In the company of a plongeur and the tamed cynic

I have reached Paris on my journey with George Orwell, but not the Paris of museums ,chic street cafes and the Eiffel Tower. No this is the Paris of the backstreet hotels where bugs parade across the walls and restaurant basement kitchens where conditions certainly would not meet a modern one star let alone five. It is 1928/9 and Orwell is so poor he has pawned most of his possessions and got a job as a plongeur, a dish washer and kitchen hand.  In those days pawning seems to have been common. I remember being told about my Nan taking my grandfathers best suit to the pawnbrokers each Monday and then retrieving it on a Friday. I always wondered what would have happened if she did not have the money to do that!! Well Orwell finds himself working all hours of the day seven days a week in a new  restaurant set up by a Russian. He gets the job through another Russian friend called Boris. In the end he describes the job as being like a slave. He then asks the question does this modern slave actually do anything of use? " Is the plongeur's work really necessary to civilisation?" What the plongeur does is so others can have some experience or luxury, in this case eating in a restaurant.

At the moment places like restaurants cannot open. Perhaps we can spare a thought for those who work in the hospitality industry for whom things are uncertain because of this. Perhaps also we might try to be aware that there still is "slavery" like the type Orwell describes and much worse, including in Britain.

In " Notebook of a Tamed Cynic" Reinhold Niebuhr comments on his early life as a minister in Detroit in between 1915 and 1928. At the time Detroit was growing into a great industrial city based on the car industry. Niebuhr raises questions about the conditions of those working in this industry and what the Christian response should be. He gives thought to what the church is doing about important issues of the day and how effective it is in living out the Christian message. The interesting thing is that almost a hundred years later what he is saying I find still relevant and thought provoking. Even some of the issues and concerns about the state of the church and its future seem to be the same.

As food for thought I leave you a phrase Niebuhr uses :

"The representatives of God are seldom divine and the minions of Satan are never quite diabolical".


Gracious God

Today we give you thanks
for the gift of work.
Work that can give meaning
as well as reward.

We pray for those who have
challenging jobs, or who find
themselves exploited through
the greed or indifference
of others.

We pray for justice in
the workplace for all people,
so that all can work with dignity,
to build a better life for themselves
and world for us all.

Amen

Off to Paris with A Clergyman's Daughter

I have just started reading "Down and out in Paris and London" having just finished "A Clergyman's Daughter". The second book tells the story of .....well perhaps you can read it for yourself so I will not give too much away.  The main character is Dorothy and in the book she has a number of challenging experiences shall we say. One of them is hop picking in Kent. My mum told me about the time when she was young and went off with her sisters to do just the same thing. It was by all accounts considered by Londoners to be a bit of a holiday. Mum recalls the beery smell that covered them as they picked the hops, something that she did not like. It was probably this, she recalls, that put her off drinking. Mum was glad when she got a full time job in a chemist near home and no longer had to go.

Today the first of a number of overseas workers are arriving in our country to go and pick crops. Such is the need that farmers have charted planes to bring them here. Without them some food will not get to our tables. Orwell gives a good description of what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's for people doing similar seasonal jobs. Living conditions then were Spartan, Dorothy sleeps in the hay and the work was tough and not well paid. Today things  are better but those who will go into our fields will still have a lot of hard work to do. Perhaps we should spare a though for them, ask for Gods protection over them and be thankful for them.

Gracious God
We thank you for the food
on our tables.

Sometimes we take for
granted that there will be
food in our shops and
on our plates.

Help us to be grateful for all
those who work in the fields.
May your hand of protection
be over them.

We ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

Au revoir not adieu

Today will be the last of my attempts at a daily blog as I now go on leave and sabbatical.  Because of the current situation plans have had to be changed. This will be true for most of us. When this happens we really have two basic choices; we can moan about our bad luck or we can make the most of it.  Sometimes when we have to change what we do then new opportunities arise.  Having to stay at home has meant I have spent more time looking out of the window noticing the birds in our garden, the blackbird is a regular visitor to the back steps. Having to use multimedia more, I have worked out how to record a video of myself and convert one type of file to another, not to mention discovering zoom and the like. Even in difficult times we can not just make the best of things but also find better things to do.

So what will I be doing? Much of the time will be used to do some study on the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.  As I cannot travel physically anywhere I have decided to travel instead through reading the books of George Orwell. So I will start "Down and Out in Paris and London" , then travel over to Burma in "Burmese Days". After travelling "The Road to Wigan Pier" I will take in the sun in Spain paying my "Homage to Catalonia". On the journey I will try to read as many of the other books as possible 1984 being a must.

As this blogging session ends I would like to thank my friend John Shaw for his suggestion to do some type of video for Sundays and all the help he has given to make it happen, it would not have without him. Also to Lindsay my wife for photos and ideas for what to include.

