Temptation

Sunday Service, 15 February 2026

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjPHuCk6wk0

Musical Prelude: Bellini - Vaga luna, che inargenti (performed by Holly Redshaw and Andrew Robinson)    

Opening Words: ‘Our Lives Intersect and Intertwine’ by Tania Y Márquez

It is a wonder and mystery that our paths have crossed;

That in the immensity of time, in the vastness of space, we coincide here.

I am in awe at the ways in which our lives intersect and intertwine,

at the beauty we create when we gather.

May our coming together make us more compassionate,

more just, more caring, and more loving.

May our hearts and minds be open to this offering.

I am so glad you are here.

Let us worship, let us marvel at the miracle of being here, right now,

and the Mystery that has brought us together.

Words of Welcome and Introduction: 

These words from Tania Y Márquez welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining via Zoom, and anyone tuning in at a later date via YouTube or listening to the podcast stream.  For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians.

Our service today will be exploring the theme of 'Temptation'. As the season of Lent approaches – this coming week we have Ash Wednesday – and indeed Shrove Tuesday, for those who are all about the pancakes! – today we will consider the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (and the similar story of Buddha's temptation by Mara) and use those stories to help us reflect on some of the everyday temptations we might be wrestling with in the here and now – all those ways in which each of us inevitably at times fall short of how might we wish to be in life. As Joan Chittister has written, 'Temptations are part of life... We grapple with them often – in some instances for our lifetime – before we come to realize that it is not so much the victory as it is the struggle that is holy.' 

Chalice Lighting: ‘You Deserve a Place’ by Craig Rowland (adapted)

Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part.

(light chalice) 

We light this chalice

for the ones who arrive dishevelled,

carrying questions, contradictions,

grief half-healed, and dreams still raw.

You deserve a place

that welcomes your becoming,

that knows your fire is not too much,

your silence not too little.

A place that sees your shadows

and still reaches for your light.

You deserve a community

that listens when you speak your truth,

that sits with you in turmoil

and rises with you in joy,

that believes in your voice

even when it trembles.

You deserve a circle

that brings you hope,

and cake, and poetry.

A place to rest.

A place to rise.

Let this flame symbolise that place:

not perfect,

but possible.

Not without cracks,

but full of light.

Welcome home.

Hymn 194 (purple): ‘We Light the Flame’

Our first hymn is number 194 in your purple hymnbooks: ‘We Light the Flame’. For those joining on zoom the words will be up on screen. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.

We light the flame that kindles our devotions.

We lift our hearts in blessed community.

The mind has thoughts, the heart its true emotions,

we celebrate in worship, full and free.

Our faith transcends the boundaries of oceans.

All shall be granted worth and dignity.

So many ways to witness to the wonder.

So many dreams by day for us to dare.

Yet, reaching out, each way is made the grander,

and love made bold for dreamers everywhere.

Diversity will never cast asunder

our common weal, our bonds of mutual care.

Infinite Spirit, dwell with us, we pray thee,

that we may share in life abundantly.

Forgive our sins, feed us with good bread daily,

with strength resist temptation steadfastly.

O God of life, sustain us now, and may we

with mindful hearts, be thankful constantly.

Candles of Joy and Concern: (8 minutes)

Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.

So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear you. 

(in person candles)

And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.

(zoom candles)

And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)

Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by Elizabeth Bukey

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Elizabeth Bukey. You might want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)

Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being,

   we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without,

      as we tune in to the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom

         to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.

      Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the

         silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)

We gather in reverence and thanks for You,

Ground of our Being, Source of all Good.

We are grateful for the gift of another breath,

and for each moment of connection, beauty, and truth.

Cry with us in our pain for our world.

Remind us that we are loved, just as we are.

Remind us that we are connected with all that is.

Remind us that we do not journey alone.

Give us what we need for today.

Call us back to our promises, commitments, and values.

Help us love ourselves and each other,

And to show that love in our actions.

Make us instruments of justice, equity, and compassion.

Free us from all that is evil; keep us from wrong.

We declare that life and love are stronger than tyranny and fear,

That a world of beauty and love is coming,

And we must shape it together. (pause)

And in a few minutes of quietness now, let us seek a higher perspective, a longer view;

starting right where we are, let us shift our awareness ever outward, in circles of concern.

Let us bring to mind those we know to be struggling this day – perhaps including ourselves –

those friends and family we hold dearest – our neighbours in community –

others around the globe we may only have heard about on the news.

