I wrote this gathering a few years ago but never used it. this seemed to be the year. We are here because we’re people who have heard a rumour that there’s life to be found on the other side of death. We’re here because just the rumour is enough to bring us hope and just…
a first thought for the prison on easter sunday Today we find ourselves in a world where the inevitable no longer seems sure, and we wonder what else is made possible because of the resurrection: what walls will be broken and what darkness will be destroyed; what death will be shown for what it is:…
Thanks to Fr Michael O’Brien for the use of the image ‘Jesus laid in the tomb’ I know I keep saying that being in the prison is surreal, but, you know, it really is. Last night when i left the prison I went to meet a friend for a drink, and when he asked what…
One of the things that we’ve been trying to do with worship in the prisons is help those inside connect with bigger issues in the world. The prison system is designed to isolate inmates from the world; we want to offer ways they can participate and take responsibility for being part of a better world…
This is Sunday’s service [a rough draft, anyway]. In the centre of the worship space we’ll lay out black fabric / card and on the top of that place an image – maybe one like this – blown up to A2 size. The Christ candle, when lit, will be placed on the image. The worship…
a prayer for the prison on Easter Sunday We don’t know what really happened or if we have the faith to believe whatever did but the resurrection doesn’t depend on our faith so come anyway. We are too cynical for this: We have trusted, and then lost, too often, and we may need to sit…
The prison liturgies are very rhythmic and repetitive. That’s so that a single idea can cement itself, rather than a complicated liturgy that is unpredictable and keeps you off balance. There’s a place for both kinds of liturgy. Prisons are generally the place for the former. It frustrates me how wordy these have to be.…
i finally finished a reasonable draft of the Good Friday liturgy for the prisons yesterday. It needs a lot of reworking, but it’s good to have a draft… i wrote the Easter Saturday postcards in a three minute window this morning [it only took three minutes to write, but behind that was approximately 6 hours…
