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Ben Lindsay聽Good morning and welcome to this Father鈥檚 Day service. For many people, today is an opportunity to honour our fathers,聽an opportunity to express our gratitude.! For others the thought of Father鈥檚 Day brings pain, sadness and frustration.聽Maybe your relationship with your father wasn鈥檛 positive or maybe you never knew him.聽
Perhaps today you want to honour a father figure in your life, a man or woman, who played a significant role in your upbringing in the absence of your biological father.聽Maybe your father was there in your life but was not fully present. Life isn鈥檛 straight forward and fathers, like all human beings, are complex.聽聽Although the language of God as father can be difficult for some, the qualities modelled for us in the Bible 鈥� of unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness 鈥撀燼re powerful.聽 And the Father鈥檚 love is something we all need, especially at the moment when there鈥檚 so much uncertainty and pain in the world.聽Great is thy faithfulness, recorded for us by Marie Bashiru
MUSIC 鈥� Great is thy faithfulness 鈥� recorded by Marie Bashiru &聽Terry Tetteh-Martey
Prayer & explain theme a bit more -Ben 聽聽In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, the protests that followed and the discussions that are continuing about racism,聽many of us are reflecting on how we bring up children in this context. In the words of Angela Davis, how do we go from 鈥渘on-racist to anti-racist?鈥澛燬omething unprecedented is happening in our society. Disbelief and anger have turned into a demand for racial equality and reform across the board in a way I have seen before.聽From the police to the education system and beyond, there is now (more than ever) a demand to reimagine our society through a racial justice lens.聽聽PrayerHeavenly Father, thank you that throughout scripture you have shown that you are God of justice. you have always raised people up to fight against injustice.聽Please send your strength, endurance and encouragement for anyone who has suffered the indignity and pain of racism.聽I also thank you for the examples of people in scripture 鈥� like Esther - who stood up for and alongside those being oppressed.聽Please raise more Esthers as we strive to dismantle racist structures globally and here in the UK. Amen
MUSIC 鈥� We shall overcome 聽- London Community Gospel Choir聽CD Glorious聽
Ben Lindsay聽We shall overcome someday 鈥� sung for us there by the London Community Gospel Choir.聽In striving for freedom and equality it鈥檚 important for us all to have good examples of people who are fighting for justice.聽Lord Hastings and Guvna B are two people I have huge respect for. I鈥檝e got to know Lord Hastings over the past couple of years as someone with a huge heart,聽particularly for young black men in the criminal justice system and helping them to lead rehabilitated lives. Guvna B is in my opinion -聽one of the best UK rappers of his generation. His passion to see young people flourish and to be inspired by positive music is refreshing and needed.聽Their stories connect with me, as someone who has worked in the youth sector for 20 years and in 2019 launched Power The Fight,聽a charity that empowers communities to end youth violence. With our shared interests, I wanted to have a conversation across our generations about fatherhood.聽
Lord Hasting shares now what fatherhood means to him, followed by Guvna B.聽
Lord Hastings聽For many of us we would begin with thinking, did we have a father present in our own lives, and for me I did have my father present in my life, but he聽 father died when I was 16 in a car crash in Jamaica. My memories of him are hugely significant. He struggled all his life with epilepsy and even with his severe disability, his persistence in making sure we were well looked after, supported and educated was immense. And until I left home at 14 to go to boarding school in England, and whenever I would go back to Jamaica, without fail my father would read us Rudyard Kipling鈥檚 poem 鈥業f鈥� every Sunday. The poem concludes if you fulfil all these wonderful things, then 鈥榊ou鈥檒l be a man someday my son.鈥櫬� I could understand my father wanted to give us something beautiful, gem like, so I saw a man struggling with himself but profoundly giving to us and that was a wonderful example.
Guvna BI鈥檝e recently become a father, my son is 8 months old, and before I had him fatherhood to me meant safety, because my dad made me feel very safe.聽 He came to London from Ghana, had nothing and worked his way up from there, but he was very much in survival mode. But I now strongly feel there鈥檚 a second part of fatherhood which is deep friendship, and something that I aspire to have with my son, I think my dad was a great guy but he didn鈥檛 do that well with the friendship side of our relationship.. But to be fair I do understand that he didn鈥檛 really have the time to delve into my feelings because he was busy just trying to make rent each month. I鈥檝e had the safety side of it modelled to an excellent level and I鈥檓 learning the deep friendship side of it now.
