February 2024 Writing

Steal away

When I was a teenager I used to sing this spiritual so much, to encourage my heart to confide in Jesus… “Steal Away to Jesus”

Today I wrote this Poem…

Is my heart oppressed and low?
Steal away to Jesus
Confused about which way to go?
Steal away to Jesus

Am I pressed into a mould?
Steal away to Jesus
Feeling robbed of all my gold?
Steal away to Jesus

Would I dare to slip my chain?
Steal away to Jesus
Is it worth what I would gain?
Steal away to Jesus

Does my trouble cloud my way?
Steal away to Jesus
Will the darkness yield to day?
Steal away to Jesus

I will trust the call to rest
Steal away to Jesus
Following with trembling steps
Steal away to Jesus

I will come out on your arm
Steal away to Jesus
Covered in your healing balm
Steal away to Jesus

© Chris Graham Kingdom Arts 2024


What is freedom?

Everywhere I look, people are shackled by something: internet shopping; drink; drugs; sex; Netflix; fashion.
Where are we free in nature, by the sea, up a mountain, wild swimming.
What is it for you?

Jesus made us free, whatever our circumstances, do we need a new mindset?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, do we look after our vulnerable ones?
Do restrictions mean slavery or is it a means to a new and free life?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote “Man is born free but everywhere is in chains”.

Is this what Jesus came for, to be tied, scourged and die for us all?
To rise again in glory and save us all from sin and suffering until we are truly free to join him in eternal glory.

© Julia Holdsworth


A spiritual

They chained me down,
In sorrow I cry,
Carry my trouble away.

My load is heavy,
Have mercy Lord!
Carry my trouble away.

CHORUS
Carry me away, Lord,
Carry me away, Lord,
Carry me away, my Lord,
Carry me away.

The journey’s long,
The river is wide,
Carry my trouble away.

And in the darkness
You’re by my side,
Carry my trouble away.

CHORUS
Carry me away, Lord,
Carry me away, Lord,
Carry me away, my Lord,
Carry me away.

© Barbara Rolison, Kingdom Arts February 2024


Release from the Chains of Despair

I was trapped, I felt unsafe,
Had no control, no way of escape.
Bound by rules, no place for thoughts
Of what I like, just what I ought.

Do, be, serve, and don’t complain,
Keep the peace, the same refrain
In my mind, the whole day long.
No chance of love or joy or song.

Then came the night. The darkness hides
All vestige of hope, just fear resides.
Fear dictates and tells me lies,
“You can’t break free from life’s demise.

This is all you will ever be,
Trapped in your chains, and never free.”
Yet deep inside a spark of hope
Drew me onwards, helped me to cope.

I’d heard of a Saviour, one who loved
To set people free, the Son of God.
I cried to Him, He heard my prayer,
Let me know that He’s always there.

“You are loved,” He said. “Trust in Me,
I will your Deliverer be.”
And deep inside I knew that He
Could heal the pain and set me free.

New life awaits, now peace inside,
Freedom from fear, now joy resides.
No more despair nor hiding away
Just freed to be, to work to play.

Myself at last. Now I can breathe
And worship Him, old patterns leave.
He brings such peace and now fulfils
My hopes, my dreams- not further ills.

My life is changed forever more
Free like the eagle I will soar.

Ruth Campsall, February 2024.


 

January 2024 Writing

Clarity

Clarity,
the lack of business,
Tranquillity,
calmness; less to intrude and more to see.
Patterns,
Gently moving and slowly opening up and moving towards
My Creator.
Peacefully,
gently undisturbed by the business of life
Clear of clutter to see what really matters.
To see anew, afresh what the essence of life is.
So peaceful, so restful.
Just to be and offer myself anew, afresh to you.

© Steph Kingdom Arts January 2024

This was a partnership piece written as an experiment with Barbara as amanuensis.


At Kingdom Arts

I woke up this morning feeling a little apprehensive about coming today,

BUT!

What a feeling I got immediately!!

Friendship, love, welcome.

Everything I feel I need at this time in my life. I try every day to find new things to think about. I have been told that it’s quite probably I will go blind, and I am trying to come to terms with what I will be able to do.

Crochet is my main hobby, which I will be able to carry on (with difficulty) but I have enjoyed painting which I find difficult already, although with a loving son to help me I will, with God’s help, go on to find new things.

