Words and Voice- Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Used with Permission, Chris Sayburn , 'Father'

www. cruciformjustice.com

Music, Pixabay , Kolesnikov, The Mounatin, Calm Piano

www.cruciformjustice.com

Words and Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales'

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music Pixabay: Piano Lament

After the Chorus/After the Noise

I wrote this travelling by train through the Alps from Rome to Paris, after reading John Donne’s Holy Sonnet XIV, “Batter my heart, three-person’d God.” 

These two poems trace a movement from the triggered body, where worship can still feel like threat yet there still,  despite numbing and distance, is a desire for encounter. 

I. After the Chorus

Do not come to me now  

as soft advice.

Not as the bright smile  

at the church door.  

Not as the chorus swelling  

through the speakers,  

all uplift  

and upward hands.

The room is singing  

its predictable liturgy —  

the slow one,  

the anthem,  

the key change meant  

to lift the heart —

and something in me  

locks.

The body remembers  

what the mouth  

still cannot say.

One chord,  

and the old rooms open.

The brand.  

The corporate style.  

The lanyards.  

The smoothness of it all.

Words weaponised  

like daggers:

‘you bring nothing of value  

to this place.’

And suddenly I am back there,  

inside the room  

where harm was done  

and called itself ministry.

So come like weather.

Come like rain  

against the chapel windows  

when the singing grows too loud,  

when joy itself  

feels like threat.

Break the locked places.

There are pews inside me  

still occupied by ghosts,  

whole liturgies of fear  

recited in the blood,  

old shames hanging there  

like vestments  

in the dark.

I have called it resilience.  

I have called it faith.  

I have called it carrying on.

Still the walls sweat.

Still the heart,  

that small battered flat  

above the old sanctuary,  

lets in every echo  

except peace.

So come not as guest  

but as the one  

who knows the building  

was never theirs.

Kick in the swollen door.

Shatter the stained glass  

of the god they handed me —  

the one who looked too much  

like power,  

too much like control,  

too much like men  

who mistook harm  

for holiness.

Burn what must burn.

The false shepherd.  

The polished liturgy.  

The songs that ask the wounded  

to rise too quickly.

Batter my heart,  

threefold mercy,  

Father of the bruised,  

Christ of the locked room,  

Wild Goose moving  

not in the amplifier’s roar  

but in the tremor beneath it.

Undo me.

Not as they undid me.

Not to wound  

but to make room  

for breath.

For I have been  

an occupied city,  

streets patrolled by fear,  

every chorus a siren,  

every bridge lifted in worship  

a trigger.

Words and Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales 

www.cruciformjustice.com

Music by Tunetank from Pixabay

Words and Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales

www.cruciformjustice.com

music. pixabay

Words and Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay

Words and Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music Pixabay

words  and voice Rev'd Jon Swales

music Pixabay

Words and voice Rev'd Jon Swales

www.cruciformjustice.com 

Music Pixabay

Words Jon Swales

Music: Chris Sayburn 

Words Rev'd Jon Swales

Music : Pixabay 'Only in the Mornings'

Words & Voice: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music. Pixabay, 

Sarkatvelo- Piano Background

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Chris Sayburn

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/he-s-seen-the-wounds

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Music by Denis Pavlov from Pixabay

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/come-see

www.cruciformjustice.com

words: Jon Swales

music. pixabay 'Hope'

The Waiting of All Things

The whole creation waits—

not quietly,

but leaning forward

with the ache of expectation.

Galaxies tilt toward the dark,

spirals cupped like listening ears.

Stars hold their breath

between burning and blessing,

knowing there is more

than endless expansion and collapse.

Rocks remember touch.

They remember being named good

before they were quarried,

before they were broken

for speed and profit.

They bear the weight of violence,

the long erosion of sorrow,

and still they wait—

patient as prayer pressed into stone.

Rivers keep moving

through poisoned veins of land.

Waterfalls fall

like tears that refuse to be wasted.

They groan with the sound of mourning,

yet rush with hope,

as if every plunge knows

it is not the end.

Rainbows stretch themselves

across wounded skies,

not forgetting the flood,

but daring to believe

that mercy still arches over ruin.

They wait,

colours pulled taut as promise.

Whales sing in the deep.

Their voices carry grief and memory,

songs heavy with plastic and silence,

yet tuned for joy.

They groan—

but their groaning is music,

a labour-song for a world

not yet born.

Trees rise on tiptoes,

peering through the dark.

Roots remembering light.

Branches leaning toward dawn.

Then—

they clap their hands.

Not politely.

Not on cue.

But wildly.

Leaves shudder with memory.

Bark strikes bark

in stubborn praise.

They clap because roots know resurrection

long before theology names it.

They clap because hope

is older than despair.

All creation is watching,

eyes wide with longing,

for the revealing

of the children of God.

The world is not what it will be—

and it knows it.

When they appear—

not by courage,

not by timing,

but because the hour has come—

creation exhales.

Rocks loosen their grip.

Rivers quicken their dance.

Forests erupt in applause.

Galaxies widen with joy.

This is the glory creation waits for:

not escape,

not domination,

but belonging made visible.

And the whole world—

still groaning,

still hoping—

keeps leaning forward,

waiting

for love unveiled

to take flesh

again.

Rev'd Jon Swales 

Feb 2026. 

