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This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

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ALL SAINTS’ DAY: ALL THAT ENDURES

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OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT

Sunday Worship today comes from Northern Ireland and is led by the Reverend Dr Alex Wimberly, leader of the Corrymeela Community.

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MUSIC Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (R Vaughan Williams)
Performers: Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Marriner

CD: Vaughan Williams (Argo)

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ÌýALEX:

Welcome to Corrymeela. I’m standing on the edge of a cliff on the north coast of Ireland, looking out across the strait where the Atlantic meets the Irish Sea. This is a beautiful place. A lovely spot in which to be locked down. But Corrymeela was never meant to be a place of isolation. Quite the opposite. This place, and the dispersed Christian community that takes its name, exist for the building up of human connection. Because of the deepening division and increased disconnection we see in our world, we at Corrymeela choose to discover together new ways of being in community. And so I am pleased to welcome you here for Sunday Worship.
Today is All Saints’ Day – a moment in our year to stand at the edge of death and life, and to remember our connection with those whose undying faithfulness continues to inspire how we live. Today in this service, with members of the Corrymeela Community, we will acknowledge together what and whom we have lost this past year; and we will proclaim

Ìýthat what is good and true and eternal (that is, what is divine) lives on in our shared humanity.Ìý

Need a sentence to get us into the Croi:

At the centre of this Corrymeela site is the Croi-Irish for heart where

Stephanie Hill, a social worker and member of the community, gathers us for worship:

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Stephanie:

Let us come together before God

to be together in an anxious time.

Let us come as individuals

to form a better community together.

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We find ourselves on edge

with many concerns and uncertainties.

A disease we cannot control has humbled us.

The systems we rely upon have struggled.

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We have lost many and much this past year.

And we do not know what will come next.

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Yet we trust in what is greater than any of us.

We choose to build again upon a foundation of empathy and compassion.

We stand with the undying faith that there is more in us and in others

that is good.

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Because God is with us in community.

Because God is with us in community.

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MUSIC ÌýLet saints on earth on concert sing (Scottish Psalter 1615)
Performers:Ìý Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge/Skinner

CD: In Ages Past (Gift of Music)

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Alex:

All Saints’ Day takes on many forms around the Christian world. In my tradition, it is the Sunday when we remember those in our congregation who died in the past year; when we give thanks not only for their faith in this life, but for their continued life with God and with us through communion. It is a day of solemnity, but also celebration – with big brassy hymns on the organ and a defiant message that death cannot diminish the goodness we witness in those who live faithful lives.

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As the world continues to reel from the effects of this global pandemic, Corrymeela members Brian McLoughlin and Ruth Logan share prayers of intercession that acknowledge part of what we’ve lost this year. We then hear a setting of Psalm 46 that witnesses to what we proclaim endures.

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Brian/Ruth:

Eternal God, we give thanks that neither death nor life can separate us from your love.

ÌýAnd so with faith, we remember

all those who have died;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý all those who mourn;ÌýÌýÌýÌý

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý all those who have felt helpless;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý all those whose lives and livelihoods have been put at risk;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý all those who are afraid.

[silence]

Give rest, O Creator, to those in your embrace;

Give peace, O Christ, to those who need assurance;

give hope, O Holy Spirit, to those who live in fear.

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We pray, O God, for the courage that comes from your steadfast love and enduring

presence.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

Lord, to whom else can we turn? You are the one with the words of eternal life.

And so with humility, we acknowledge in this time of pandemicÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

our human fragility;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý the limitation of human institutions;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý and our own exhaustion in the midst of this shared trauma.

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We lift to you those who continue to do the essential work in our society; those in our communities and in our families who carry an added weight of responsibility; those who continually give more than we should expect from anyone.

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May we in community shoulder each other’s burdens;

May we in community build a fairer world;

May we in community restore each other with the grace you provide.

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We pray, O God, for the courage that comes from your steadfast love and enduring

presence.

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And together, with our different traditions, we pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, saying:

Our Father, …

MUSIC ÌýThe God of Jacob –Psalm 46 (Irish traditional melody)
Performers:Ìý Kiran Wimberly/The McGraths

CD: Celtic Psalms (Essential Christian)Alex:

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ALEXÌýÌýÌýÌý The words from Psalm 46 continue to give us comfort in the moments we need them most: at funerals, in hospital, in meetings when tough decisions need to be faced. When everything else falls away – because everything else will fall away – the things that are of God will remain.

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It turns out the fruits of the spirit:Ìý love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…are imperishable. These are not luxuries or ornaments on a pious life. They are what provide the foundation upon which to build a better world.

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As we reflect on this past year, we note that this pandemic has been both terrifying and clarifying. It has shaken us, but it has also revealed a permanence to the saintliness at work in our midst. The essential workers are not the exalted but the humble: the ones who care for us, who comfort us in the waiting room, who stock our shelves and remove our waste, who tend to our mental health,Ìý who keep our children safe and teach them to be better citizens, better members of a shared society.