© Heather Kingdom Arts February 2024


No Sight

I close my eyes and cut off my sight.
Yet I know I am standing in a garden
I can smell it and I can hear a rustle of leaves
The flutter and twitter of birds.
I reach out my hand and bend down to touch.
It’s colder and wet, yet suddenly comes away and into my palm
What do I hold? It’s oval and furry on one side, feels thin and I gentle on my palm so touch with my other hand.
Will it break? Does it smell? I hold it to my nose and lips. I learn about this living thing – a piece of creation.
Will I know it again?
I bend down again and touch and pull and there in my hand is another.
It smells and tastes the same, it is furry on one side, but has a rolled edge.
I learn it is from creation but it is different
I learn that every piece of creation is different from each other.
Yet it helps to make a whole.
Thank You

© Jenny Kingdom Arts February 2024


The light

Lord, what is a light? A tiny pinprick in a dark tunnel, and yet that is the pointer to follow. One needs the touch of others to guide our way and to help when one might tumble.
Is this your way that by relying on others as well as oneself we create love? Sometimes we do need others.
Help us to reach out and hold others by the hand.
What is darkness? Why do we fear what might happen in the dark hours of the night? Why do we imagine the worst when we can have the best? May I seek you and see things (from your point of view) rather than mine. Sunrise and sunset are two of the most beautiful sights in the world and yet I can only imagine them. But Lord, imagination is a wonderful thing and you give us gifts that we can only think of in reality.
As a candle flickers we are drawn to its warmth and light. May we always look to you the light?

© Julia Kingdom Arts February 2024


 

December 2023 Writing

One Silent Night

In the hushed quiet of dusk, as the shadows lengthen, I pray;
Oh Lord surround us with Your Love and grant us Peace.

In the soundless darkness of a stable, warmed by cattle breath, lies a woman.
She, a homeless fugitive, baring a child brutally conceived,
Fleeing from violent assault and degradation.

In the darkness, the stars appear like a million brilliant sparks as she labours through the night.
In the first light, a muted cry disturbs the calm.
The woman soundlessly suckles the new born and he is beloved!

In the stillness, as we approach the dawn of Christmas, I pray;
Oh Lord surround them with Your Love and grant them Peace.

Oh Lord surround us all with Your Love and grant us Peace.

© Barbara Rolison, Kingdom Arts December 2023


Breathe

Breathe
Blow wind of God
Come
A baby born
Silence comes
Waiting for the cry of new life.
Breath of God
Visit
Infuse His life
Kiss his face
And breathe infant.
Silence and darkness splits with an infant’s cry
A Saviour born
New life Hope lies on the cradle of life
Breath of God.
When you kiss the baby boy
Do you know you kiss the face of God?

© Shefali Hollis, Kingdom Arts December 2023


Inspired by John 1 v 1-5

Silent darkness
Wordless ripples of creative thought
A brooding of kindness
A gathering of shadows brought

Forming of breath
A day break, peace of knowing
A pushing groan of life
From chaos to order moving

Light in the darkness
Let there be
Light of life’s caress
Reaching me.

© Chris Graham, Kingdom Arts December 2023


May Peace Grow

God gave us light; light within our souls
To shine through
Darkness and pain.
Clearing the way
For stumbling footsteps.
A breath so strong and sure
To let life grow
Within God’s holy stillness
And his embracing presence
Ever present, ever comforting
To help us spread His peace.
To all within the world.

© Helen McNicholl, Kingdom Arts December 2023


A Moment in Time

Through all the noise, the chatter, the rush,
No time, no rest, no peace, no hope, no love,
Comes a moment of calm.

Still, gentle light, whispering, thinking, waiting.

Hear a baby’s cry.
Here comes hope.
Here comes love.

Still the world rushes on, unheeding the moment.

An unostentatious start, unnoticed by many;
Yet the seed has burst forth
And the fruit will follow.

David Moore


Words put to music:-

Into the world
So cold and so driven by sin.
A Baby is born bringing hope
The angels do sing;
And right from the start,
Sin was afraid,
And try as it might
To stop the young Babe;
Triumphant was Love;
Love will prevail.

Simple the scene,
No pomp and no privilege there.
The Saviour of all, just a child,
No crown does He wear.
And Love keeps Him safe,
Holding Him tight;
And Love is the guide,
And Love shines tonight;
And Love is here now,
Love by my side.

Joy, fill our hearts.
And Choir, lift your sound.
Love conquers all
And peace be around.

Hold on to hope;
Rejoice in the love in your heart;
Let all sing ‘Good news’ to the world;
Let none be apart.
And Love keeps me safe
Holding me tight,
And Love is the guide,
And Love shines tonight;
And Love is here now,
Love by my side.

