Yesterday in St Andrew’s we held a service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A sizeable group drawn from across the Churches and Fellowships around Tain, Invergordon, Ardgay and Dornoch gathered together for a Service prepared by Christians in Minnesota. The focus was on injustice and in particular racial injustice, remembering George Floyd who died during ill-treatment by police in Minnesota and also marking the 30th anniversary of the brutal killing of Stephen Lawrence in London.

Folk from a variety of churches and fellowships contributed to the service which included hymns, readings, prayers and a ritual where we built a cairn at the foot of the cross as we acknowledged our complicity in injustice.

It also included a rather wonderful Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen

(Attributed to the early followers of St Francis)

… and afterwards?

Well of course there were lovely refreshments and a time for fellowship where Christian who don’t get to meet up very often were able to relax and share.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to both the service and the refreshments.