It’s summer, time to laugh and dance and enjoy life. Here’s a prayer for the new Prayer Book. Hope you enjoy it.
May I have pals That can cultivate the art of the giggle Without being completely blotto May the dog sing me a Mozart aria And the cat laugh at my jokes
May the Lord of Laughter Award me the world’s best toffee apple And the teeth to go with it May the Lady of Laughter Transform my luke-warm wit Into something blooming legendary
May the sun tan my toes And the moon light my way to the playground May I be adored by angels Praised by the wise And given a free pass to Glyndebourne Not to mention the Amex
Please let the Tories go away May Reform re-form on Alpha Centauri May the Labour Party show compassion for once May Brexit become a figment of my imagination
Let the sun shine on me Without giving me skin cancer Let the moon inspire me To write better than wot Shakespeare did May I love and be loved By all those I love And a few more besides And may I enjoy being And non-being as well Now and forever Thank you
There’s a lot of fear about; fear about the madness of politicians; fear about the wellbeing of the environment; fear for the future. Some reckon that fear is the opposite of love, and I am inclined to agree.This prayer is dedicated to those that are feeling the fear of the moment, and I feel for them.
Everywhere we go There is a cause A cause to worry A cause for pain
But everywhere we go There’s a powerful challenge… It comes from a little voice That says Maybe there’s no cause to worry No reason for pain
The voice says Now’s the moment To reach out To the untouchable sky And ask for calm
Very quietly it says In this second Remember the song of the sea And ask for peace
Don’t be afraid The world may seem noisy Full of clattering antagonism But it’s kind
Remember… Kindness is everywhere It’s in you and around you Gently weaving compassion Into your soul Opening doors of understanding Universal love for the world
When you experience Love for the world You can’t feel fear There’s no place Or space For fear Just love
On Mayday- a day when so many traditions and beliefs are celebrated and honoured by so many good souls, the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove will be holding a peace vigil at the wonderful Peace Statue – also known as the Peace Angel. The statue stands between Brighton and Hove, and serves as a focal point for many peace demonstrations in our Beautiful City. Please do join us at 6.30pm for the vigil and also a beautiful walking meditation carried out by Elizabeth Archer of the Pebbles Sangha.
This is an interfaith prayer dedicated to the victims of war and the 117 million people that are forcibly displaced worldwide.
There is a place in the heart That is open, warm and receptive It is a place of caring For friends, acquaintances and family.
There is a place in the soul That we can all share Happy that those we love are safe Happy in the understanding That peace is always The best home of all.
All of us — Muslims, Jews, Buddhists Pagans, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’i Quakers, Catholics, Anglicans and atheists Jedis, agnostics and all of us Would give the planet such a gift If we could come together… As thinkers, healers and gardeners And plant the seed of an idea
That idea is that peace Is a home… and a garden A place of intense beauty Born from our diverse world Full of colour, texture and love, Peace is a haven of harmony Needed by us all.
So together, let us give life To this sacred moment right now In companionship and clarity Let us breathe in light and love And then pause… Then… let us breathe out…peace And with every breath Let us send the spirit of peace Far out…into the world
And let that exhaled breath… That breath of peace take flight… Let it be carried on the air Borne on breezes and clouds Touching the hearts and minds Of unyielding dictators Barbaric business magnates Murderous military leaders The human predators
Let our loving breath of peace Change the thinking of others So that they come to understand What you and I know so well… That peace is the garden And the home We all seek… Now and forever.
March 9th was Covid Reflection Day. This talk was given at an Iftar Dinner at the Brighton Centre last night.It was much shorter than I would have liked, but it certainly made us all think.
The pandemic revealed that Her Majesty’s Government at the time of Covid 19 failed to tackle so many issues… including the impact of isolation on mental health and the funding of the NHS. By contrast Brighton and Hove’s Council in 2020, under the leadership of Nancy Platts tackled the unknown dangers of the Pandemic with real purpose and commitment, and to this effect our city was truly blessed.
My name is Anthea Ballam and I am an Interfaith Minister and the Chair of the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove. The Interfaith Contact Group (IFCG) brings people of faith and none together in friendship and harmony working closely with faith groups.
But before we go any further, I would just like to ask if we can set aside a brief moment of silence to honour the 550 people who died of Covid in Brighton and Hove, the 850 health and social care workers that died in the UK, the 115,000 health workers who died worldwide and the 7,010, 681 people who died worldwide. Just a moment of silence….