And let us take time to send prayers of loving kindness to all who suffer this day. (longer pause)

Let us take stock of our own lives – the challenges we face – and our part in those difficulties –

perhaps we are all too aware of mistakes we have made, or missed opportunities –

times in this week where things didn’t turn out how we intended or had hoped.

And let us take time to ask for what we need to transform our pain and sufferings. (longer pause)

Let us look back over the last week, taking time to notice what was good, to count our blessings –

all the ways in which others helped or encouraged us, inspired or delighted us –

all the goodness and beauty we have known even in the midst of pain and struggle.

And let us take time to give prayers of thanks for all we have been given. (longer pause)

Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up

   our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,

      and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.

As we look forward now to the coming week,

     help us to live well each day and be our best selves;

     using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen.

In-Person Reading: ‘The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11, Good News Translation) (read by Brian) (2 min)

Our first reading today is the story of the temptation of Jesus, the scriptural basis for the Christian season of Lent, the forty days of preparation leading up to Easter, traditionally a time of fasting. This is the version from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, verses 1-11, from the Good News Translation.

1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.

2 After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry.

3 Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says,

‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

5 Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple,

6 and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;

    they will hold you up with their hands,

    so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

7 Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain

and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness.

9 “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan!

The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

11 Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Jesus’ Temptation’  

Thanks Brian. Let’s sing again now – our second hymn is on your hymn sheet and it’s one especially written for the beginning of Lent – it’s called ‘Jesus’ Temptation’ and it’s another telling of the story we just heard. It’s to a reasonably well-known tune but let’s hear it through once before we sing.

Wild wilderness, pathetic desolation,

as Jesus walked, then rested for the night,

for forty days his strength was tried and tested,

for forty days he sifted wrong and right.

He woke to hunger tangled in his being,

what miracle might turn these stones to bread?

But God within the centre of his spirit

was food enough to keep his body fed.

His faith was such that it could move a mountain

and God could save him from the greatest fall.

But faith like this need not be tried or tested;

the love of God will never slip or stall.

He climbed the mountain, saw the world in splendour,

then thought of ruling all his eyes could see;    

yet power like this was not the thing he needed -

devoid of wealth he'd set the people free.

Beyond temptation love would live incarnate,

his human flesh would laugh and cry and weep,

in Christ God's love and grace would not diminish,

dynamic love would never die nor sleep.

In-Person Reading: ‘The Temptations of The Buddha and Jesus of Nazareth’ by The Socialist Therapist (excerpts, adapted) (5 minutes) (read by Julia)

On the night he was enlightened, the Buddha sat under a Bodhi tree and sat in meditation, vowing to stay seated until he reached some understanding about the nature of reality. While he sat in deep meditation, he was visited by Mara, a demon celestial king who came to tempt him. Mara brought his three daughters, Greed, Hatred, and Delusion, and dazzled the Buddha with temptations of beauty and pleasure if he would only just give in and take it. I’ve heard it said in some places, The Buddha stated, “I see you, Mara!” And with that, Mara retreated. The Buddha had overcome this demon. He was now the enlightened one.

Similarly, 500 years later or so, Jesus of Nazareth spent 40 days and 40 nights in the Judean desert after his baptism and was visited by Satan. Like Mara before the Buddha, Satan attempted to tempt Jesus with three requests, including tempting to make bread out of stones to satisfy his hunger, to jump off a cliff to be caught by the angels, and bow before Satan to have all the kingdoms of the world, which are similar to the Buddha’s temptation by Mara. But Jesus resisted as well and left the desert to begin his ministry.

The similarities between the two stories are undeniable. Two of the greatest religious figures of our time are visited by demons or devils and are tempted by them to give up their path and indulge in the ego. Both of them resist and afterward become historical figures of the highest magnitude, as both men changed the course of history. But what to make of these temptations for our lives today?

I would suggest that neither of them was tempted by actual demons or devils but by the demons of the soul. We are sentient beings cursed with these fallible bodies designed to survive and procreate… but that comes with all sorts of emotional demons to face as a result. This will to survive transforms human beings into insatiable desiring beings. As the Buddha saw long ago with the four noble truths, however, the irony is that it is our desire that causes us to suffer. This insatiable hunger and desire cause all sorts of problems in us, desires that build our egos, make us greedy, and make us angry toward those who try to interject.

First and foremost, the Buddha and Jesus were [human beings] just like us, but their stories and their temptations are examples of what is possible. The Buddha and Jesus staved off temptation and became great spiritual [figures]. We are capable of seeing our demons too. Most people will not, or will not have the desire to. But there are few out there, the bodhisattvas of the world, who decide to wrestle with all their internal ugliness and temptations for the betterment of the world. Jesus and The Buddha were two of those people. In the face of temptation and pleasure and desire, they chose a different path, a path of the spirit, a path of teaching. [They] may light a way for us who live in [times of] darkness.

