This morning , being the first Sunday of the month, we brought different contributions to the bandstand. We’d had a special evening at Sarah’s on Wednesday night colouring in Celtic letters to introduce our favourite Bible verses and one of the things that we did today was to share what those verses were and why we so loved them. Various folk were away today and not everyone came with a contribution, but it was lovely hearing each other’s stories. Here are some of our favourite verses:

Isaiah 43: 1 ‘I have called you by name, you are mine’

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Psalm 16 :5-6 ‘Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

You make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

Surely I have a delightful in heritance.’

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Two chose this same verse from Micah 6:8:

‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.’

Or in the paraphrase of The Message:

‘But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.’

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Hebrews 12: 1 ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…’

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Malachi 4: 2  ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves’.

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Romans 12: 1 ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.’

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And Sarah shared a blessing with us from the Irish Council of churches, as we contemplated the state of the world and all who need God’s goodness:

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth.

Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.

Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.

Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.

Peace. Peace. Peace.

and a song based on the traditional Irish Celtic blessing, Lisa Dawson Deep Peace

We finished by sharing bread and wine – hope and nourishment and provision for us, for those we know and for our broken world.

It really was rather special.