It is not adieu because I intend to do a weekly update each Friday of what I have been doing on sabbatical. So if you are interested do please have a look.

Thank you for following in these weeks since the lockdown was announced. I hope you have enjoyed it and found it helpful. We have made it to Easter and we can now take that hope of Easter with us as we journey on.

I leave you with the prayer that Reinhold Niebuhr is perhaps best known for:

God give us grace to accept with serenity things that cannot be changed,

courage to change the things that should be changed,

and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Easter Sunday

Welcome to this short service for Easter Sunday;

You might like to begin by following the link to the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today", and join in with others from our Methodist family singing from home on this very different Easter Sunday.
(Singing the Faith  298).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNwvNhpkN4

During the video you will be asked to pause so that you can read the Gospel set for today:

John 20: 1-18

The Resurrection of Jesus

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

You might like to finish by following the link to the hymn; "Thine be the Glory" 
(Singing the Faith 313).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbBOOmkMLmI

Holy Saturday

It is the day after the crucifixion and I wonder what the disciples were up to. There is a good chance that they would be keeping low, in their own type of self isolation so to speak. I wonder what they would have been feeling, I wonder what they would have said to each other. Perhaps they would be asking, what if we had done something different?  What if we had acted sooner? Why is all this happening? There might have been a mixture of feelings including fear and guilt and even anger.

As the situation over coronavirus seems to be getting worse there is temptation to ask similar types of questions. If they are asked simply to seek to blame someone I am not sure that they are very helpful. Perhaps what is more important is to ask what are we doing now and what will we do tomorrow.
As Jesus lay in the tomb this was a question some of his disciples seem to have asked. The women were getting ready to go to the tomb, they were planning what to do next.

Perhaps this is something we can all do in this difficult times. Just plan for today and for tomorrow. that plan might be to stay at home. I don't know about you but during this time at home I have been looking out of the window more into the garden to watch the birds. The blue tits have come back to the nesting box, dunnocks and sparrows hop around the patio;  in the ivy blackbirds are nesting. We also have some robins visiting on a regular basis. Legend says that the robin's breast is red because of his association with Christ's death and crucifixion. When Jesus was on the road to Calvary it is said that a robin plucked a thorn from Christ's temple and a drop of Jesus' blood fell on the robin's chest, turning it red.

We often associate robins with Christmas, the birth of Christ, but they can also remind us at this time of year of the sacrifice of Christ for us all and so give hope for the future.

Dear God

On this day between crucifixion

and resurrection

help us to pause and remember

the sacrifice Christ made for us all

and be thankful.

Then help us to look towards

tomorrow knowing the hope that

the resurrection brings.

We pray for all those in need today; 

and all those who care for them.

We pray for those in positions of

responsibility, that your wisdom

may guide them.

We pray for those parts of the world 

where poverty, war and injustice 

bring darkness, may your light shine

through people of goodwill.

Hear our prayers in the name of Christ

Amen

Good Friday: From cross to tomb

The second part of a service of readings and prayers using the Gospel of Mark.

You might like to follow the link to listen to the hymn: 
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (Singing the Faith 280)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5hjdz4xZF4

Some prayers of intercession and petition.

On this Good Friday

We give thanks for Jesus

Our Saviour.

In these times of great concern

we pray today for all those who are

worried about loved ones.

We pray especially for those who 

have family that are ill

or who have recently died.

Surround then with your love.

We pray for all front line workers

giving thanks for their skills and dedication.

Protect them at the this time and when

they are wearied by all they have to do

give them strength.

We hold before you those parts of the 

world where the present situation has 

made worse the needs already there.

And finally we pray for ourselves.

When we are feeling low, 

lift us up in your love. 

When we are uncertain what to do, 

guide us by your spirit.

As we travel on from toady may we

feel your presence with us

now and for ever.

Amen

Here is a modern song that in our present times you might find helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkC4gohAmtI

You might like to finish with this version of the hymn: 

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (Singing the Faith 287) Click the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPdmmzRHlMA

Good Friday : From trial to cross.

The first part of some readings and prayers for Good Friday using the Gospel of Mark.

You might first like to sing "There is Green Hill Far Away" 
(Singing the Faith 284) Using to following link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23rHbE27YuQ

A prayer:

Lord Jesus as today we remember 
your great sacrifice for us
As you died to set us free from sin,
Help us to be more like you
in the way that we live our lives.
May we know you more clearly
love you more dearly, 
and follow you more nearly;
day by day.

Amen

The next part of the story is to follow

A Short Service for Maunday Thursday

Welcome to a short service of readings and prayers for Maunday Thursday using the Gospel of Mark.