Words for Meditation: Temptations of Body and Soul

Thanks Julia. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into stillness I’m going to invite you to begin your own personal reflection on this theme of ‘Temptation’. These stories of Jesus and the Buddha use very heightened symbolic imagery which might not be so easy to relate to the realities of our personal lives in the here and now. But as Joan Chittister said, 'Temptations are part of life... We grapple with them often – in some instances for our lifetime – before we come to realize that it is not so much the victory as it is the struggle that is holy.'

After these prompts we’ll hold a few minutes of shared silence which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear music for meditation. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – close your eyes. As ever, these words and music are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

So, as we move into a time of silence, I invite you to gently reflect on the temptations you habitually wrestle with. And let us do this in a spirit of the deepest self-compassion. As we heard in the last reading, Jesus and the Buddha looked their demons in the eye, and we are capable of facing up to our own demons too. Recognising those patterns and habits of behaviour we have that might be spiritually unhealthy, maybe detrimental to ourselves and those around us, and taking the first steps towards change. Even once we’ve seen and acknowledged these temptations, the struggle with them might well be life-long, but it will enable us to seek help, and reach out to trusted others. We don’t have to struggle on alone.

Maybe you are most troubled by material temptations. Habits around money or consumption. Compulsive behaviour with distractions that temporarily anaesthetise us from life’s sufferings. Substance misuse, or overworking, or thrill-seeking, or endless scrolling. Using people as things. 

Or maybe you are more troubled by inner temptations. Habits of the soul. Patterns of thought. Maybe you are tempted to despair, in the face of the world’s troubles, or your own personal struggles. Or, conversely, to denial – turning away from reality – refusing to engage with it.

Maybe you are tempted to think of yourself as entirely independent – a rock, an island – self-sufficient and needing nobody. Or, conversely, as entirely dependent – helpless, and hopeless.

Maybe you are tempted to grandiosity, thinking everything is all about you, all down to you to fix. Or, conversely, maybe you are tempted to self-abnegation, thinking of yourself as a nobody, powerless. 

Each of us has our own version of these inner struggles, these polarising tendencies, to wrestle with. Simply holding a gentle and kindly awareness of that which tempts us, or trips us up, in life can be a very helpful way to start to change our relationship with that aspect of ourselves. So, as we head into silence, let us look at our temptations clearly, and hold ourselves gently, in self-compassion.

Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell  

Interlude: Intermezzo - Michael Rose (performed by Holly Redshaw and Andrew Robinson)    

In-Person Reading: ‘Jesus in Isolation’ by Padraig Ó Tuama (excerpt, adapted)

This is a longer than usual reading but I think it’s worth it – from Padraig Ó Tuama – written during the pandemic lockdowns – for context, in the longer piece from which this extract is taken he opens with a description of his own struggles with vertigo during that time when he had to lie still, alone, in a darkened room for weeks on end, and all he could do was listen to the voices of audiobooks. This is called ‘Jesus in Isolation’.

When Jesus of Nazareth went into the desert of isolation, he seemed to be in need of companionship. He’d brought nothing but himself along with him for company but, as we all know, each self is a set of selves. So, he was in the wilderness with himselves, a possession of incarnations.

Back to the wilderness: there are 40 days that pass in oblivion, Jesus in isolation. Jesus is isolated; a man alone in a place empty of other people. But not empty. There are animals, stars, rocks, whatever he’s getting shelter from, insects, and all his other selves. He’s visited by those selves, just like many of us are.

It wasn’t a devil who slunk up to him. It wasn’t a serpent. It wasn’t a man in a red-skinned costume complete with horns and a slinky, silky tail. It wasn’t any of those. It was just one of the versions of himself, inviting him to think about speeding up the process (turn the stones to bread) or ending it all (jump from the temple) or assuming a position of power (bow down and I’ll give you all of this). These three things must have been temptations for him: hunger, destruction, influence. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been real temptations. A real temptation is when you want it; or half-want it at least. If he’d hated bread, then bread wouldn’t have been of interest. We know this. What wrecks one person doesn’t wreck another. What some barely notice is something others barely scrape through.