I would like to focus on the consequences of isolation, and what the people of faith in our city did to alleviate the problems faced by lonely neighbours, friends and even strangers. The mental health damage from the pandemic was terrible. To understand this let’s think about prison. The worst punishment levelled at anyone who transgresses in prison is solitary confinement, and this is given to a prisoner for a week or two at most. Good people of all ages that lived alone during the pandemic suffered solitary confinement for months and months. The mental health consequences were dreadful. This hardly bears thinking about… nor do the activities of our Government at the time. Isolation and long Covid were two of the worst legacies of Covid 19.
The faith groups, and I speak particularly of The Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in our City, came forward in strength. So many good souls sought out neighbours, friends and total strangers who needed all sorts of things – food, medicines, medical prescriptions, shopping even companionship. Empty and difficult lives were improved beyond measure by contacts by phone, Zoom and Facetime. Kitchens in churches, mosques, synagogues and ethnic restaurants were used to prepare food parcels for people the length and breadth of our City, and for some people those that brought these food parcels to others were the only contact some people had for days. The old, infirm, poor and young all benefited from the generosity of those who offered their services for nothing.
For the first time in 800 years, places of worship were closed because of Covid. For some this was a terrible loss. It is a known fact that those that visit places of worship regularly are physically and mentally stronger than those that don’t. Closing Mosques, Churches, Synagogues and Temples was a devastating move that made the isolation of many people a dreadful prospect.
In support of those who couldn’t attend their places of worship The Interfaith Contact Group launched a weekly on-line publication called Words of Connection. These readings were themed, around seasons, ideas and the pandemic itself, and the prayers and poems were truly interfaith, so that people across the City, including ambulance drivers and health workers with or without faith, could find some kind of spiritual nourishment on a regular basis. After a while these readings became part of the lives of people across the UK, as well.
Many of us couldn’t attend funerals or services of worship for loved ones, and this was another cruelty; here again our City rose to the occasion. On the 17th of October 2021 we held a Day of Compassion. At the behest of the Mayor, Councillor Alan Robins, a memorial service for the 550 people that died of Covid in our City took place in the Brighton Dome. Others supported this initiative. The Jubilee Library provided space for a photographic exhibition of pictures taken during the pandemic. Heart-rending images of little children playing alone appeared alongside haunting views of empty streets. The Fabrica Art Gallery ran a creative workshop for children bereaved by the loss of a relative or friend during the pandemic. Several children who had lost grandparents and friends benefited greatly from this.
And if you are interested you can discover more about the heroism of the people of Brighton and Hove at that sad time; just check out the IFCG’s film Light in the Lockdown. A shortened film of the Day of Compassion Service is also available.
Ten days ago I was browsing my website – Funeral Readings – and realised that the missing category was LGBT. So I decided to rectify this, but to do this I needed to check out what readings were available to the LGBT community. I skipped into Google, and there, near the top was something called ‘Gay Funeral Reading’. Very kindly Google gives one a couple of lines as a taste of what follows, and as I read it, I realised the vocabulary and idiom sounded weirdly familiar… in fact I found myself squeaking out loud “this stuff sounds like me!” And it was. It was a piece of jolly doggerel that I had written… and then completely forgotten about — a gay funeral reading in every sense of the word. OK, I admit it’s not great poetry, but it is what it says…
Gay Funeral Reading
You just popped out to say goodbye You didn’t bumble back Today we’re sniffing in the rain All dressed in blue and black
You said your life was lovely You said you’d stay right here Before you’d gone You felt all wrong Not straight, but pink and queer
The life and soul of the party We’ll miss your silly ways But it’s not the time To read a bum rhyme To cheer-up some snivelling gays
And as for styles in blue and black They’re not exactly cheeky Some friends look strange, Others deranged And others downright geeky
You might as well stay up there It’s not as if we mind You’ll share camp jokes With holy folks While we all stay behind
When we say ‘Mum’ it means something so different from ‘mother’. A mum is someone special, someone close to the heart. Bearing this in mind I had to write a funeral reading for a special mum, a mum above all others. I originally wrote this a couple of years ago, but I had to think about it all over again… and here it is:
I tend to write for purpose. It’s a hangover from my past when I worked as a journalist and copywriter. This prayer was written for a Winter Vigil. It pays homage to the spirit of the Tao and Winter.
We give thanks for your mystery Season of the North
When you triumph We slam the door, Turning against Your howling winds
At night we dream of peace When clouds bear us far away Beyond the soundless snowfall
But when the door is opened We must accept darkness Brutal hunger, burning cold Another world out there
Tucked away We sit beside the fire Watch the dancing flames Tell tales of summer
Those memories Flashes of laughter Moments of sharing Food, light and warmth Are all part of the season
And so We give thanks From the heart For the understanding The mystery The heat and cold Of winter