You might  like to being by listening to this worship song called Gethsemane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKfzrNs4-UU

A meal with friends

The reading for today is:

Mark 14:12-26 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Last Supper

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man  must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

When they woke up on that Thursday morning I wonder if the disciples had any inkling about how the day would end. They knew that they would share with Jesus in the Passover meal and all was made ready for that. No doubt they had a good time of fellowship at the meal and then Jesus drops the bombshell. One of them will betray him.  We know that it is Judas, the others do not, we know the outcome of his actions, the others do not. What we do not know is just how Judas would have felt on hearing these words. Whatever it was he still goes through with the betrayal and I cannot help but ask why? All I can respond is that if he had not, history would perhaps have been very different.

Then Jesus shares bread and wine in what has come to be called " The Last Supper". Through it and what is to follow a new covenant between God and humanity is established. On this Maunday Thursday we would usually have a communion service to remember this. This year our cups will remain empty and our bread remain unbroken, but this does not mean we cannot still give thanks for all we recall when we take communion. I do believe that when we share in this sacrament we are not only united with Christ but with all of the company of heaven in some special way. In times like the ones we now face I also believe that God finds other ways for us to be united with Christ and that all those who have gone before us in faith are in some way with us as we face the future.

Dear God

As we remember on this
day the Last supper
we give thanks for all
that Jesus has done for us.

Help us to feel united with Him
during these challenging times.

Show us ways that we can
be united with each other
through prayer and
new means of being in fellowship.

Today we pray for all care and NHS
workers. As the nation once more "claps for carers"
may this be a symbol of
our unity with each other.

May your love surround us all
in the name of Jesus.

Amen

I hope to post a short service of readings and prayers for Maunday Thursday this evening.

Such extravagance?

The reading for today is:

Mark 14:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages[b] and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticise her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

I wonder who that women was (Mark does not tell us) who was so grateful to Jesus for something, that she made such an extravagant offering to him.  The only response given by those looking on is to scold her harshly because it could have been used to help the poor. There are two things that strike me in what Jesus says. Firstly he accepts graciously what the woman has done, maybe it was extravagant, maybe it could have been sold and money used for the poor, but she chose to use it in this way. Did she have some idea that Jesus was heading for trouble and death? Thinking this, and what he has done for her, does she do this to anoint his body because it is the one thing she can do?

The second is that Jesus says we will always have the poor with us and so we always have the choice whether we help them or not. This passage I believe does not justify using our resources at the expense of the poor, it clearly tells us to help the poor all of the time.

In these uncertain days it is right that we should remember the poor, not just in our nation but beyond, the present situation is causing hardship in many ways for many people. In our prayers and through our giving we can help if we chose to. But maybe it is also good every now and then to be a bit extravagant in our thanks to God for all his daily blessings, perhaps just in the way we pray or how we respond to what is still good and beautiful around us. Last night I stood in my back garden and marvelled at such a magnificent moon, a moon God placed in the heavens.

Marvellous God

Help us at times like these still 
to give thanks to You for all 
that You do for us. 
To see the beauty and wonder 
of all You have created.

Taken 7/04/20

We pray for those in our nation today who are worried about their livelihoods because of all that is happening. 

We ask that the help 
our Government is giving 
will see them through 
these difficult times.

We pray for the poor in other parts of the world and those  working to bring them support.                                   

Help us to use what we have  compassionately and for your glory.

We ask this in the name of Jesus

Amen

l

All We Can

Today I share with you a reading from Mark 13:41 -44:


The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. (NLT).


It would seem that it is the day after Jesus cleared the Temple. He has been teaching his disciples and now we find him back at the Temple watching people make their offering. The widow above all is commended by Jesus because she gave everything that she could, not just " a tiny part".

In these challenging times we can all ask ourselves what it is that we can give to help. Today sees the first day of those who answered the call for NHS volunteers being put to use, many are doing their bit in all sorts of ways. We can look at what others are doing and feel perhaps we should do more or feel a bit frustrated when we cannot.

The widow gave all that she could. She could not give what she was not in a position to give. So yes we should admire and support those who are volunteering alongside our health and care workers, they are giving and doing all they can, but perhaps for some giving all they can will mean staying at home to protect others so they can do more. Staying at home to look after children and family will be a challenge for some that will take all that they have. Maybe that telephone call or letter written will be giving all that we can. In the words attributed to John Wesley it might be worth noting that it says "do all...you can" not "do all... you wish you could or what others are doing".

One thing we can all do is pray. Through our prayers we can not only remember the cornonavirus situation, but also other concerns across the world that the news coverage seems to have forgotten.


Dear God

We thank you for all those who have 

volunteered to help in the NHS. 

May your hand of protection 

be over them as they 
help others. 

Help us to know what we can do 

to help and support others 

at this time.