What’s interesting in this strange encounter in isolation is that Jesus’ selves engage in a dialogue about literature. He turns to a text he knows well – by heart, it seems – in order to host the conversation about the kind of person he would be if he got out of this wilderness. ‘One does not live by bread alone’, he says to himself, and ‘worship the Lord your God; serve only him.’ Then one of his selves seems to get the trick and quotes the text back to him: ‘He will command his angels concerning you; to protect you’ and ‘on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’.

Before Jesus closes the argument with a final quote, what we see is that this literature has become a part of him. He knows it so well that he is a rabbinical school in himself; an argument of theologians in a room poring over translations and interpretations. ‘Who am I to be?’ Jesus seems to be asking. As well as ‘How am I supposed to be who it is I believe I am?’ This is a crisis, and what he does not seem able to do is find a way where the text will finally reassure him. Instead, he makes a judgement: he is trying to be bigger than his boots. He is putting God to a test, and he must finish. So he does. And the others go away.

But he has heard himself in the midst of this awful struggle. Awful, because he seems to be alone, because he has no friends around him, at least in Luke and Matthew. The function of the tempter, that shade of Jesus, is that he has had an encounter, and therein lies the value.

How did he tell his friends about this experience? Somehow someone must have heard. Jesus’ “wrestling with himself” might just be a literary device, but I like to think that he told stories about facing himself, a story that became theologised a little. All there was in the desert was him, some animals, and the other versions of him too. He had to listen. He had to meet. He had to face. He had to question. He had to search for certitude, and in the absence of certitude, he had to choose. It was temporary, this isolation. Soon he was speaking of it, sharing it, telling it, mythologising it into a tempter with fiery eyes and cloven hooves. The truth is in there too, of course: the things that could threaten to undo him.

What voices do I hear in isolation? What literature do I turn to that shapes the conversation? What do I do? Whom do I tell? What certitude do I search for? What do I do in the collapse of this certitude? What friends do I seek out for conversation in the after? It’s strange to note that the sometimes random books you read, or films you watch, or conversations you overhear, might be the ones you turn to during a time of isolation, in a wilderness, when dizzy in the middle of the night.

Mini-Reflection: ‘Temptation’ by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Words from Padraig Ó Tuama. And I only want to add a few words of my own today, on this subject of ‘Temptation’, as it’s a big one and I fear I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I wonder how you respond to the story of the devil tempting Jesus, or the story of Mara tempting the Buddha? On today’s hymn sheet I’ve included an image of the latter story – which we’ll also show on screen for a moment – it’s a fantastical picture, by a Buddhist artist called Aloka, of the Buddha sitting serene in this bubble of light and flowers while every kind of snarling demon gangs up on him! All manner of beasts and horrors closing in.

Such images might make the stories seem far removed from our everyday concerns. But don’t we all have temptations we wrestle with? Habits of behaviour, or patterns of mind, that we find ourselves falling into again and again, perhaps despite our best intentions? Ways of being that aren’t healthy and which don’t represent our best selves. I would guess we’ve all had that experience of feeling ourselves drawn towards the irresistible thought or action. And possibly even thinking to ourselves ‘oh no, not again…’ as we do so. But, still, doing the thing we both do and we don’t want to do.

In this season of Lent people often think about temptation in relation to giving things up as a spiritual practice – a Lenten sacrifice – fasting from chocolate, or even cake (God forbid!). Or perhaps they’ll refrain from gossip, or swearing, or complaining. For some of us, though, the question of temptation is tied up with more serious addiction issues, those habits that are especially hard to break. For some there’s an ever-present temptation to drink, or use drugs, or gamble, and so on. If that’s the case for you, I hope you are getting the support you need, to help you take good care of yourself and make wise choices. UU Minister Marlin Lavanhar has this to say: ‘Temptation is real… and it can steal your future, and your family, and your freedom. And the best medicine is reaching out. Reaching out to others who care and can be trusted. Reaching out to God if you can. And reaching out in service to others so that your life has meaning and purpose… Have courage, for you are not alone.’

The temptations in the stories of Jesus and the Buddha seem to be of a slightly different nature. Temptations of the soul, perhaps. They’re depicted as devils or demons – and though most of us probably don’t believe in that literally, we do use that language colloquially, all the time – we talk about people ‘struggling with their demons’ – usually to mean that they have got some long-standing inner turmoil, and unhelpful, unhealthy, patterns of thought and behaviour. That’s what I want to focus on today. But such inner temptations can be more slippery to get hold of.

The Buddha was said to be tempted by greed, hatred, delusion (or ignorance). And Jesus was tempted by hunger, destruction, and influence. These are often characterised as temptations of ego, of desire for gratification, of wanting our own way. But as I tried to hint at in the meditation earlier, our temptations could go either way, for example, some of us aren’t so much tempted to inflate ourselves as we are to do ourselves down.