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It strikes me that those- communities and indeed individuals who have fared well in this pandemic are those who have shown humility, in the face of a disease that we cannot control. Those who have tried to exalt their own strength and give off a sense of imperviousness have at times been greatly humbled. We often fail to recognise it, because humility rarely blows its own trumpet, but humility has revealed itself as an enduring strength; common decency has emerged as a super power in politics; empathy and compassion have prevailed as our most effective responses to crisis.

Perhaps that’s why the Gospel lesson today is the Beatitudes. The qualities that endure in this life and the next are the ones we associate with everyday saints.

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MJUSIC Adagio from String Quintet in C Major (Schubert)
Performers:Ìý Pavel Haas Quartet

CD: Schubert:- Death And The Maiden Quartet and String Quintet In C Major (Supraphon)

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Brian/Ruth:Ìý Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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MUSIC ÌýÌýBlest are the pure in heart (Harmonischer Lieder-Schatz Franfurt, 1738 arr. WH Havergal)

Performers:Ìý Choir of Wells Cathedral/Archer

CD: Lead kindly Light. The English Hymn. Vol 5 (Hyperion)

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ALEX:ÌýÌý ÌýLike everyone else, we have lost a great many loved ones whose lives continue to inspire us. ÌýÌýÌýA few have been particularly on our minds lately. Maura and Glenn died earlier this year, though not from COVID, and our founder, Ray Davey, died 8 years ago. We’ve been thinking of them in relation to this service not only because we could use more like them right now – but also because each of them based their life’s work on the belief that there is always more good to be found in other people.

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They continued to believe that God’s spirit is alive and well even in those we call other, if only we have the courage and faith to look, and if we can lead with empathy and compassion rather than fear.

Michael Gibbs, Yvonne Naylor and Denise Bradley share a little about how these individuals continue to inspire our sense of community.

MUSIC Arioso from Cantata 156 (JS Bach)
Performers:Ìý Julian Lloyd Webber/John Lennon

CD: Cello Song (Philips)

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Michael:Ìý

Ray was a young clergyman from Belfast who enlisted in the Second World War to work with the YMCA. Two years later he was captured by the Germans in North Africa. He could have gone home but he chose to stay with the other prisoners to do work with refugees who were flooding in from the front.

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75 years ago this past February, Ray was being held in a camp outside of Dresden. From there, he witnessed the bombing and destruction of that city. It traumatised him. Ray recognised the need to defeat Nazism, but in witnessing the bombing campaign he realised that the madness of war comes from a spiritual sickness of dividing the world into us v. them – a sickness to which we are all vulnerable.

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But Ray’s connection to his fellow prisoners and his relationship with his captors led him to believe that beneath the rubble, there was still something good discoverable within the hearts of people from every corner of the earth. You just had to look. There was a deeper power of empathy and compassion alive and well, a foundation upon which to build a better world. In recognising that essential work of restoring human connection, the idea of Corrymeela began. The community Ray founded has continued to help connect people divided from one another by race, creed, polarisation or politics. Together we discover new ways of being in community. So often, it just takes having the courage to extend the same sort of care and curiosity for others you would want for yourself.

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MusicÌý Brother, sister, let me serve you (Gillard/PulkinghamÌý Verse 1
Performers: The Daily Service Singers

CD: The Hymn Makers: Hymns of Discipleship (Integrity)

Yvonne

Maura’s family was one of the thousands directly affected by the Troubles. Her son, Gerard, was 19 when he was shot coming out of Mass in Belfast by a gunman who simply wanted to kill Catholics.

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Although overwhelmed with grief, Maura would not let hatred overcome her. Indeed, her

heart went out to the family of the perpetrator, because she realised that their pain must be equally ÌýÌýÌý great. Her empathy and compassion stood as a power greater than the brokenness that had taken her son.

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Maura, her husband, Edmund, and other members of grieving families formed the Cross Group, and began to bring families from both sides of the conflict together to simply be with one another: to play games and talk and laugh and cry and sing; to break bread and find a new story out of their shared pain and shared humanity.

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MusicÌýÌý ÌýBrother, Sister, Let Me Serve You, verse 4

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Denise

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Glenn was as humble as he was extraordinary. He was one of those brilliant people who revelled in

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý the brilliance of others and was always more eager to let them shine.

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ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Glenn was a public theologian, which simply means he met people where they were with the

issues they cared about, and expected that they could find God together in the midst of the questions. Glenn figured out long ago that imposing one’s own sense of what is right on others will only make them more likely to reject it. But if we have faith to trust that God is present as much in others as in us, then getting into better relationship with others reveals where God already is and where a path forward might lie.

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And so Glenn didn’t use scripture to end debate; he used it to start better conversations. And oh

those conversations he started about borders and belonging, about identity and religion, about violence and families, about fear and courage: they are conversations we will continue to have with him and with others.