We pray for our Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
and all who are caring for him.
May your hand of healing
be over them and
hands of support
under them at this time.

We also pause to hold before

you other concerns in the world

that come to mind now......

Lord hear our prayer,

Amen.

Jesus Clears the Temple

During this Holy Week I thought that I would use Marks's Gospel to look at some key events. Today I start with Mark 11: 15  - 18:

Jesus Clears the Temple

15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[a] 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[b]

18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

We have just had the Palm Sunday story and now one of the first things that Jesus does is go to the Temple.  When he arrives he sees before him the money changers and he knocks over their tables.  It is obvious that he is pretty angry about what he sees and has some sort of authority to stop it happening. We do not often think of Jesus as being angry, especially during the Easter season, but I do wonder whether this is a response to the injustice he is seeing and the misuse of power to take advantage of others. The money changers were reputed to have made a pretty penny as they took peoples daily money and turned it into the temple money needed to buy sacrifices. They were taking advantage of people.

In the early days of our current situation there were some stories of inflated prices for some goods. I wonder if Jesus would have been angry at that. I wonder if he would have been angry that the front-line workers did not have the protective equipment they need, or people ignoring social distancing instructions and putting others at risk.

The actions of Jesus in challenging what was wrong caused others to be angry as a result, they began planning how to kill him. Facing up to an injustice or challenging something we think is wrong is not always easy. But if it does not happen our world will be a worse place. To slightly update Edmund Burke:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.

Gracious God

We pray that you will
give us the courage 
to stand up against 
what is wrong in society,
and the wisdom to know 
how to respond to it.

We pray today for those 
in positions of authority,
that they may use their power 
for the good of all.

We thank you for our Queen
and her message of hope,
and pray for your healing 
and protection for our Prime Minister.

Amen

Palm Sunday

Welcome to this short service for Palm Sunday. During the video below you will be asked to pause in order to read the Gospel lesson for today. 

Matthew 21: 1-11

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

21When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ ⁴This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
⁵ ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
   humble, and mounted on a donkey,
     and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ ¹¹The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Before playing the video you might like to listen to a version of 
 "Make way Make for the King of Kings" (Singing the Faith 264)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alCQ7fb0hEA

You might like to end with this version of " Ride on Ride on in Majesty".
(Singing the Faith 265)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo5pfl6z6lA

Picture answers

So Folks here are the answers:

1. The Cow and Calf , Ilkley.
2. Roman Baths,  Bath.
3. Flamborough. North Landing.
4. Bowness Lake Windermere
5. The Botanical Gardens, Sheffield
6. Banburgh Castle Northumberland
7. Lindisfarne Northumberland
8. Lincoln
9. The Rectory Epworth, Lincolnshire
10 Cheddar Gorge Somerset.


Dear God

We thank you for the beauty of the world 
in which we live.
Beauty created by your hand 
and by human hand.

Help us to look after the world
You have given to us;
help us support and keep safe our brave 
health and care workers
by our actions as well as our prayers.

Amen

Stay in please.

In my paper today the headline is " Don't go out and enjoy the sunshine".  As the weekend forecast in a good one the worry is that people will be tempted to get out of the house to enjoy the good weather, no doubt with the view that nothing will happen to them if they are careful. As a nation we are being asked not to do this. We have even decided a visit for a paper and milk is not justified at the moment. We wait for the click and collect slot next week and read the paper online.

So as we should not be going out to beauty spots and places of interest  I though today I would share with you some of my favourite places in a little quiz. Can you guess where there are?  Answers on next blog page later today:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Building

Today sees the opening of NHS Nightingale in the East End of London. What an absolutely fabulous effort has been made by so many people to get this converted and opened in nine days. I think that the army need a special mention in all of this, but of course it would have been a team effort. And how good it was to see Prince Charles give his message of thanks and support.

When I see the television pictures of the site there is a little something that stirs within me. This is because the ExCel centre is in the old dockland area of London. My mothers family were dockers from the East End and it somehow feels good to see a place where their feet trod and hands laboured being used in this way.

In the first part of the book of Ezra we read the account of the Israelite's returning from exile to Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple. It highlights how they worked together facing challenges and struggles in doing this. It took longer than nine days but in the end they are successful.

There are still many challenges ahead of us as a nation, let us pray that enough staff will be found to work in the new hospital. It might feel a bit like we are all in exile at the moment but the day will come, when our present situation gets better, when we too will need to be involved in rebuilding. What will we want to rebuild and will it be to the glory of God?

Dear God

Today we give you thanks for
the new NHS Nightingale;
for all those who have worked
so hard to build it.

We pray for those who will
work in it and for the patients
they will care for.

May your hand of protection
and healing be on them and all
who are in the front line fight
against Coronavirus.

Hear our prayer for we ask it
in the name of Jesus.
Amen