Help Your Light to Shine Brightly, Especially in Places of Darkness. Amen

Help your light to shine brightly, especially in places of darkness. Amen

Lord Jesus, help us to follow your call and to put faith into action. Let reflection on your word lead to action in our world. Amen.

Freedom is a big word. To have freedom is something we don’t always recognise, or appreciate. We have the freedom to... choose what we buy, wear, eat, who we speak to, what we believe in... the freedom to become who we want to. Think about some reasons why freedom is limited for some people. On post it notes, write a message to those people who are trapped without freedom, or write it as a prayer. Have a moment of quiet, and then invite one person to read everyone’s messages/prayers slowly and reflectively. Ask God to help these people, and inspire us to help, and to appreciate our own freedom.

Woeto those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprivethe poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.

Isaiah 10: 1-2

There are times in our lives when we can feel restricted, trapped, imprisoned even. There are some laws in the world which may seem silly to some people, for example:

• In Alaska, it is against the law to look at a moose through an aeroplane window
• In Milan, there’s an old law that requires people to constantly smile while in public places; those exempt from being fined are hospital workers and those attending funerals
• In Oklahoma, it is against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7pm
• It is illegal to die in our houses of parliament

However, there are some laws across the world which are more serious and can seem unfair to us, for example, it can be illegal to be Christian, to be homosexual...

Think about the countries you know of where there are laws you would say are unjust. God says that people should not be oppressed, that there should not be unjust laws. In the Bible we hear stories of people being controlled by their governments, Kings, or those in charge. To what extent do you believe in freedom? What do you think about freedom of speech? Have you heard of any cases in the news recently to do with people advocating for freedom of speech? (

Pray for those who really are trapped, or imprisoned because of reasons we believe are unjust. Pray for the people in positions of authority, that they work to create a fair world, a just world.

Loving Creator, transform our hearts so that we walk more humbly, live more simply and become the change we wish to see in the world. Amen.

Attached is a song by Ellie Holcomb called ‘I want to be free’. During INSET a few form tutors mentioned using a reflective song and blanking out some lyrics for form prayer – asking students to think about the meaning. This is quite a slow song, but very reflective and relevant. The lyrics are below.

Roll away this stone
Roll away this sorrow
And take away this pain
That I've been holding on to, yeah
'Cause I want to be
Like the birds all singing in the trees
Oh, Lord, I want to be free

So take away this fear
Take away this doubt and
Let me know that You're here
That You're not going anywhere, yeah
'Cause I want to be
Like the fish all swimming in the sea
Oh, Lord, I want to be free

'Cause I want to be
Like the children playing in the breeze
Oh, Lord, I want to be free
Oh, my Lord, come and set us all free