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Words Rev'd Jon Swales 

https://www.cruciformjustice.com

Words- Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay

www.cruciformjustice.com

Words and Voice: Jon Swales

Music: pixabay

words and voice: Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay , One Prayer Calm

words Rev'd Jon Swales

music: pixabay

www.cruciformjustice.com

www.cruciformjustice.com

words Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Music Pixabay 'Mircea Lancu'

www.cruciformjustice.com

www.cruciformjustice.com

words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay

www.cruciformjustice.com

Words- Jon

Music: Pixabay- Mikhail Smusev

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/makros-v-jesus-of-nazareth

Words Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay , Rainy Sky Inspirational Motivational Background

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/gerasene

Words- Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay, A Call to the Soul, folk_acoustic_music

Words Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay 

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/billy

Words : Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay, Onochenko Music

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-sermon-she-didn-t-know-she-needed

Words- Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay , Samuel F Johanns, The Lament

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/grace-may-yet-win

Words & Voice- Jon Swales

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-quiet-and-messy-revival

Music: Pixabay

Words/Voice Rev'd Jon Swales

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-search

music: Pixabay Music Yevhenii Kovalenko 'Mellow Ambient/Piano

Words: Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay , folk acoustic

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/i-hate-god-but-i-met-jesus

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Music: Pixabay 'Tomorrow Morning'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/_held

Words- Jon Swales

Beats: Chris Sayburn

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/wild-goose-turkey-cold

Words: Jon Swales

 https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/she-came-in-swearing

words-Rev'd  Jon Swales

Music. Music by Pablo Silver from Pixabay 'Piano y cello"

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/dancing-in-the-sea-a-lighthouse-poem

Words- Jon Swales

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/swing-wide-the-doors

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats: Sayburn

See https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/he-wrote-the-date-for-the-lad-who-once-lived-in-the-car-park-opposite-leeds-uni-a-true-story-framed

words Rev'd Jon Swales

beats Sayburn 'Father'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/he-set-himself-on-fire

Words Jon Swales

Beats: Sayburn

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/ninety-nine-and-the-one-that-got-away

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats: Sayburn

See https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/cupidatas

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats- Chris Sayburn "Father'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/no-one-can-snatch-me

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-rock-returns

words- Rev'd Jon Swales

beats- CHris Sayburn 'Waiting'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-rejected-stone

words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats, Chris Sayburn 'Passing By'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/spikenard-ash

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats- Sayburn- 'Great Commision'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/magnificat-in-the-gutter

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats: Sayburn 'Passing by'

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/a-christian-without-tears

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Blog Post. https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/cruciform-adaptation-a-call-to-the-church-in-a-time-of-unraveling

Words: Rev'd Jon Swales

Beats: Chris Sayburn

blog post. https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/oscar-romero-a-saint-for-a-world-on-fire

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/a-canticle-for-a-burning-world

words Rev'd Jon Swales, 2025

Words: Jon Swales

Music: Chris Sayburn

www.cruciformjustice.com

Words: Jon Swales
Music: Sad Emotional Piano- Copyright Free Music via YouTube 

“Bats or great crested newts?”

“Neither, because I want growth,” Rachel Reeves. The Times Interview- Quick Fire Questions

——-

‘Bats or Great Crested Newts?’

‘Neither,

because I want growth.’

And the earth exhales,

a long, low breath,

threaded with dust and diesel.

Once, we were called to tend and keep,

to walk with care

among the creatures of feather and scale,

but now we measure worth

in units of concrete and steel.

The hum of engines drowns out

the song of the land.

Economic growth has become god,

its temples rising in glass and stone,

its gospel preached in numbers

that do not bleed or bloom.

The rivers hold their tongues,

the forests lean away,

and the bats,

those ancient scribes of dusk,

write their farewell

against a sky that forgets.

‘Neither,

because I want growth.’

Beneath the tarmac skin of the world,

the great crested newts wait,

pressed into the damp earth,

their stories unravelled

by a people who no longer listen.

They were here before us,

in the time when the land

was a gift, not a resource.

‘Neither,

because I want growth.’

But the wild ones know.

They whisper of a garden,

a covenant,

a calling shaped from soil and breath.

We were dust once,

and to dust we shall return—

but not before we have paved it all over.

‘Neither,

because I want growth.’

And the earth waits,

as it always has,

watches the rising towers

and falling wings,

feels the weight

of our forgetting.

Still, it murmurs beneath our feet,

a quiet, unbroken plea—

remember,

remember,

before all that remains

is hunger.

- Rev’d Jon Swales, 2025

words Rev'd Jon Swales

Drill, baby, drill—  

strange words,  

a chant from a strange man  

in a strange world.  

Forests burn,  

their ancient voices 

smothered in smoke.  

Seas swell,  

lapping at the bones of 

drowned cities.  

The air thickens,  

heavy with the weight of loss.  

And yet the President speaks,  

as if the earth were not already broken,  

as if the fire were not already here.  

A voice of denial,  

slick with crude promises,  

slick with something darker.  

He smiles,  

as though the earth were endless,  

as though the air were not heavy  

with the weight of a thousand unheard warnings.  

Drill , baby, drill—  

fuel for the engines,  

fuel for the empire,  

fuel for the end.  

A strange hopium,  

sweet and sickening,  

whispered into ears too weary to resist.  

But the wind remembers.  

The oceans remember.  

The earth groans beneath  

each hollow pledge,  

each drilling rig,  

each hand raised in defiance of the storm.  

He builds babels of oil,  

shadows stretching  

across scorched plains.  

He laughs,  

and somewhere,  

ice falls,  

rivers vanish,  

and the sky weeps  

for what was lost.  

Drill, baby, drill!

Again and again,  

as if the earth will not break,  

as if the children will not choke,  

as if tomorrow is promised.

- Swales, 2025

www.cruciformjustice.com

words Jon Swales
Music: Beautiful  by Lite Saturation

Find your own Calcutta—

a descent,

an incarnation that moves

towards the dirt,

to touch the wounded heart.

Take the hand of the image-bearer;

here, in the shadows,

you may yet glimpse the King.

Do you see Him?

The Crucified lingers,

not on Zion’s heights,

but in the cramped alleys,

His arms traced with lines

of a thousand sorrows, all His own.

Do you see Him?

He walks beneath the weight of the sky,

bearing the ache of the abandoned.

In the hollow eyes of the hungry,

in the trembling hands of the lost,

his presence whispers.

Angels wait here too,

holding their breath

on sacred ground,

scorched by sleeping bags.

Not in Sinai’s thunder,

but in the hush of the forgotten,

in the silence of the lonely.