©2017 David Moore

If you would like to listen to this song, it is available on YouTube.

Click this link to leave this site and go to YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ekg6QJV5LQ

November 2023 Writing

Waste

by
Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy 1883-1929
(Woodbine Willy)

Waste of Muscle, waste of Brain,
Waste of Patience, waste of Pain,
Waste of Manhood, waste of Health,
Waste of Beauty, waste of Wealth,
Waste of Blood, waste of Tears,
Waste of Youth’s most precious years,
Waste of ways the Saints have trod,
Waste of Glory, waste of God,
——War


When we cannot run

Like a room full of smoke
War repels me.
Both suck the oxygen out of the air
And leave me wanting to Run. Make as much
Distance as I can between myself and the offense
Separation is a form of resistance, but it’s not as strong
As a demonstration, engagement in an opposite spirit,
Private Godfrey Buxton (from Royal Medical Corps) once wrote
‘If death was abroad, if wrong was to be resisted a Christian should be right in amongst it.’
Woodbine Willy rigorously demonstrated the same.
So as I wonder how to pray for the current crises, I find my heart with those trapped in situations they cannot escape, but have to choose how to respond to.
“Please meet them Lord God, please send help from your sanctuary, please supply them with what they cannot provide for themselves
Be their light in the darkness.”
Amen

© Chris Graham
Kingdom Arts 14th November 2023


What is peace Lord?

Why do we find it so difficult to live in peace with one another?
You ask us to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ and yet we fail to honour your commandment.

We look at our world today Lord and we still cannot see peace.
Where is the peace, Lord, for the man in the trench waiting to go over the top? Where is the peace, Lord, for the injured soldier waiting for help?
You alone, Lord, protect and comfort us. You alone, Lord, because they are beside us in our conflicts.

Soldiers fight, Lord, because they are ordered to. They protect us from our enemies who want to rule the world. You alone, Lord, send others to help the wounded brave souls who risk life and limb to provide the care they need.

For those who have died, Lord, may they rest in peace. Help us, Lord, to rebuild your world so that all may live in peace and harmony.

We see the battlefield destroyed by bombs and yet, Lord, we see the beauty of the poppy showing us that life will continue. We see your rainbow in the sky, your promise that you will always be with us through the storms of life.

Your love, Lord, is unconditional and we are to love our neighbours unconditionally. Help us, Lord, to speak of your love for others, help them to see that we can live in peace with each other and be the good neighbour you want us to be.

Help us, Lord, to be your beacons of light in our dark world. Help us, Lord, to forgive others and to repent our own selfishness and sins. Help us, Lord, to lead others into the light of your love so that their doubt will turn to faith in you. May your love bring them and us the peace you desire.

May we live in harmony with rejoicing that comes from knowing you. May we all know the same peace you left your disciples. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’.

Thank you, Lord, that we have the comfort of your word to help us through the darkest times. Help us to be the good neighbour you ask us to be.

You, Lord, give us life. Help us all to live in peace, freedom, love, and faith.

© Pam Butler
Kingdom Arts 14th November 2023


Our Battlefields

Our Battlefields become a funeral pyre
of sacrificial action so dire
Lost forever in mind and mire
Mud and mire.
Body part committed to the ground
Guts, groin and breast and brain
Earth to earth forever reign.
Each man of God united friend afar
In their low burrow
When ashes bought much sorrow

Collect our souls to save…
From this our earthly grave
Dear Lord, dear Lord, who we praise
Amen

© John Butler
Kingdom Arts 14th November 2023


Thoughts from a Soldier

Does one have to be cruel to be kind?
Do we first have to be a captive before we can know what true freedom is?
I close my eyes and smell the distinct, putrid, acid smell that lingers in the air, after the bombs dropped, and exploded.
The craters where once homes stood and lives lived…. And the children’s chatter and laughter now, silenced for ever.
Aware my boots hurt, shoulders ache and fingers locked tight on the trigger!
My senses cry out,
Who is the Ally? Who is the Enemy? Is it within?
This is WAR!
Is it mine? Is it yours? Who fails? Who succeeds?
What is the price and how is it paid?
In lives of those who stayed.
How will despair turn into Hope, terror into Calm?
A screeching whizzed past me, shattering my thoughts.
Death and life, are not mine to take.
I am but an instrument in someone’s hands, missiles, bombs explode.
Breathing out, I fall to my knees:
“Forgive my trespasses and I forgive those who trespass against me and my country.
When I am weak be my strength.”
I am not a brave soldier.
The lights went out!

