great King  

dignified the dust, 

soil became sanctified.

A human being, 

A living soul.

A living , 

breathing, animate

image of the invisible.

Imago Dei

Image of God.

Receive a holy calling,

To tend and keep,

Guard and Protect.

Imago Dei,

Image of God.

Receive a Holy calling

To enact and embrace the reign and rule of the great King,

To serve as Priests of the High King of Heaven. 

On the Seventh day the great King Rested,

For his work was done,

He had a place to dwell.

A place of presence and proximity,

A Cosmic Temple.

And the Great King declared it to be very good,

And it is very  good.

For it is his home,

It is our home.

To him be all praise and glory.

- Swales, 2022

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Feat: 'I will Rebel' by Alice Brencher, 
            'I can't stop climate breakdown' by Jon Swales
            15 minute talk on civil disobedience by Jon Swales as part of a series of Climate Justice seminars.

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales
Piano: Alice Brencher

Just Stop Oil: A Prayer for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (Draft)

Father of Creation,
 God of Compassion,

You created a world of wonder, 

Of possibility and potential. 

You declared it to be good. 

For this we give thanks.

To you be praise, honour and glory. 

Father of Creation,
 God of Compassion,
 This world is no longer as you intended it to be.

Humanity has betrayed its calling
 To tend and keep.
 Creation groans. 

On our watch,
 We reap what we have sown, 

On our watch, 

Sea Levels rise. 

On our watch, 

Forests destroyed, 

On our watch, 

Extreme weather events increase

And so now with tears in our eyes we look to you, 

With regret,
 With repentance,

 Knowing the difficult decades that we face.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

Do the angels long for justice?

Do the cherubim and seraphim groan for peace?

Do the saints who have gone before us cry for justice?

If so, what do they cry?

Perhaps they cry,

For the end of fossil fuels,

Perhaps they cry for economic structures and systems,

To put people before profit,

Perhaps they cry, 

‘Just Stop Oil’

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

Does your church work for justice?

Do church investments work for peace?

Does church leadership speak truth to power?

If so, why the silence?

Perhaps the angels will be answered,

Perhaps the church will wake up

And perform, 

participate,

and protest in a way that aligns with justice,

Perhaps justice will cry out loud, 

‘Just Stop Oil’

Father of Creation,
 God of Compassion,
 You created a world of wonder, 

Of possibility and potential. 

You declared it to be good. 

For this we give thanks.
 To you be praise, honour and glory. 

Father of Creation,
 God of Compassion,
 This world is no longer as you intended it to be.

Humanity has betrayed its calling
 To tend and keep.

Creation groans. 

Amen

Swales- 2022

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Sermon by Rev'd Jon Swales at St George's Church Leeds, 27th March 2022

This morning  as we come to church,

To sing our songs,  and pray our prayers we do so in the context of a war in Europe. 

For many of us are hearts are heavy,

 and our souls are sad 

as butchery and barbarity have been 

unleashed at the command of

Putin and the warmongers. 

Ukrainians suffer and die, 10 million are displaced from their homes.

The forces of  Injustice and oppression appear overwhelming and we 

as a continent,

as communities 

as individuals

can find ourselves in place of disorientation and powerlessness. 

For some us here this morning, 

and here I want to recognise our Iranian brothers and sisters,

this feeling of disorientation in the face of injustice is nothing new .

Within our own community many carry  wounds as both the

 victims of the unjust actions of others and  as victims of systems of domination. 

In a world of injustice what can we as followers of Jesus do? 

I want to suggest that looking to scriptures and looking to Jesus can provide a much needed reframing of the issues of our day, 

My hope is that we can be reoriented , 

so that we can  face injustice with hope. 

That here this morning we would would be called afresh to be the justice shaped people of God who look to Jesus, 

and are empowered by the Spirit of Jesus, 

so that we can look and love like Jesus. 

So here goes, 

In the bible, justice has to do with setting the world to right. 

It is the opposite of injustice.  

Justice stands against oppression, domination.

and economic exploitation

Justice stands with the poor and powerless and 

 speaks out for those without a voice 

Justice is the dream of the prophets, 

as the prophet Amos imagines the day ‘when justice will roll on like a mighty river’. 

Justice is also at the heart of God as Isaiah says 

‘For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.’ 

and to know God is to do justice.  

Justice  finds its place within love.  

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Voice and Words: Jon Swales
Music: Sad Piano by Free Use Music by Scott Buckley

Lord Jesus Christ,

In your Kingdom,

Swords will be turned to ploughshares,

And tears will be wiped away.

Have mercy upon us,

According to your unfailing love.

Lord Jesus Christ,

In our world,

Cities are destroyed,

Image bearers are butchered.

Have mercy upon us.

According to your unfailing love.

The tears of Ukraine flow,

Like a river,

Gaining Strength.

Have mercy upon us.

According to your unfailing love.

The injustice of Ukraine increases,

As the waves of us war wash over Europe.

Have mercy upon us,

According to your unfailing love.

Lord Jesus Christ,

In your bloody execution,

You identify with the victims of oppression,

You weep beside the grave,

Have mercy on us,

According to your unfailing love.

Lord Jesus Christ,

In your glorious resurrection,

We see that death and violence do not have the last word,

That love itself wins.

Let your Kingdom come. 

And so we plead,

For the cessation of war,

And the flourishing of peace,

Let your Kingdom come.

And do we beg,

That the plans of Putin,

And the machinations of evil,

Would be stopped in their tracks.

Let your Kingdom come.

Lord Jesus Christ,

In your kingdom,

Swords will be turned to ploughshares,

And tears will be wiped away.