The compassionate Kingdom creeps unseen,

roots threading through concrete,

a mustard seed planted deep

a light shining in the darkness.

Find your own Calcutta—

a descent,

an incarnation that moves

towards the dirt,

to touch the wounded heart.

Take the hand of the image-bearer;

here, in the shadows,

you may yet glimpse the King..

Rev’d Jon Swales 2025, after reading  the words of Father Zosima in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (Book Two, Chapter Three: )

Do not be afraid.  

Bid farewell to fear.  

There is no shadow so deep  

that love cannot reach it,  

no sin so vast  

it could exhaust the boundless  

mercy of God.  

Repentance is  

but a turning,  

a quiet yielding to the truth  

that grace flows unending,  

even to the farthest places of the heart.  

Imagine this:  

more rejoicing in heaven  

over one who returns,  

broken and bare,  

than over those who never strayed.  

Do not carry the 

weight of bitterness;  

forgiveness is yours—  

a balm to wounds unseen,  

a release into freedom.  

If you repent,  

you will find love waiting,  

calling your name,  

not as a distant promise,  

but as the ground beneath your feet.  

And in love,  

you are one with God,  

who does not count wrongs  

but gathers all things into wholeness.  

There is not a hurt he will not heal.

Even now,  

with your sin,  

in your brokenness,  

you are loved.  

Even the weight you carry  

becomes but a thread in the tapestry of redemption.  

Love is treasure enough,  

a beauty to redeem the world,  

to cover every failure.  

You see—  

you will one day behold its face,  

and Love Himself will win.  

So go,  

with no fear,  

and let love be your guide.  

Words- Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn
www.cruciformjustice.com

Hope is not a calculation,  

not a tally of gains or losses,  

but the ache of a heart  

stretched toward the horizon,  

a whisper of light  

breaking through the veil of the now.  

It does not linger in stillness,  

passive as shadows gather,  

nor wither into wishing,  

an empty hand grasping at air.  

Hope breathes—  

and in its breath,  

a spark becomes a flame,  

warming the coldest night.  

Hope refuses to yield,  

to let evil speak the final word.  

It stands defiant against despair,  

a protest against what-is,  

a midwife to the not-yet-born.  

There is a restlessness in this hope,  

a holy disquiet,  

a stirring revolution  

that will not let us sleep.  

It has seen the dawn,  

and in its light,  

the future world shimmers,  

not with the dull hues of habit,  

nor the dark chimes of business as usual,  

but with the effervescence of the possible.  

Hope is not a calculation,

not a tally of gains or losses,

but the ache of the heart,

peering through a veil,

longing for the day—face to face,

when every tear will be wiped away.

- Swales , 2025

Words- Jon Swales
Beats- Sayburn 'Father' 

Hope leans forward,

tender,

listening to the whispers of creation

groaning for renewal.

It does not turn its face from shadows

but gazes through them,

finding in the darkness

the first faint glimmer of dawn.

There is a holy audacity in hope—

a quiet trust and boldness,

knowing the story is held

in hands not our own,

 nail scarred hands that invite us

to weave and work with them

a future of beauty and grace.

Hope speaks where

fear falters,

narrating a kingdom ,

telling a story

where the scattered are gathered,

where the weary find rest &

the exile a home.

It does not retreat,

nor stumble

beneath the solemn,

world-weary weight.

It moves with sacred purpose,

a searching grace,

a steady faith.

Hope is a spring,

a foretaste,

an existential refreshing

a momentary liberation

that lifts us from despair.

Hope knows the wounds of this world,

but counters fear

with holy persistence, &

holy resistance,

declaring that there is not a hurt

 he will not heal.

Hope,

a gift,

a call to action,

a quiet confidence that moves towards the pain—

not alone,

but with hands outstretched,

pulling the darkness of this world

towards the light of Christ.

Hope leans forward,

Tender,

‘Be ready,

Greet it with a kiss.’

Words Jon Swales
https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/a-lighthouse-reflection-beauty-weakness

Words: Jon Swales
https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/3-a-lighthouse-story

Words: Jon Swales
Soundtrack: Chris Sayburn

Blog Post: https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/ten-years-of-lighthouse-a-reflection

www.cruciformjustice.com

See https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/words-carry-weight-spiritual-abuse-and-healing

Beats by Chris Sayburn, Words by Jon Swales

See www.cruciformjustice.com

See https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/journeying-with-scripture-eunuchs-violence

See https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/theology-for-liberation

See the blog. 

From the book 'Sacred Landscapes'

Audio by Jon Swales
Taken from the book 'Sacred Landscapes' by Rev'd Jon Swales.

From the book In Sacred Landscapes by Rev'd Jon Swales
Audio by Jon Swales

See the blogpost 

In a world increasingly strained by the impacts of climate breakdown, it’s tempting to avoid thinking too far ahead. But imagining where our current path might lead is essential if we want to steer away from disaster. Today, I want to share a fictional letter from a possible future—a letter written in 2050 by a church leader in Leeds. I chose Leeds simply because it’s where I’m from, but the message holds relevance for us all. This isn’t a prediction but a heartfelt, imaginative exploration of what could happen if we don’t act with the urgency this moment demands.

This letter, though fictional, comes from a place of deep concern. It’s not meant to be a gloomy forecast but a prophetic call to action—a challenge for us to engage our hearts and minds with the reality we face. As Pope Francis said, "The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all... We need an ecological conversion, a radical change of hearts and minds." His words remind us that we cannot afford to be complacent.

The future described in this letter is one where we failed to act when it mattered most, letting comfort and denial prevent us from making the hard decisions. It’s a sobering reflection on what might happen if we continue down this path—where we end up apologising for missed opportunities and the pain that could have been avoided.

Yet, this letter also serves as a reminder of the growing movement for change. Today, there are many individuals and organisations—churches, Christian Climate Action, Operation Noah,  Christian Aid, and Green Christian—working tirelessly for a more sustainable future. They are raising the alarm, advocating for urgent action, and providing a beacon of hope. To explore further how churches can respond to climate breakdown see Laudato Si and the course 'Climate Justice: Following Jesus in a World of Climate Breakdown.