© Shefali Hollis

Kingdom Arts
14th November 2023


 

October 2023 Writing

Jesus let your divine Spirit breathe on me

The writing focus was to take some of the words from “Love Divine” and arrange them so as to inspire creative verse or writing. The results were often very moving. Please do take time to read them.

Words selected from the hymn ‘Love Divine’


Jesus Divine

Jesus
Divine
Alpha   Pure   Omega
Love
Joy
Grace
Liberty
Compassion

© Alison Moore Kingdom Arts October 2023


Love Divine

Love Divine: You have always been there for me. You were there at the beginning and I knew of you but didn’t know you.

Love Divine: Your patience is never ending, you wait and nudge with pure unbounded love waiting to enter my trembling heart.

Love Divine: Christmas and Easter have always been special for me even as a child, but it would be years before I would receive and accept your grace.

Love Divine: I heard about you at Sunday school and in school assemblies but I never felt the need to ask you into my life. I only attended church services on special occasions – moved by the hymns but not enough to want to follow you.

Love Divine: I stood before you exchanging vows at our wedding, I stood before you making promises to you at our children’s baptism, once again the words resonated but did not enter my heart.

Love Divine: I finally realised that I had stood before you and made promises that I wasn’t keeping and so I took the children to church to help us all to learn more about your pure unbounded love.

Love Divine: You came into my trembling heart when my mom suffered a massive stroke and would not survive. I received your grace when you answered my prayer to take her home to be with you.

Love Divine: You have helped me grow in love and faith and I can only praise you because of your perfect love.

Love Divine: ‘My chains flew off’ because I have been received into your family, you have restored me and I will forever be lost in wonder, love and praise.

© Pam Butler Kingdom Arts October 2023


Jesus

I listen to your words of song and begin to move, as the notes of music jump off the page and bring Liberty.

And as they flow over and through me,
Experiencing, I am sitting in the presence of the legacy of a Servant of God.

My spirit responds:
Let your love divine breathes into my heart.
What you have promised; heaven breaks in to deliver.
Joy of heaven and earth come down.

You broke into my world with all its mess. All my lostness???
I pull my scarf over my head and wonder if others will know I have a meeting with you in prayer.

Our time and space.
A message to the masters: –
Alpha and Omega the beginning and the finish

© Shefali Kingdom Arts October 2023


Praise His Name

Praise to the Lord of all creation!
Maker of the heavens and the earth!
The Alpha and Omega!
Praise his name!
From the beginning of time
He was, and is, and is to come.
Perfect in every way,
Lord of all and son of the living God.
Praise his name!

Jesus came to bring us healing,
Forgiveness and restoration.
He said: Do not let your hearts be troubled”
We choose to trust you, Lord.
We praise his name!

He humbled himself, our servant King,
To pay the price for us.
He suffered horrendous, undeserved death
That we might live.
Praise his name!

He said he’ll never leave us and forsake us
And he’s kept his word
He’s left us the wonderful Holy Spirit
To dwell with us, our comforter and
Guide in every moment of our lives.
We praise his name!

You’re everything to us Lord,
We bow before you in thanks and adoration.
We praise his Holy Name!

© Alison Moore Kingdom Arts October 2023


Love Divine, final verse.

Every time I sing the last verse of ‘Love Divine’, I think of my Friend Penny and her daughter (Rachel) born with cystic fibrosis. Penny was a physiotherapist and she had to help clear her own daughter’s chest using her skill from training.

We had shared a house together before she was married, and she knew that I was full of [compassion] for her and her daughter’s condition. She asked me to pray. As I settled quietly into a place of listening for what I could possibly pray, the words of the last verse came to me.
Finish then thy new [creation]
[Pure] and [spotless] let us be … Just that.

I didn’t know what possible help that would be, but I told her anyway and reassured her that I would continue, long term, to persist with the need for answers. At this point her eyes opened wide and she explained how the spotty welts on skin were a big thing in Rachel’s condition.

My [wonder] enlarged and I asked God the question ‘Could this be Your promise that one day we would have an answer to our long-term prayers?

[Joy] came, years later when the cure for cystic fibrosis was found. Penny’s happiness over flowed as she explained to me that hospital visits had decreased dramatically and Rachel’s skin had completely [changed] !
It was [perfectly] [restored].