MUSIC 鈥揋ood Good Father 鈥� Housefires聽CD Housefires II聽

Ben Lindsay聽Fatherhood for me isn鈥檛 just about biological fathers; it鈥檚 about the people you鈥檙e fortunate to have around you.聽聽My parents divorced when I was 7 and I would say my dad did the best he could to be present in my life, but I鈥檝e been fortunate not just to have him,聽I鈥檝e had uncles and friends who have been father figures in my life. As I became a Christian in my early 20鈥檚 there were some good people around me.聽Like other people, coming into Christianity, the idea of the father鈥檚 love took me a long time to embrace.聽聽We have this all loving, compassionate God, a perfect father unlike anything we鈥檝e experienced on earth.聽So how can we relate to Our Father in Heaven? Guvna B and Lord Hastings again鈥�
Guvna B聽We have this father who鈥檚 nothing like our fathers on earth 鈥� but with that being said,聽some of the characteristics I鈥檝e picked up from my dad and now being a dad shine a light on how much God loves me. When my father passed away a few years ago,聽聽I had no doubt in my mind he had given me everything he could,聽 loved me as much as he could, sacrificed what he could,聽and it reminded me of the ultimate sacrifice, the fact that God gave his only son for our sins. And now when I look at my son, I think whatever you do聽鈥� I will love you unconditionally. A father in heaven which trumps any love here on earth, the magnitude of it is incredible and is a great comfort to me.
Lord Hastings聽
God as our father gives us hope and confidence, even in turmoil, the persistence of his strength,聽as father the sincerity of his love for us was so immense that he sent his son so we might have life.聽聽So it鈥檚 the joy of seeing a role model father who battled everything to give us the basics,聽I鈥檝e seen how God in his generosity gave us everything 鈥� that is the kind of father I can sit and say聽 holy is your name your kingdom come your will be done.聽
MUSIC - Revelation 19:1 Sunday Service ChoirCD Jesus Is Born
Reading -聽 Rebekah Walker
Luke 15: 11-24 (The Prodigal Son)聽11 Jesus said: 鈥淭here was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 鈥楩ather, give me my share of the estate.鈥櫬燬o he divided his property between them.13 鈥淣ot long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.聽14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need..17 鈥淲hen he came to his senses, he said, 鈥楬ow many of my father鈥檚 hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!聽18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.聽19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.鈥� 20 So he got up and went to his father.鈥淏ut while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.21 鈥淭he son said to him, 鈥楩ather, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.鈥�22 鈥淏ut the father said to his servants, 鈥楺uick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let鈥檚 have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.鈥� So they began to celebrate.
Reflection 鈥� Ben Lindsay聽As a young Christian, I struggled with the concept of our heavenly Father 鈥撀營 imagined a strict, dictator type God who was continually disappointed with the bad decisions I made.Yet the story of the prodigal son blows that misconception out of the water. We see a father who first gives his son freedom to choose -聽even though the father could anticipate that giving the younger son his inheritance early would be detrimental.聽We see that the father spots his son from a long way off, breaks with all cultural norms, runs to meet his son,聽throws his arms around him and kisses him. Whatever the youngest son鈥檚 past misdemeanours,聽the father does not treat him with contempt but gives a lavish welcome with gifts and extreme warmth.聽The rebellion is forgotten and the joy of the Father who thought his son was lost is uncontainable because now he is found.聽
Sometimes I find myself just sitting there, watching my children play. I鈥檓 mesmerised by the joy, freedom and delight they have.聽Without them doing anything significant 鈥� I鈥檓 happy. This feeling I have for my children is what our Father in heaven has for us when the writer in Zephaniah says聽鈥淗e will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.鈥澛燣ike the parable of the Prodigal Son, without us doing anything special 鈥� He delights over us. This is the love that Jesus calls us into 鈥撀爐o share in the intimacy of the Son and the Father.聽
In this time of increased racial tension in the US and UK, where there is rightly anger at black people dying in police custody,聽this parable is a timely reminder that we have a Father in heaven who 鈥渟hows no partiality鈥� and loves unconditionally no matter who we are, or what we鈥檝e done.聽
One of the reasons I care so much about the battle against racial injustice is because of my mother.聽From an early age I was taught about the racial discrimination black South Africans endured during Apartheid.聽We went on marches together and always had real and honest discussions about the racial atrocities happening at that time.聽The desire and love to 鈥渟eek justice鈥� and to 鈥渃orrect oppression鈥� as it says in Isaiah was passed on to me from her.聽This love and direction shows what we put into our children will manifest into something great. We鈥檒l hear from Lord Hastings in a moment,聽after our next hymn 鈥� Martin Luther King鈥檚 favourite - Take My Hand Precious Lord, sung by Marie Bashiru.