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MusicÌýÌý ÌýBrother, Sister, Let Me Serve You, verse 5

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Brian/Ruth:

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, for it is right to give our thanks and praise.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý God of the ages,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý we praise you for all your servants,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý who have done justice, loved mercy, and walked humbly with their God.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For apostles and martyrs and saints of every time and place,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý who in life and death have witnessed to your truth,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý we praise you, O God.

Ìý

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For all your servants who have faithfully served you,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý witnessed bravely, and died in faith,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý who are still shining lights in the world,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý we praise you, O God.

Ìý

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For those no longer remembered, but known to you,

who earnestly sought you in darkness,

who held fast to their faith in trial,

and served others,

we praise you, O God.

Ìý

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For those we have known and loved,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý who by their faithful obedience and steadfast hope,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý have shown the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý we praise you, O God.

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ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Keep us grateful for their witness,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý and, like them, eager to follow in the way of Christ.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Then, at the last, bring us with them

to share in the inheritance of the saints in light;

through Jesus Christ the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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MUSICÌý For all the saints who’ve shown your love (John L Bell)
Performers:Ìý The Cathedral Singers/Pamela Warrick-Smith

CD: The Last Journey Songs for the time of grievingÌý (GIA/Naxos)

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Alex:

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý One of the things our friend Glenn left with us is the image of the sequoia seed.

It was a symbol he wanted to carry with him always, and so he had it tattooed on his arm. It’s a pine cone, but not from an ordinary Christmas tree. These little seeds, packed into cones the size of your hand,[PB1]Ìý become in time the giants of the redwood forests in California, with trunks as wide as lorries. Glenn not only found inspiration in the sheer grandeur of these trees, whose roots run back for thousands of years, but in their witness to hope.

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ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Sequoia seeds open with the heat of forest fires. In the clearing that fires create, sequoias take root

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý – taking advantage of the exposed sunlight and the enriched, ashen soil. They are a living reminder

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý that some things endure beyond our devastating moments. One imagines that in the aftermath of

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý the horrific and sobering forest fires of this past summer (the wake call nature is giving us), there

are cones of ancient trees popping open, witnesses to the nature’s resilience and to our short-sighted environmental priorities. And witnesses to the idea that even in the midst of this disaster, there can come the start of new and magnificent life.

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ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý As we reflect this All Saints’ Day on what endures even through disaster and crisis and beyond the

reality of death, we look for new shoots of life. This year has been a disaster for so many – hitting, as is often the case – the most vulnerable the hardest. It has revealed longstanding discrepancies of injustice we can no longer ignore. The pandemic has exposed inequalities that cannot continue. And yet there are – even in and because of the fractures that have been exposed – places where the enduring strength of empathy and compassion can take root in heated soil, and create the possibility of a better and more just world.

Ìý

In taking inspiration of those who have lived faithfully, we trust that we can discover new ways of being from our better relationships with one another. On issues of race, class, climate justice, borders and nation, and so many other difficult conversations, it will be in honest, human connection that we will find a better world and hold on to what is divine.

For what is of God will endure. And God is with us in community.

Ìý

MUSIC – ÌýYe Holy Angels Bright (John Darwall)

Performers:Ìý Trinity College Choir, Cambridge/Marlow

CD: Hymns from Trinity (Sony)

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Alex:ÌýÌýÌý Ìý Thank you for joining us at Corrymeela and may God keep and support you.
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý And my prayers and thoughts are very much with my fellow Americans this week

As we elect a President and seek to overcome our divisions

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý As we close this service, we offer words that have been spoken at far too many services this past ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý year, but which offer continue to offer hope in the face of death:

Ìý

[i] You only are immortal, the creator and maker of all.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý We are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth we shall return.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý This you ordained when you created us, saying,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ‘You are dust,

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý and to dust you shall return.’

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý All of us go down to the dust;

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý yet even at the grave we make our song:

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Give rest, O Christ, to all your saints,

where there is neither pain nor sorrow nor sighing,

but life everlasting.

Ìý

Give us, the living, courage to follow in your way,

that joined with those from ages past,

who have served you with the enduring truths of

faith, hope and love,

we may inherit the kingdom you promise.

Ìý

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God

and the community of the Holy Spirit

be with each one of us,

all those we love,

and all those we should love,

both now and forever. Amen.

Ìý

CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT

Today’s Sunday Worship was led by the Reverend Dr Alex Wimberly, Leader of the Corrymeela Community.Ìý Details of the music can be found on today’s Sunday Worship episode page of the Radio 4 website. The producer was Bert Tosh.

Next week at ten past eight Sunday Worship visits the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell for a service for Remembrance in this its centenary year. And then at 1030 Paddy O’Connell sets the scene in London's Whitehall for the solemn ceremony from the Cenotaph.