She still has to be careful, but her life was radically different and her chances to play her favourite instrument was increased dramatically.

Our God had [delivered] what he had [promised].

©Chris Graham Kingdom Arts October 2023


 

September 2023 Writing

It is well with my soul

Standing in the midst of a shaking Earth.
Gazing at news of multitudes of happenings.
Feeling that only you, in my smallness
in your greatness, can offer an anchor
for the troubled soul.
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul

To call you, the compassion and kindness of God, to reach out,
Rescue the bewildered, lost, and broken
to know the all-encompassing love
that takes us through to eternity.
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul

To play my part to join with his new mission,
to touch and bring hope
of eternal hold, of creation re-ordered
of sins, rebellion discarded around righteous ways.
To encumber the Glory that was lost, but will be found like glimmering Zion.
The mountain of the Lord

© Paul Graham


 

June writing 2023

Nature is God’s Mirror

Nature is God’s Mirror,
In the surrounding forest, the birdsong is God’s chorus,
Squeak, chirrup, crawk, tweet and whistle merge and clash.

Jackdaws swoop on the bird feeders, kicking the seed to the ground like angry teenagers and pecking it below, still squabbling.
Beneath blue tits hang on the peanuts, then swoop out, and in again, perching high to clean their beaks.
On the ground where more seed spilled a blackbird and a bullfinch hop and peck choosing their favourite, while a pigeon gobbles greedily in great haste to collect all the seeds.

At the margins of the loch, the ground granite crystals of sand sparkle in a shaft of sunlight.
The clear shallow water slurps at the edge in rhythmic sounds, while a wagtail strolls along just avoiding the wavelets.
Nature is God’s mirror.

© Barbara Rolison


 

March writing 2023

Your Word

Your Word
Your work is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path
It draws me
Embraces me with a warmth that
sets my heart aglow. Ever since I heard it.
A treasure in my darkness….

It’s the spark that fuels my day
And set my cold feet on the long path to gain a copy of my own.

A set of words – the Bible-
and I heard, I listened even hungered after it.
Fills my often-empty belly with nourishment.
I have found I can’t live without it.

My mind dreams of your word,
Passages surface from the deep within and brings me joy —
Others need to hear, to know the truth to share —

As your word rumbles from the bowels deep within me,
A vision is born
and I find myself walking for miles across rough terrain,
Challenged, yet a fire burns within,
that others can also have copy of your word – to feed on,
when nothing satisfies ……

How many miles will you travel a similar path to complete the vision??

© Shefali


Weaving Threads

We weave our threads of life into the tapestry of life
We don’t see it as we weave
But he sees it in all its glory punctuated with jewels
Those experiences of a thin place, of sacred space, of silence
But also of pain, suffering hardships.
And bring us a depth to our faith a purpose of drawing near.
Of a lesson learned at his knee, a sharing of a Christ’s love
A love that is extended to us, that a love that is extended to us
that weaves the jewels of sapphires, emeralds and diamonds into our living tapestry.
Weave with joy,
Weave with hope,
Weave the healing we need into our life’s tapestry.
All glorifying to his name.

© Jenny English


Mary Jones and Her Bible

I remember well young Mary. How she longed to own God’s word.
As a child I read her book And my heart within was stirred.
I walked that journey with her And shared her trust in God,
I felt the loneliness within, Call out from the self-same sod.
A lonely little Welsh girl Whose father had passed on,
Spent many hours all alone, Wondering – “What went wrong?”
I could not understand the pain, The hopeless cry for hope.
Why was I so alone, so sad? I needed a way to cope.
And I knew that Mary’s faith in God Had kept her all along.
Had paved the way, fulfilled her dreams. Her life had become a song.
I read her book in Nanna’s home and silently cried out,
“Can you do the same for me?” “My child,” He said. “Don’t doubt.”
So I began to trust Him, Put my life into His hands.
Twists and turns awaited me Unveiling life’s greater plans.
But Mary and her simple walk of trust that led the way,
Remained a beacon in my life, and still inspires today.

So Thank you Kingdom Arts, For this hero from the past,
Reviving childhood memories of finding faith which lasts.

© Ruth Campsell


 

 

 

February writing 2023

Onward

The Holy Christmas Light
has shone its message
of love, peace and hope
over the World once more,
amidst all the difficulties
and tears of pain and joy.
Now we must travel onward,
believing in God’s purifying, endless
LOVE.
Feeling worthy to be part of that
MESSAGE.
Learning to love one another.
Searching, and using, our God-given gifts.
Finding strength to break up unploughed Earth,
and moving prayerfully into life ahead.

