“English” language resources
One light
We kindle our chalice flame,
Seeking to understand ourselves, each other and all beings
as unique reflections of the One Light
May this Light inspire us to be authentic with each other,
To listen well and deeply to each other,
As we embark on our journey of discovery,
Let us act justly, love kindness, and
No Christmas in Bethlehem
Matthew 2: 18
There’s no Christmas in Bethlehem this year.
No Christmas tree, no coloured lights,
no celebrations, no revellers…
There’s too much suffering,
too much violence, too much hatred,
too much resentment, too much oppression.
Too many people are homeless,
too many are refugees, too many are fearful,
too many are hungry, too many are sick.
Too many
2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
This is background information for anyone using the 2023 Migration Worship Resource Pack
The Emergency Motion at the 2023 General Assembly
“Proposed Emergency Motion on Illegal Immigration Bill 284 2022-23
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches:
Signed: Rev. Winnie Gordon (Ministerial Fellowship Co-President), Rev. Cody Coyne, Rev. Kate Brady McKenna, Rev. Sue Woolley (General Assembly President),
New exodus
This appears as a suggested prayer in the 2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
No Moses leads them
to a promised land
but still they come
preyed on by parasites
without humanity.
They may number hundreds,
thousands, but they are not
a ‘flood’, a ‘tidal wave’
they are people – each one
with their own story.
Still they
It is easy to cry peace
This appears as a suggested prayer in the 2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
(TW added by Worship Words: Reference to rape and torture)
It is easy to cry ‘peace’
when we are not oppressed by tyranny.
It is easy to invoke patience
when our loved ones are not in chains.
It is easy to
‘Send them home’
This appears as a suggested reading in the 2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
[An edited version of a sermon delivered at a Worship Service for Refugee Week in June 2014]
“Firstly a clarification of terms: a refugee is someone who, from a fear of persecution, has had to leave the country he/she has lived in and
Listening to the voice
This podcast is suggested as a resource in the 2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
Listening to the voice – first 5 minutes of Guardian podcast
“Did distress calls go unanswered in the run-up to a fatal Channel disaster?” https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2023/may/10/did-the-uk-coastguard-ignore-desperate-calls-for-help-podcast
From start to 3m58s in.
Bible verses relating to migration
These appear as suggested readings in the 2023 Migration Worship and Resource Pack
The Bible on Welcoming Strangers (New International Version)
Leviticus 19:34:
“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your