MUSIC 鈥� Take My Hand Precious Lord 鈥搑ecorded by Marie Bashiru &聽Terry Tetteh-Martey
Reflection from Lord Hastings聽We鈥檙e having this Father鈥檚 Day during a period of great fear and tragic violence.聽I鈥檓 old enough to remember the extreme race riots in the USA in the 1960s and saw Martin Luther King make his famous聽鈥業 have a dream speech 鈥� and聽 then subsequently tragically be assassinated.聽
History shows that no matter how legitimate the cause and how orderly the protest, there will always be extreme haters who destroy life and seek to split communities.聽聽As a father Martin Luther king specifically said that central to his dream was his hope that his four children would not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.聽This points us in a different direction. As a father he knew that it鈥檚 never violence that ends a fight for justice but it is the relentless pursuit of honour and transformation justice and freedom and dignity.聽
A father should always want justice, freedom and dignity for his children. A father longs for only the best.聽
But what happens when our children fail their own best and sometimes ours! One dimension of my life that I truly greatly love is the huge privilege of visiting and knowing and serving a large community of prisoners doing extended sentences usually for violent crimes and often for casualties.聽A life lost through violence is a total tragedy. But so too would be the loss of a man鈥檚 potential to reform and to rebuild.聽I go each time with a group of my wider family of brothers to shed hope and light into these men鈥檚 minds. Afterall,聽irrespective of their crimes and their past, they are still made in the image of God and with all the potential to know God as father and for most,聽the deep longing to know a human father too. We write to each other a lot 鈥揑 get extensive letters 鈥� one even at 130 pages 鈥� where all life is revealed.聽It鈥檚 a beautiful honour to father these men inside and to build their hope for one day when they can return to their duty as fathers and husbands and friends and sons.聽
God treats us just the same. And I鈥檝e聽 chosen聽 to build a family by adopting children. So many people say 鈥撀燞ow can you love a child who is not your own? Well 鈥� all children are God鈥檚 and He loves equally and without discrimination.聽聽In the book of Ephesians chapter 1 verses 5 and 6 it says so it was all in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children,聽through our union with Jesus the anointed one. So that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace.聽For the same love he has for his beloved one Jesus he has for us.聽
How wonderful this is 鈥� how liberating and how purposeful.聽
To be father is a job and a joy. In equal measure!!聽 聽 聽 聽聽

MUSIC 鈥� Cast Your Cares - Guvna BCD Hands are Made for Working
Reflection from Guvna B聽
That was my song Cast your Cares In my house it was my mum who ruled the roost. Dad was happy to sit back and take whatever came his way.聽His motto should have been, 鈥榓nything for an easy life鈥�. Don鈥檛 get me wrong this was him being laid back not lazy.聽Every morning at 5.30am he would be up brushing his teeth to go off to work.聽
After my dad died, I went to Accra, Ghana with a group of close friends to celebrate my 30th Birthday.聽I had been a few times before but never with any attempt at imagining the city through the eyes of my dad.聽I suppose you could call it a 鈥榡ourney of exploration鈥�. During my trip, I learned that growing up, my dad was streetwise and assured.聽Never one to draw attention to himself, understated but coolly confident. I liked hearing these things about my dad because it confirmed how I thought about him too.聽
Turning up for the first time in London, I expect he lost some of his assuredness as it must have been a massive culture shock.聽I wonder if he used to feel like an imposter, like he shouldn鈥檛 be here and didn鈥檛 fit in. That would go some way towards explaining his passive nature;聽don鈥檛 ruffle feathers, keep the peace and don鈥檛 give anyone any reason to tell you to go back to your own country.聽Live and let live and most importantly, laugh. Or maybe, those features were just what made my dad who he was; easy going and happy go lucky.聽聽
