Peace Prayer April 2026

We pray that…
The door is opened
To peace

May peace walk abroad
In accursed places

We pray that…
The commands
To set the machinery in motion
And the places
Where earth and flesh
Are dishonoured
Are healed

Let us nurture gardens
Plant orchards
Grow flowers 
Hear the bees buzz
Listen to birdsong
And the sweet sound
Of butterflies in flight

May we open the doors
To peace
Let the sun shine in
Bringing warmth to the soul
Compassion for the innocent

Let us pray for peace
And greet peace
Like an old friend
And let love prevail
Amen

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Peace Prayer

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.

Thank you
Amen

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Five Years Since Covid

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.

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Gay Funeral Reading

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

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Funeral Reading for a Mum

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:

A Blessing for Mum

Is there anything
Anything… anywhere
Quite like a perfect Mum?
Not that I know of

Is there anyone
Anywhere
We would rather bless today?
 No way

My Mum… our Mum
Was the crème de la crème
The elite on the street
The best of the best

Feeding us –
Caring for us –
Laughing at us –
Yelling and supporting us 

She was the ultimate
Top-notch-mother-superior
In every way
The best of the best

Which is why
We bless her and love her
And cherish her
In a thousand ways

You made us
What we are 
You were the best of the best

Thank you, Mum

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A Blessing for the Year End

Think of the life and lives
That strolled through those days
Captured in the book
Retold in 12 months

There was one memory
Surprising, kind or sweet –
A good spark
Destined to light the future

And you can kindle it
Blow gently on the flame
Shelter it, wish it well
So we can warm ourselves
With that thought.

Good or bad
Happy or sad
Seek and find
A thought jewel
A radiant memory

There is always a bookmark
For the page
That takes you
To that recollection

Such joyful messages
Reside in the soul

This is why
We look ahead
Face the unknown
And offer love 
And heartfelt thanks
At the end of the year
Blessing ourselves and the past year

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Interfaith Winter Prayer

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

Thank you

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Angry Peace Prayer

On October 15th The Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove held a peace vigil. It proved to be a beautiful and sad moment of peace: all sorts of loving messages of peace, and even songs were shared, along with long silences and candle lighting. I read a prayer, entitled The Four Points Peace Prayer, but it was not my heartfelt choice. The one I wanted to read was the following, which is called Peace Prayer in Time of War, but it seemed to me to be far too angry to read in a peace vigil, where loving calm prevails. But this remains the better prayer… even if it is angry.

Join me in prayer…
In a country lane
Where bees visit sleepy lavender
The crooning blackbird is pitch perfect
And the leaves are twirling in the breeze

Join me in prayer
In a laboratory
Where the efficiency of a cluster bomb
Is statistically evaluated
The fruits of its achievements
Are found near our country lane
Where we meet the ghosts of travellers
Children, women and men
Innocent, each and every one

Join me in prayer
And let us say together
Stop…
Stop the machinery of war
Those that make arms
Those that use them
Those that give orders to deploy them
Stop them all

This is why we pray together… now

Join me in prayer
For a world where peace
Is utterly irresistible
Where killing machines are an abomination
Where you and I hear the sound of the wind
The birdsong, the buzzing of bees in the lavender
And we know in our hearts
That our prayers have finally been answered

Thank you

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Autumn Inspiration

For the past eight years I have been doing a radio slot on Sunday mornings – a 60 second sermon. The themes have varied greatly, from miracles to uncertainty. Today, the 1st of September, it had to be about autumn… and here it is:

Today is officially the first day of autumn, an inspirational moment for people and poets alike. Autumn is a time of reflection and balance. On Sunday 22nd of September we’ll experience the autumn equinox – the moment when the sun is above the equator, and day and night will be of equal length. Thereafter night will become longer than day, and autumn will set-in for real. Then we too can also pause, reflect and rebalance.

Sussex has an abundance of the trees which flourished in the summer rain but will soon shed their leaves. Green leaves will turn to gold, orange and red…a glorious sight in our parks, streets and gardens. Autumn trees remind us that the aging process itself brings unexpected beauty and wisdom, for who can deny the mystical wisdom of trees and who can forget that trees are not only beautiful, they are the very lungs of our planet. 

Sir David Attenborough said “ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism,” While the clergyman Henry Ward Beecher said “Of all mans’ works of art, a cathedral is the greatest. But a vast and majestic tree is greater than that.” Autumn and its trees are a sacred miracle that will bless us in the days to come.

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The BBC Poetry Course

The BBC Maestro Poetry Course is great fun. It was created by the great Carol Ann Duffy. Not only does it remind one that the BBC is a seriously good thing, but even more wonderful, it encourages one to write poetry in a structured way. The first chapter dealt with memories.

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