Words by Jon Swales

A podcast summary of a larger blog post.

Words Jon Swales, also see '

'Prophet of the Poor: Jesus’ Radical Challenge to Wealth and Power'

Talk by Rev'd Jon Swales

See blog post https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/strange-jesus
Words and Voice Rev'd Jon Swales
Music, used with permission . Rev'd Chris Sayburn

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/1-5-dead-in-the-water

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

Larger blog post can be found here.
The artwork  is from Steve Prince 'Urban Stations' 

See blog post

See blog post

Blog post with video found here.

See blog post.
Words and voice: Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn 'Memory'- used with permission.

For blog post see here, 

Music, Chris Sayburn 'Great Commission' - Used with Permission

Jesus and Herem. Full text here. 
Music,  'Distance'  by Chris Sayburn (Used with  permission) 

Prayer by Rev'd Jon Swales.  The words can be found here 

10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

 10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

A 10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

A 10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

A 10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here. This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

A 10 session course by Rev'd Jon Swales.  on the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit. Video files with slides can be found here.  This teaching series is based on Gordon Fee's book 'Paul, The Spirit and the People of God' and 'Gods Empowering Presence'

A sermon on John 15:9-17

see https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/love-a-sermon-shadwell-5th-may for transcript 

https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/not-of-this-world

Words- Swales
Beats: Sayburn

Words: Jon Swales
Beats: Used with Permission 'Sayburn'

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51)

And said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

The essence of the Christian faith finds its climax and heart in the story of Jesus, the God-Man. He's the one who willingly laid down his life for our sins and triumphed over death through resurrection. But there's more to this gospel story as the Apostle's Creed affirms: 'He ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come to judge the living and the dead.' The one who once proclaimed the Kingdom now reigns as its King.

In Revelation 4-5, we witness a glimpse of heaven with two thrones: one for the Father, the Lord of Glory, and the other for the slaughtered Lamb, who rules with self-giving sacrificial love. This presents a holy mystery, meant to encourage the saints. 

 The eternal Son of God took on human form in the incarnation, and through the ascension, the risen crucified one returns from the far country and enters the heavenly realm. He is the good and faithful servant who endured the cross and promoted to flory. The divine became flesh so that flesh, bearing the wounds of the cross, could enter the divine sphere. Thus, we, with our frail flesh, have an advocate, friend, savior, and king in the realm of the angels, in the presence of the Father—a great high priest.

Jesus' ascent doesn't signify an abandonment of creation; rather, it serves as the operational center where Jesus is worshipped and glorified. It's the place where the King upholds the saints as they proclaim and enact the kingdom, drawing believers into a participatory role in the ongoing redemption of the world. As Gregory of Nyssa reflected, "Our Lord's Ascension into heaven is not His abandonment of the world, but the beginning of a new way of being present to the world." 

This narrative of the gospel, with its culmination in Jesus' exaltation and ongoing reign, shapes the identity and mission of the Christian community. As Cyril of Jerusalem stated, "The Ascension of the Lord is our elevation." The ascension empowers them to live out the reality of the kingdom amidst the brokenness of the world.

Words- Jon Swales
Music: Used with Permission by Chris Sayburn.

https://www.horsforthchurchestogether.co.uk/thought-provoking-talk-on-environment-and-faith-by-jon-swales/

The quality of the audio improves after the first few minutes....

text found here https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/deconstruction
music by Chris Sayburn, Distance. Used with Permission

Words found here https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/jesus-the-heretic
Music, used by permission, from Chris Sayburn 'Passing By'

Words found at https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/the-wild-ride-love-in-a-world-of-climate-breakdown

Music By Chris Sayburn, Great Commission, Used with Permission.

Full Text at https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/rhetoric-of-genocide-jesus-and

Video available with slides here https://www.cruciformjustice.com/post/cruciform-imagination-for-a-world-in-crisis-teaching-video

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Justice, Peace and Reconciliation was an online course run by Katie Boyes and Rev'd Jon Swales in conjunction with Leeds School of Theology. 

Sessions include. 
Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Psalm 123, Ezekiel 36

Rev'd Jon Swales, 
St George's Church.
Leeds 2018

for a transcript head to www.cruciformjustice.com

Words- Rev'd Jon Swales
Piano: Alice

Words and voice Jon Swales- 
Audio from Line Neesgard, A  True Sadness

Talk from 2018 by Rev'd Jon Swales. Audio with slides can be found here. https://youtu.be/rjx58-_qYgU

A version of this talk with slides can be found here. https://youtu.be/DBWMLx_-TW0
Originally taught to St George's Leeds in 2018 by Rev'd Jon Swales

Words and voice by Jon Swales
Music, used by permission ‘It pours’- Chris Sayburn

A two part sermon series by Rev'd Jon Swales at St Georges' Church, Leeds. 3rd March 2019

Words and voice: Jon Swales
music used with permission Chris Sayburn ‘It pours’


Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

Our hearts are heavy,

Our souls are sad,

For we are overwhelmed,

By waves of climate grief.

Despite knowing what we know,

Humanity moves towards the point of no return.

Creation Groans,

Heaven Weeps,

Our hearts lament and grieve. 

Restore unto us the joy of your salvation,

And grant us your peace.

Lord Jesus Christ,

The one who walked a trail of tears,

We are are weary and heavy laden, 

Weary with tears.

Heavy laden with disappointment.

We come to you, for you invite us,

To find rest and restoration for our souls.

Temperatures rise, 

Sea levels rise.

Creation Groans,

Heaven Weeps,

Our hearts lament and grieve. 

Restore unto us the joy of your salvation,

And grant us your peace.

Spirit of the Living God,

The One who speaks to our very depths,

You invite us to be open and unafraid,

Vulnerable without shame, 

Honest and intimate.

Healer of all hurts,

Heal us and make us whole.