For me one of the biggest temptations of these times we are living through is the temptation to despair. The image I have put on the front of the order of service today

is a 15th century engraving (by a German artist known as Master E.S.) depicting the temptation to despair – we’ll just briefly pop it on screen – as you can see it shows a tormented man in bed surrounded by demons. This personification of the temptation to despair really speaks to me. The sense of all these voices crowding round your bed to tell you how hopeless everything is and what you should or shouldn’t be doing about it.

Padraig Ó Tuama interpreted Jesus’ temptation as him conducting a dialogue between his multiple selves (which made me think of Internal Family Systems for those of you who are familiar with that therapeutic model). In the wilderness away from all other distractions he was forced to face them and listen to their voices. The voices are asking ‘who am I to be?’ and ‘how am I supposed to be who it is I believe I am?’ These are questions of identity, calling, and purpose. And I think the point of these stories is that our various temptations divert us from our true self, our unique calling, our purpose. Similarly in the story of the Buddha and Mara he is being diverted from enlightenment.

If we find ourselves in the wilderness, this Lent, perhaps we can take it as an invitation to face up to our demons. And take a good look at ourselves. Listen to those voices. Because once we have some greater conscious awareness of our habits of behaviour and compulsive patterns of thought, we might have more freedom to choose. And let us remember those words of Joan Chittister to close: 'Temptations are part of life... We grapple with them often – in some instances for our lifetime – before we come to realize that it is not so much the victory as it is the struggle that is holy.’ Amen.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘For the Healing of the Nations’

Time for one last hymn, and it’s on your hymn sheet, ‘For the Healing of the Nations’. I struggled to find hymns that were on topic this week so I’m picking this one just because we haven’t had it for a while and there’s never a time when we don’t need to hear its message. Sing up if you can.

For the healing of the nations,

God, we pray with one accord;

For a just and equal sharing

Of the things that earth affords.

To a life of love in action

Help us rise and pledge our word,

Help us rise and pledge our word.  

Lead us ever into freedom,

From despair your world release;

That, redeemed from war and hatred,

All may come and go in peace.

Show us how through care and goodness

Fear will die and hope increase,

Fear will die and hope increase.

All that kills abundant living,

Let it from the earth depart;

Pride of status, race or schooling,

Dogmas keeping us apart.

May our common quest for justice

Be our brief life’s hallowed art,

Be our brief life’s hallowed art.

Announcements:

Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Charlotte for co-hosting. Thanks to Holly and Andrew for lovely music, and Benjie for his singing support. Thanks to Brian and Julia for reading. Thanks to Liz for greeting and Julia for making coffee. If you are in-person do stay for cake (it’s Apple and Pear or Pina Colada cake).  If you’re online stay for a chat with Charlotte if you can.

It’s crafternoon today so please do stay behind to do colouring or felting or your own projects in the hall next door from 1-3pm.

Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week it’s on the theme of ‘Purpose’ – email Jane if you want to join. And we have the in-person Heart and Soul this Wednesday – please le me know if you’re going to be there .

Next Sunday we have the Better World Book Club – you’ve probably just got enough time to read ‘What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat’ by Aubrey Gordon.  

And looking even further ahead there are a couple of events in March to add to your diary. Having failed to get to Rainham Marshes RSPB this week we’re going to have another try for a spring walk on 12^th March. Let me know if you plan to join us. And we’re going to have another labyrinth mini-retreat to mark the spring equinox after the service on Sunday 22^nd March.

Next Sunday we’ll be back here at 11am when Jasmine and I will co-lead the service on ‘Right Relation’. And Margaret will be here to lead her singing class to help you ‘Find Your Voice’.

Details of all our various activities are printed on the back of the order of service, for you to take away, and also in the Friday email.  The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.  

Benediction: based on words by Craig Rowland

As we extinguish this flame,

may we carry its warmth into the world

not as a memory,

but as a promise.

A promise that you deserve

a place where your voice matters,

where your laughter is treasured,

and your silence is honoured.

You deserve a circle

that sees your scars and your strength,

your doubts and your radiance,

and holds them all with care.

Let us be that circle for one another—

a community of fierce welcome,

wild grace, and radical hope.

You belong here. You always have. Amen.

Closing Music: Peggy's Minute Rag - Elena Kats-Chernin (performed by Holly Redshaw and Andrew Robinson)

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

15th February 2026