Have mercy upon us,

According to your unfailing love.

Amen

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Words and Vocie: Jon Swales
Music: Juan Sanchez Blue Nights

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

As bombs fall,

Our hearts break,

Lord have mercy. 

As tanks advance,

Our souls are sad,

Christ have mercy. 

You have placed upon humanity 

the possibility and potential

 to move towards love and justice,

Yet, at Putin's command,

Carnage & 

Catastrophe have been unleashed. 

Mariupol suffers,

Lord have mercy.

Innocents die,

Christ have mercy.

And so we pray for the downfall,

Of despots and dictators,

Cast down the mighty from their thrones.

And so we pray for the economic ruin,

Of the masters of war and machinations of evil

Cast down the mighty from their thrones.

Let your divine favour,

Rest upon those,

Who work and move for peace,

Let your divine favour,

Rest upon those,

Who work and move for justice.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

We pray for the cessation of war,

And the flourishing of peace.

Amen

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Words and Voice by Jon Swales
Music:: Used with permission 'It pours' Chris Sayburn

18: A Conspiracy of Compassion

 Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

We praise that you proclaimed the Kingdom of God,

And demonstrated what this looked like by

Welcoming the outcast, 

Feeding the hungry, 

Healing the sick,

And speaking truth to power. 

You laid down your life as an act of self-giving sacrificial love.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

You offer a revolution called Love,

A rebellion called Peace,

A conspiracy of Compassion,

That seeks to set the world to rights.

You laid down your life as an act of self-giving sacrificial love.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

We live in a world of climate breakdown.

We are facing a world of increased migration, refugees and those seeking asylum.

We are facing a world of food shortage, malnutrition and starvation.

Climate breakdown acts as a threat multiplier as

Temperatures rise,

Sea levels rise,

Conflict increases,

Extreme weather events increase.

Lord have mercy.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God 

We are vulnerable,

We need your Kingdom.

We are vulnerable, 

We need justice and peace.

We are vulnerable,

We need you to act, move, inspire, comfort.

In this storm of climate breakdown, 

We ask that you would wake up.

That you would

Welcome the outcast,

Feed the hungry,

Heal the sick,

Speak truth to power,

Reign and rule with self-giving sacrificial love,

Overthrow the works of the evil one,

So that unrestrained capitalism would no longer destroy the world.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

You have called your church to be your body,

We are your hands and feet.

If we ask why you are not awake,

It is because we are asleep.

If we ask why you don’t speak,

It is because we are silent.

If we ask why oppression rules and reigns as a king,

It is because we have not lived with self-giving sacrificial love.

If we ask why the hungry starve and the stranger feels cut off,

It is because our hearts, like stone, have not shown compassion. 

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

In a world of climate breakdown,

Call us afresh to a kingdom conspiracy.

A Conspiracy of Compassion.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

We pledge allegiance afresh to you. 

In a world of climate breakdown,

We commit ourselves to a Conspiracy of Compassion,

A Holy Revolution,

A Holy Rebellion,

Against anti-kingdom forces that come to steal, kill and destroy.

We conspire with Love,

For those who think they are forgotten.

We conspire with Peace, 

For in a world of escalating conflict.

We conspire with Truth, 

For a world in denial.

We conspire with Hope, 

For a world in despair.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Living God,

The butchered and risen lamb who rules and reigns,

We conspire with your compassionate Kingdom.

To you be all praise, honour and glory.

Amen

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Words and Voice: Jon Swales inc. various scriptures inc. Psalm 80
Music.  Scot Buckley,  Classical Sad Music, Undertow (No copyright sound) 

A Prayer for Peace: Shine Forth, O Shepherd (Draft)

Give ear,

Listen to us,

O Shepherd of your people. 

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim,

Shine Forth.

From the wolves of war,

Rescue Us.

From the beast of militarism,

Deliver us.

Restore us, O God;

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

All we like sheep have gone astray,

And colluded with empire and imperial intent.

We have walked into the valley of the shadow of death.

Have mercy upon us.

From the schemes of Putin,

Rescue us.

From that with comes to steal, kill and destroy.

Deliver us.

We have opened the door,

To the sin of Cain,

And the Masters of War have grown powerful

Through mechanised warfare on an industrial scale. 

Restore us, O God;

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Give ear,

Listen to us,

O Shepherd of your people.

Ukraine eats the bread of tears.

And we sit waiting, watching, wondering,

Where will this end?

From the escalation of conflict,

Rescue us.

From the threat of nuclear war,

Deliver Us.

Restore us, O God;

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

We plead and beg,

Good Shepherd,

For the cessation of war and the flourishing of peace.

Have mercy upon us. 

We are the people of your pasture,

And the sheep of your right hand,

Speak to us that we may hear your voice.

Saying’

‘Do not be afraid, little flock.’

We are the people of your pasture,

And the sheep of your right hand,

Lead us beside quiet waters,

Restore our souls.

For those feeling violence,

As Refugees,

We ask that you would,

Tend to your flock,

Gather the lambs,

Carry them in your bosom,

And gently lead the nursing ewes.

And we speak against,

False Shepherds,

For those church leaders who colluded with conquest,

And the politics of Putin.

Bring repentance and recalibration.

That they may look and love like Jesus, by

Aligning with justice,

Walking with mercy,

And Speaking truth to power. 

From the wolves of war,

Rescue Us.

From the beast of militarism,

Deliver us.

Restore us, O God;

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Give ear,

Listen to us,

O Shepherd of your people. 

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim,

Shine Forth.

To him who sits upon the throne,

And to the Lamb,

Be all praise, honour and glory. 

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Amen