The beast of unrestrained capitalism,

Puts profit before people,

Creation Groans,

Heaven Weeps,

Our hearts lament and grieve. 

Restore unto us the joy of your salvation.

And grant us your peace.

Holy Trinity of Love,

You have invited us into your divine embrace.

And have filled our hearts with love.

In the storm of climate grief,

You are our rock and harbour,

To you be praise, honour and glory.

Amen

-Swales 2023

Course with slides/visuals can be found here 

A 6-part course with Alice Brencher and Jon Swales: With special guests Katie Dowds and Stuart Roberts
. Videos of these sessions including slides can be found here. 

Words and voice: Jon Swales
Beats- Chris Sayburn

Hope whispers my name,

And speaks to my soul.

‘Rest a while,

I have a healing balm and will tend your wounds.’

I counter,

‘But have you seen the pain,

The poison runs deep,

The beasts run wild.’

And hope speaks,

And addresses my wounded heart,

‘Indeed, 

I know.

The night is darkest just before the dawn.

On cursed tree,

Through whip and nail,

The evil of empire,

& the sickness of sin

sinned against me. 

Alone in pain. 

I breathed my last ‘

Downcast I spoke

‘The beast has won .

As hope lies silent in the grave.

In the book of life evil will have the last word’

And hope rejoiced 

And laughed and sang, 

A song of healing love,

‘My beloved one,

This is not true, 

The grave did not win.

I was raised to life.

Evil does not have the last word.

Love wins’

And I wept,

And he wiped the tears from my face. 

Hope embraced me in his love,

I beheld his face.

We danced

He is making all things new. 

• Swales 2023 

Course with slides/visuals can be found here 

A course taught by Alice Brencher and Rev'd Jon Swales
Full videos with slides are available here

Climate Justice: 'Following Jesus in a World of Climate Breakdown'
A course taught by Alice Brencher & Jon Swales
Videos which include slides can be found here. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmqiQVXn_oPy82zjl--SEk0H5TzAM51Mp

Climate Justice: 'Following Jesus in a World of Climate Breakdown'
A course taught by Alice Brencher & Jon Swales
Videos which include slides can be found here. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmqiQVXn_oPy82zjl--SEk0H5TzAM51Mp

Music:  Through the Wood (Erik Fernhome)
Words- Jon Swales based on Psalm 55

Shelter from the Storm (Psalm 55)- A Prayer for the Climate and Ecological Emergency

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

Hide not yourself from our pleas for mercy!

Attend to us, 

Attend to your world and our home.

Answer us,

As we knock on the door of heaven.

The noise of unrestrained capitalism overwhelms,

The beat of the drum of consumerism 

plunges us further into the abyss of climate breakdown.

Our addiction to fossil fuels is killing us,

We turned to them for blessing,

But now we are cursed.

Deliver us, O Lord.

Our hearts are heavy with anguish

Our souls are sad with sorrow. 

The terrors of death overwhelm us.

If I had the wings of a dove,

I would fly away,

But there are no wings to carry,

And there is no place in which the beasts are not unleashing hell.

Attend to us, 

Attend to your world and our home.

Answer us,

As we knock on the door of heaven.

In our fear,

Grant us courage.

In our distress,

Grant us Peace

Destroy O Lord,

Divide their tongues and undermine the financial structures and greed which plunges us further into the abyss of climate breakdown.

We call to God,

And the Lord will save us.

Evening, Morning & Noon,

We complain and moan,

He hears our voice.

He redeems our soul,

He is our shelter from the storm.

He bears out burdens

We will trust in you. 

Your Son,

Endured the cross and was raised to life,

In you the darkest day is not the final day.

There is not a hurt you will not heal.

Until then, 

We wait.

Amen

Sermon by Jon Swales, Nov 2018

A Sermon by Jon Swales. Nov 2018

At the Just Jesus conference, Katie Dowds and Jon Swales talked about Colossians One and the supremacy of Jesus. Although that session wasn't recorded, this recording is very similar. 

A recording from the Lighthouse ‘Just Jesus’ conference arranged by Lighthouse West  Yorkshire. 

Sermon by Rev’d Jon Swales

Words and voice: Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn

A sermon by Rev'd Jon Swales

Words and Voice Rev'd Jon Swales
Backing Music - used with permission 'It pours' by Rev'd Chris Sayburn

Father of Creation,
The Beginning and the End.
As our evening prayer rises before you,
So may your Spirit descend,
And hold us in your love,
To you be all praise and glory.

As we face the night,
Our hearts are heavy,
Knowing that this world of yours is groaning.
For redemption, healing and wholeness. 

As we face the night,
Our souls are sad,
Knowing that another day has passed,
Where we are plunged further into a world of climate breakdown.

Temperatures rise,
Lord have mercy.

Sea Levels rise,
Christ have mercy.

We pray,
For the world’s most vulnerable,
Let your kingdom come,
For those who are hungry.

Let your kingdom come.
For climate refugees,

Let your kingdom come.
For the structures and systems that support death and domination 
Let your kingdom come,
Do not be silent O God,
Pull the mighty from their thrones.
Stand up for the Oppressed,
Let your will be done.

Father of Creation,
The Alpha and the Omega,
As our evening prayer rises before you,
So may your Spirit descend,
And hold us in your sweet embrace.
For you are our hope and comfort.

As we lie down,
We thank you that you hold us.
As we close our eyes,

We thank you for your peace.
As we reflect upon our day,
We thank you that you forgive us.

Father of Creation,
God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank you for your Son,
Our Saviour,
The Good Shepherd,
Jesus.

May he this night lead us by quiet waters,
As this world walks through the valley of the shadow of death.
May he anoint our head with oil,
And bid our anxious thoughts to flee.

Father of Creation,
The Beginning and the End.
As our evening prayer rises before you,
So may your Spirit descend,
And hold us in your love
To you be all praise and glory.
Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my soul and my body.
Bless me, have mercy upon me, and grant me life eternal.
Amen

Music: Free Sad Piano Type Beat- Emotional Piano Instrumental 'Broken- See 

A Liturgy for the Morning: Prayers for the Climate and Ecological Emergency. 

