Here are some random excepts of the material we have been using in our gatherings. Mainly things we have created ourselves, but with some links to other material we have used (copyright permitting) which we think may be of interest or use to a wider audience. Please do let us know if you find anything useful or interesting.
Our worship is led by various members of the congregation and friends. Our starting place is usually the set Bible readings for the day and those leading reflect on these passages alongside what is going on in the life of the Church and the world and their own experiences. Thus what we share is very context dependent and not always consistent from person to person or from time to time. We are a diverse community and we celebrate the variety of views and perspectives amongst us.
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Rage and Hope for a New Year
Ouur first eGathering of the year took the theme of Rage and Hope [see review]. Hope not as wild optimism, or some future life beyond this world, but as a wilfull re-imagining of this world as it could be. Picking up Andy’s theme from the week before we shared Steve Earle’s prophetic song “Jerusalem”: (There…
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Magnificat: Reflections on Sumud
A response to the story of a strong, defiant Mary Luke 1:39-55 Reflections on Sumud I went to a talk this week; an annual lecture remembering Tom Hurndall, an MMU photography student shot and killed by an Israeli soldier in 2003, when trying to rescue a child. The lecturer was Lara Sheehi, a Lebanese psychoanalyst.…
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Poetry not Prose
Poetry not prose. [Job 38:1-7, (34-41); Psalm 91:9 -16; Isaiah 53:4-12; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45 ] Over the past few weeks those of us who lead services and use the lectionary have been offered a choice of Old Testament readings – two parallel streams, one of which claims to be “thematically related” to the NT…
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Prayer for the City: A prayer in a photograph
A prayer in a photograph…. One of the consequences of the various lockdowns is that we have been walking much more in the hills that surround Manchester, rather than going off into Derbyshire. From these hills you often glimpse in the distance the distant city. The city of the plains. When the light strikes…
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Rewinding Creation
2 Corinthians 13:11-13: Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love…
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Rage and Hope: A book review
Rage and Hope: 75 years of Christian Aid Christian Aid as a charity has now been in existence for 75 years; a double-edged anniversary, being a testament both to much good work done and to the ocean of continuing need which seems to be swelling rather than subsiding. To mark the anniversary they have brought…
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Lent Series 2021
We are planning to have an online Lent Series on Thursday evenings during Lent, ending with a service on Maundy Thursday. What is planned is: To meet via Zoom at 7.30pm each Thursday, starting on 18th February To meet for approx. 30-40 minutes each time (this will allow those who do not have “work” Zoom…
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Christmas Sketch 2020: Angel Voices
[As performed by four of our young people – in these pandemic times in different homes in different parts of the country. Gloria, Pax and Excelsis are three angels] Scene 1 – A Birthday Commission E – GLORIA: OK, so we’ve been asked by Trinity One to plan the celebration for the birth of Trinity…
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The Sheep and the Goats
Union Chapel eGathering 22nd November 2020, 10am The Sheep and the Goats Welcome Music Prayer We centre ourselves for a few moments. Placing our worries and problems in a bigger and longer perspective. We remember that our sadnesses and troubles are not only ours, but are shared with many, and that many have gone this…
Copyright
All our own material is free to reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ You may reuse any material for non-commercial purposes providing that you properly acknowledge the source.
We believe that the work of authors, artists and musicians should be acknowledged and fairly rewarded. We have tried to ensure that all the material crerated by others is properly attributed and we only include things we beleive are either in the public domain, legitimate quotes or things or that we have premission to use. If we have failed in this then do let us know and we will correct as soon as we can.