Children never really value their parents, not until they have children of their own and come to understand how hard it is to be a parent or,聽in my case, until one of their parents dies and they become aware of the enormous hole created in their lives.聽
Those little things in life鈥�. They鈥檙e not little.聽
For example, something my dad always did for me, without fail, was to drive me places. As I grew older and my career took off,聽he drove me to all my gigs and when I was touring, it was my dad who drove me to and from the airport before I could afford airport parking!聽I really miss not sitting next to my dad in the car. We never said much: but we sat in comfortable silence. Beside my dad, I always felt secure.聽I knew that he had my back.聽
Fatherhood to me means having someone in the driving seat. Someone who makes you feel secure. My Dad did that for me. God does that for me.聽And I hope I can do that for my son.聽
I鈥檒l make sure he knows he鈥檚 standing on the shoulders of giants like my own father and that many sacrifices were made for the freedom he has today.聽I鈥檒l be intentional about having difficult conversations around faith and race with Him so he is well equipped to continue the journey of being proud of who he is,聽and fighting for even more freedom for his generation.聽I truly believe life and death is in the power of the tongue and another part of what I鈥檓 going to teach him is just to embrace the fact that he鈥檚 black and powerful and wonderfully created and can have huge impact in this world.
Our prayers will now be led by Selina Stone, Teacher and Lecturer in Political Theology
PrayersGod of love,
On this Father鈥檚 day we come to you as your children. While we are in many ways different, often divided, and sometimes filled with hate 鈥撀爄n this moment, we remember that we are all siblings, born of your love and mercy.聽
We thank you for the love you offer to all of creation, for your spirit which moves throughout the earth, to all people and to all places.聽We thank you for the compassion and delight with which you look upon each one of us, and particularly those who suffer in poverty and oppression.聽
We thank you for all of those who have shown us your fatherly love; for fathers by birth or loving adoption, who have given us all that they could.聽We offer you thanks for uncles, mentors, grandfathers and friends who have cared for us, loved us and supported us. We pray for your blessing on them this day.
We remember all of those who are in pain today. We pray for those who have lost good fathers and miss their presence.聽We especially remember those who have lost loved ones聽 to Covid-19 and all those who live with the rawness of grief.聽Be close to them in the joy and tears of good memories.聽
We ask you to comfort those who have never known the love of a good father, that you will heal the broken hearted on this day,聽and bring to them a special blessing. We thank you for those who strive to be the father they never had,聽that you would renew their strength and extend your compassion to them.
In a world where both fathers and children suffer violence, we pray for justice and shalom. We remember the fathers whose lives have been stolen by war and conflict,聽and we pray for their children.聽We ask for the strength to fight for justice, and the comfort which comes with the truth.聽
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
叠别苍听As we bring this service to a close we鈥檒l join together in the words of the Lord鈥檚 Prayer鈥�Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yoursnow and for ever. Amen.How great thou art recorded for us by Ashtyn Michael and Marie Bashiru
MUSIC 鈥� How Great Thou Art recorded by Ashtyn Michael & Marie BashiruAs fathers, we commit ourselves to the 鈥榡ob and the joy鈥� of parenting. We are only human, we make mistakes, but we are not alone.聽We have a Heavenly Father full of love, and as we abide in Him, we too can overflow with warmth and compassion to those around us.聽Abba Father bless all us all today with the assurance of your love.聽In Jesus name, Amen
Closing music -聽Revelation 19:1 Sunday Service Choir聽