Father of Creation,

The beginning and the end.

This day has never existed before in the history of the cosmos,

And yet here we are with the fragile,

And beautiful

 gift of life.

To you be all praise, honour and glory.

From the rising of the sun to the setting of the same,

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

And so we join with creation,

With a whole host of non-human worshippers

To lift your name high.

We join with angels, archangels and the whole company of heaven,

With elephants and eagles and the whole company of earth.

Saying,

Holy, Holy, Holy  is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is and is to come.

Father of Creation.

The beginning and the end.

This day, 

Although beautiful

Is also broken.

This world,

Although beautiful.

Is also broken.

We live in a world of climate breakdown,

Temperatures are rising.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

We live in a world of beastly forces,

Profits are put before people,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

And so we confess that we have sinned,

And done evil in your sight.

We now find ourselves East of Eden,

We have failed to keep our calling.

To tend and keep.

We have sown into the wind of unrestrained capitalism.

And now we reap the climate whirlwind.

We live in the panelled houses of consumerism

Whilst the temple of your creation lies in ruins.

We have made our bed from greed and individualism.

Must we now lie in it?

We are sorry.

We repent,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Let us hear afresh the words,

My friend,

‘Your sins are forgiven’.

Let us hear afresh the words,

‘Take up your bed and walk.’

The night has passed and the day lies open before us,

And so we pray with one heart and mind. 

That we would walk the Jesus way.

The way that leads to life,

The way that leads to love,

The way that walks the way of justice.

In our grief for a broken world,

Let us be those who rejoice in the gift of this new day.

In our grief for a broken world.

Set our hearts on fire with love for you

Father of Creation,

The beginning and the end.

This day has never existed before in the history of the cosmos,

And yet here we are with the fragile,

And beautiful

 gift of life.

To you be all praise, honour and glory.

From the rising of the sun to the setting of the same,

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

And so we join with creation,

With a whole host of non-human worshippers

To lift your name high.

We join with angels, archangels and the whole company of heaven,

With elephants and eagles and the whole company of earth.

Saying,

Holy, Holy, Holy  is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is and is to come.

Amen

-Jon Swales, Nov 2022

Words and Voice- Jon Swales
Music:  

Song: Blue Nights
Artist: Juan Sánchez
Artist’s Website: https://juansanchezmusic.info/

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We thank you for the fragile gift of life,

And the beautiful world that you made.

To you be all praise, honour and glory.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

You called us to love our neighbours,

And tend and keep your cosmic temple.

Yet we have failed.

And done evil in your sight.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

In our quest for industrial and technological development,

We have plundered and pillaged this world of yours,

Unrestrained capitalism and unfettered consumerism,

Building on a history of oppression of the global south,

Have brought us to the brink.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

We stand at 2 mins to midnight,

And the clock hand of our existential threat moves steadily onwards.

Yet we stand distracted and in denial at this late hour.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Global temperatures rise,

We suffer at 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures,

Sea Levels Rise,

Extreme Weather increases,

Increased Migration,

Climate breakdown acts as a threat multiplier.

Knowing the unless things change we face a 2 degree climate hell,

Of Mass migration,

Mass starvation

And societal collapse.

What have we done?

Lord have mercy?

What have we done?

Christ have mercy?

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

With tears in our eyes,

And sadness in our souls,

We pray for COP27,

For compassionate change,

And the overturning of the tables of injustice,

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

We pray that world leaders would slam on the brakes of climate breakdown,

That we would avert the worst of what may be,

And adapt to what will be with compassion and justice.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We thank you for the fragile gift of life,

And the beautiful world that you made.

To you be all praise, honour and glory.

Amen

Words- Rev'd  Jon Swales
Music: Alice Brencher

Father of Creation,

God of Mercy,

The rain came down

And the floods came up

Leaving a trail of desperation,

destitution,

& destruction.

Storm Ian gained ferocity and power

Through rising temperatures and rising seas,

Having sowed into the wind of unrestrained capitalism 

Humanity now reaps the whirlwind.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

We pray for those who mourn ,

We lament the loss of life.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy

We pray for those who are homeless,

We grieve for those traumatised 

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy

For those in despair,

Bring the comfort of your presence.

For those whose hearts are broken,

Let your compassion and comfort be known.

Father of Creation,

God of Mercy,

Unrestrained capitalism has unleashed hell,

And we ask that you would wake us up,

And that we would hear you say the words.

‘Peace be still.’

God our refuge and strength,

Bring near the day when extreme storms will cease,

And poverty and pain will end.

That earth may know the peace of heaven,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Talk by Jon Swales
Music: Chris Sayburn

A multi-podcast episode talk by Rev'd Jon Swales on Jesus.
Music: Alice Brencher and Chris Sayburn

Talk by Jon Swales
Music, Chris Sayburn

WORDS, SWALES
MUSIC SAYBURN 'HORIZON'

There is a certain kind of religion,

An opium for the masses.

It,

Numbs,

Distracts

And anaesthetises us from the pain of the world,

Into a heavenly world of spiritualising irrelevance.

There is a certain kind of religion,

An opium for the masses,

It 

Supports,

Benefits.

And acts as chaplain to the status quo,

Supporting the structures and systems that reap destruction.

There is another kind of religion,

A hope for the nations,

It,

Awakens,

Summons,

And calls us into the pain of the world.

Into a world of Christlike justice.

There is another kind of religion,

A hope for the nations,

It 

Challenges,

Confronts,

And rebels against the status quo.

And offers a conspiracy of compassion that leads towards human flourishing. 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father 

is this:

to visit orphans, and 

widows in their affliction, 

and to keep oneself unstained from the 

structures  and systems of domination. (James 1:12).

By Rev'd Jon Swales as Part of the Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation Course

A talk given by Rev'd Jon Swales as part of the Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Course. 