© Helen McNicholl


The Jug of Tulips.

Tightly closed they rise to a pointed tip as if hiding a secret.
Petals enfolding petals like Christ’s love wrapping around us.
Is faith like these tulips?
Does faith grow as slowly as the petals?
Carefully, cautiously opening.
Taking time
Until our inner selves are revealed like the stamens?
Affirmation that only now, like the tulips, we bow to his will
By dropping our petals at his feet.

© Barbara Rolison


Tulips

A land conquering tides
And building dykes and wind mills
To let the water flow
In tune with man and God
As lowing cattle grow
And bulbs of every hue.

The canals like ribbons
Alive with boats, flowers and ducks
Beneath an open sky
A backdrop for Gods glory
Feasts of cheese and pickled eels
Armies of bicycles
Tandems challenge
Who’s in charge?
May God lead the way
Across this land of scents and beauty.

© Helen McNicholl


Why worry?

Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow
It empties today of its strength.
So why worry?
Worry is my way of anticipating the worst scenario.
A self-protecting shield against disaster
No better than a reassuring plaster.
A fret that picks my brain not to forget that happiness is not a given.
But it shuts me off from Heaven.

Self-concern that seeks to stand apart
A little lost sheep bleating in my heart
I weaken and I writhe inside
It makes me want to run away and hide
Alarmed and caught in a thorn bush of my own making.
I see my shepherd, staff in hand He’s coming.
He is goodness and mercy overwhelming
What a relief as he speaks love for me
Such love, such truth, such strength and security.

© Chris Graham


A Million Tears

As distant on-lookers
what can we say,
what can we do?
We are horror-struck.
Even from afar
our senses are numb and shaken.
Sights beyond our understanding.

Help us Lord
to feel their plight,
their anguish,
their brutal pain.
Torn families,
shattered homes,
the penetrating cold.

But our Lord understands.
He lives with every soul,
Alive or risen.
Strengthening every helping hand,
driven by love for humankind.
Blessing heart-felt gifts
from far and wide.

He knows our prayers.
Oh Lord, let them feel your balm:
Nightmares calmed,
Healing tears shed
Hope kept alive,
Fears quietened.
Comfort them Lord
With Your unfailing love.

© Helen Mc Nicholl


 

October writing 2022

Chains   No Voice

Eyes that look
No longer seeing
Blankness stares back.
I long to reach out to touch your skin
Your life, your soul
To warm the coldness that surrounds
Bones that are weary and sore
Chained to others.
No choices, No voice, No seeing.
I see you and controlled silence supports you
Drowning in the waters of oppression
This is your food to eat
It is the water you drink.
And we are blind
We see you, yet we have not seen.

© Shefali Hollis


Chains are just rings

Chains are just rings
Linked together
Loop around a loop
Circle encircling a circle
Like hands joined and held firm in life’s dance
Around and around.
A chain of prayers will surround the earth and return
To the beginning
Empowering each of us and capturing the chains.

© Barbara Rolison


Chains

Binding us together
Chains to hold on to,
Guiding us along life’s paths.
Hold on too tight, and they start to bind us.
Family chains— recognising DNA patterns,
All through time, and our history
Spreading on into the future.
Passing on the links of family chains, on to the next generation.
Christ came to break the chains of
poverty and slavery.
Of wars and violence. Your chains.
He hung on a cross and died for
the chains inherent in society.
Where, oh where is freedom,
Can we recognise and know those destructive chains,
With His help, can they be removed.
Can we be free to be the grains of sand,
tossed in the tide, blown in the wind.
As we are tossed and blown, do we share, care and love each other,
Does His spirit set us free ?
To be open, set free, accepting
Of who and where we are.
Our chains falling off
Free to be who we are created to be,
By the Creator of all.

© Jenny English


They Knit and they Natter

Because they care
And the chains reflect
That they see and it says
You matter.
Chains of all colours, caste and creed
Reaching around the world
To all the enslaved
And crying in need
They see you, hear you and want to free you.
And so they knit and they natter
To remind themselves and others
That you are not forgotten
You matter.

© Shefali Hollis


Tunes of Change

We are all children of God
Bells are there to be rung
Ring the changes
Far and Wide
Cut the chains
That strangle and bind
Keep the chains that bind us together
In love and true action
Let the tunes be loud and clear
Throughout the whole world.

© Helen McNicholl