Words and Voice by Rev'd Jon Swales
Music by Santoor and Tabla at Assi Ghat, Varanasi by Samuel Corwin | https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Samuel_Corwin
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A Prayer for Pakistan (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of the Nations,

Words fail to describe the horrors of climate breakdown

Unleashed upon Pakistan.

A photo,

A video,

A screaming child,

A vacant look of disbelief on a parent's face.

But even these are but a window,

A glimpse,

A snapshot,

Of the carnage and catastrophe,

That falls upon millions.

We live in our panelled houses,

Whilst 33 million lives are changed,

184,000 camped out in relief camps.

By extreme floods.

By extreme suffering.

Hundreds dead.

Do you care?

Is heaven silent?

We ask that you calm the raging sea,

But it seems you are absent without leave.

Asleep at the wheel.

In trembling faith,

We ask,

For mercy.

In the fragility of our brokenness,

We plead,

For mercy.

We cling tentatively to the hope and truth that you, 

Really are as beautiful and loving as that which is seen in Jesus.

Let your love be shown,

Let Pakistan hear your voice, saying,

Peace, Be still.

Wake up and set the world to rights.

And yet, we know,

We reap what we sow.

But this is not strictly true.

For we sow injustice and consumerism,

Yet the brown skin nations reap.

We have made our bed in unrestrained capitalism 

But it is the most vulnerable who lie in it.

Those nations who have done the least per person to contribute to climate breakdown,

Are those who suffer the most.

We are hypocrites,

Like sheep who have gone astray,

We call out the shepherd, 'Is he really good?'

Whilst embracing and maintaining economic systems,

That are driven by domination and bring destruction.

Lord, have mercy on Pakistan,

And have mercy on us.

Amen.

Words and Voice- Jon Swales
Music:  Blue Nights (Royalty Free Music)

A Prayer for the Energy Crisis and Rising Costs (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We lift up to you the energy crisis.

With rising financial costs,

Emotional and social costs increase,

Anxiety and Fear abound. 

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God and Father of our Jesus Christ,

You are the defender of the weak, &

Have compassion for the vulnerable.

Draw close in your comfort and compassion,

To those who choose between food and warmth,

To those who choose between school uniforms or having the lights on.

Draw close in your comfort and compassion,

To those who are fearful as to what winter may bring.

To those in mental anguish as the pressure builds.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

We ask that you would empower and equip your church, to 

Enact hope and embrace compassion,

That with open doors and open hearts,

We may look and love like Jesus within this crisis.

Help us,

To help others,

Empower us,

To embrace others,

Support us,

To speak out.

Comfort us,

To bring comfort.

Bless us,

To be a blessing.

We know, O Lord,

That this crisis is intimately connected,

With the beast of war and in the context of climate and ecological breakdown.

We pray for the cessation of war and the flourishing of peace.

Lord,

Grant wisdom, compassion and courage to those in leadership.

That they may enact justice,

And make decisions that are in line with mercy for the oppressed and love towards the vulnerable.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We lift up to you the energy crisis.

With rising financial costs,

Emotional and social costs increase,

Anxiety and Fear abound. 

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Amen.

Teaching by Katie Dowds.

Katie Dowds is Senior Pastor at Lighthouse, a Christian community for those who have been battered and bruised by the storms of life. A contemplative activist and passionate communicator, she sits on the Advisory Board at JustLove and has led seminars and performed spoken word poetry at national conferences such as Soul Survivor, Proximity and ISAAC. She really loves Jesus and is hungry to see his Kingdom come.

A sample lecture taken from Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Course.

This dynamic learning environment aims to equip the church to engage the contemporary world in justice, peacemaking and reconciliation. Through a mixture of live lectures, discussion groups and assigned homework, this introductory course will particularly focus on a Christlike and prophetic response to the interrelated issues of climate breakdown, violence and conflict and racial injustice. This course is a partnership between Leeds School of Theology and Lighthouse West Yorkshire following the success of the Mission, Theology & Ministry for the Margins course.

Topics

Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

. The course will be delivered fully online via Zoom, all you need is a device and an internet connection. Each month the online content will consist of a mixture of live-lecturers, pre-recorded video resources, reading material and conversations between tutors and other practitioners working with those on the margins.

Words by Rev'd Jon Swales
Music from Gavin Luke 'Beyond Imagination' https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2gLylp09Qi/ 

A Lament for the Summer of 2022: Heatwaves, Water Shortages and Forest Fires (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

In the beginning,

The earth was formless and void,

And your Spirit 

Hovered over the waters of the deep. 

In love you spoke,

And light and life came into being. 

To you be praise, honour and glory.    [Gen 1:1-3]

Father of Creation, 

God of Faithfulness,

You have shown your love to us,

In providing and sustaining, 

The seasons, 

The weather, and 

The rain.

As a tender shepherd,

You have led us by

Still waters, &

Green Pastures. 

To you be praise, honour and glory.

Yet, 

We have moved East of Eden,

And have opened the door to unrestrained capitalism,

It has overwhelmed us.

Yet,

In our arrogance and greed we have  built Babel,

And take up a place that only belongs to you.

We now reap what we have sown.

We have plundered,

Now temperatures rise.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy

We have pillaged,

Now sea levels rise,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

And so in the summer of 2022,

We have been weighed on the scales and found wanting,

The writing is on the wall.

The earth mourns,

The rivers grieve,

The land laments. 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

The fields wither,

The forests weep,

The land laments 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation, 

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

We ask that within this unfolding nightmare

We may dream a kingdom dream, &

Hope a hope-filled future

That would cause us to repent,

Change Course,

And avert the worst of what may be.

Empower us O Lord so that we would be those who,

Seek good, and not evil, 

That we would be those who 

Hate evil, and love good, 

and establish justice in the gate.   [Amos 5:14-15]

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion.

The time will come when you will sit as judge

And set the world to rights.

Glory to you who made the heavens,

Glory to you who made the earth,

Glory to you who made the sea and all springs of water.

Amen.       

A lecture on mission from Rev'd Jon Swales
This is a sample from the 'Mission, Theology and Ministry for the Margins Course.

More details here. https://leeds-school-of-theology.org/mission-theology-ministry-for-the-margins/

Leeds School of Theology are pleased and excited to partner with Lighthouse West Yorkshire in facilitating a dynamic learning community which will serve Christians already working alongside the marginalised or who have a heart to pioneer in this area.

Lighthouse is a fresh expression of church that serves adults with multiple and complex needs including poverty, mental health, homelessness, trauma and addiction.

Course Overview
The course, will include passionate teaching which fuses together Biblical studies, theological reflection, interviews with people with lived experience, cultural analysis, historical case studies and cutting edge research on addiction and trauma to inspire and equip the church to engage with those on the margins in a way that looks and loves like Jesus.

Topics Include

Visions and Values of Healthy Theology
Missional Theology for the Margins
Justice and the Heart of God
The Image of God
Suffering, Lament and Spiritual Warfare
Building Community & Leading Accessible worship for Vulnerable Adults
Why the Hell do Bad Things Happen?
Addiction and Recovery
Helping without Hurting
Trauma: Hope for Healing

Words- Jon Swales
except 'Justice is what love looks like' comes from Martin Luther King
Music: Chris Sayburn

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

To raise ones head above the parapet of indifference,

Singing a song with actions,

With melodies so sweet,

Captivating  and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

To set a fire of hope in the hurting hearts of the unheard,

Stoking the fires of change in the fortress of status quo.

Captivating and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

A never failing stream flowing with truth, and reconciliation,

A living cascade of freedom and forgiveness,

Captivating and compelling, 

To a lost and dying world.

Justice is what love looks like in public,

It is,

Word made flesh wrapped in extravagant mercy 

To know God is to do justice, 

Captivating and compelling,

To a lost and dying world.

An audio sample taken from the 'Justice, Peace and Reconciliation' Course. 

JUSTICE, PEACE & RECONCILIATION COURSE

REGISTER TODAY

This dynamic learning environment aims to equip the church to engage the contemporary world in justice, peacemaking and reconciliation. Through a mixture of live lectures, discussion groups and assigned homework, this introductory course will particularly focus on a Christlike and prophetic response to the interrelated issues of climate breakdown, violence and conflict and racial injustice. This course is a partnership between Leeds School of Theology and Lighthouse West Yorkshire following the success of the Mission, Theology & Ministry for the Margins course.

Topics

Discipleship and Justice

Jesus & the Peaceable Kingdom

Christian Hope and Forgiveness : Keys to Healing in a Hurting World

Tending the Garden: A Biblical Theology of Creation

Enacting the Kingdom in a World of Climate Breakdown

Every Tribe and Every Tongue: Racial Reconciliation

Speaking Truth to Power: An Exploration of the OT Prophets

The Eagle and the Lamb: Revelation’s Call to Allegiance

Faith in the Public Square: Christian Activism and Prophetic Witness

Tutors

Rev’d Jon Swales MBE lives in Leeds and is married with 4 children. He heads up Lighthouse and serves as a Team Vicar at St George’s Leeds. Jon also teaches Old Testament at St Hild Theological College and, as an activist, has participated in and led a number of peaceful protests, actions, and vigils for the climate and ecological emergency. Jon is passionate for the church, within the context of climate breakdown, to wake up to its calling to be the justice-shaped people of God.

Katie Dowds is Senior Pastor at Lighthouse, a Christian community for those who have been battered and bruised by the storms of life. A contemplative activist and passionate communicator, she sits on the Advisory Board at JustLove and has led seminars and performed spoken word poetry at national conferences such as Soul Survivor, Proximity and ISAAC. She really loves Jesus and is hungry to see his Kingdom come.

Sermon by Re'v Jon swales

Words- Jon Swales
Voice- Katie Dowds
Beats- CHris Sayburn

Heatwaves and Forest Fires : A Prayer for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (Draft)

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion.

Our world warms,

Your world burns,

Our hearts ache,

As heatwaves and wildfires rampage and ransack,

Leaving a trail of 

sweat and sorrow

death and destruction.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Heatwaves and new record temperatures ,

A Conflagration of Chaos

We reap what we sow.

Fire and Flames

Through unrestrained capitalism  

We reap what we sow

Father of Compassion,

God of Creation,

We know not how to pray,

Yet we pray,

And look to you,

Help us!

Father of Compassion,

God of Creation,

We lift up to you

the heatwaves in the UK, 

forest fires in Europe,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

In the heatwave, 

We lift up to you those who are vulnerable as temperatures rise,

We lift up to you those who dwell in housing which cannot keep cool.

We lift up to you emergency services who will face extra pressure.

Lord have mercy. 

Christ have mercy. 

For those experiencing forest fires, 

We lift up to you those whose homes have been destroyed, 

We lift up to you those feeling scared.

Christ have mercy,

Lord have mercy.

We lift up to you those who are fighting the fires,

We lift up to you local and national leaders,

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

We grieve the rise in temperatures,

The risk it poses and the deaths it will bring.

We grieve the loss of forests,

Destroyed by the flames.

We lament the death of wildlife

Destroyed by the wildfire and rising temperatures. 

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of creation, 

We reap what we sow,

May these heatwaves and fires wake us up to our direction of travel,

May these heatwaves and fires expose the dark forces that put their foot on the pedal of climate breakdown,

May these heatwaves and fires lead to sustained action from those in power to adapt to what will be and avoid the worst of what may be.

Lord have mercy,

Christ have mercy.

Father of Creation, 

God of Compassion,

Calm the raging fires,

Cool our soaring heat, 

Calm our anxious hearts,

Renew in us a commitment to justice and peace,

Until that day when death will be no more.

Amen

-Swales , July 2022

Prayers by Jon Swales
Voice: Alice Brencher, Sarah Swales, Jon Swales
Piano: Alice Brencher