• When you see a rainbow

    Here’s the Moment of Reflection that I gave on Radio 2 yesterday.

    There it was in the sky – clear and bright. Arching right over the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday just as gay marriage was being agreed by parliamentarians.

    Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet – a perfect rainbow stretching across the sky.

    It made me smile as rainbows always do because when I see them, I remember singing in Sunday school – “When you see a rainbow, remember God is love”.

    Of course, God doesn’t control the weather – the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous and rainbows appear to everyone. But when I see rainbows, I remember several things. Firstly they make me remember that the world is inherently beautiful. Then the many colours remind me of the glorious diversity that is what creation seems to be all about. And then they remind me of love because of that song I used to sing when I was little.

    After this week of storm and flooding, many are suffering. As I’m praying later today in church, I’ll be praying for compassion, comfort, hope and help. Oh yes, and for love. For all who need love most.

    You can hear it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s0xjn

    (At time of writing, whoever is updating the BBC website seems not to be able to spell “reverend”).

3 responses to “Recorded music in the liturgy”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    Dennis Potter has an awful lot to answer for.

  2.  Avatar
    Kelvin

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    After the death of George Harrison I was at a Sunday Eucharist where the Rector played a tape of My Sweet Lord and based his sermon on it. Don’t think it was really appreciated but I didn’t hear any complaints either.

  3.  Avatar
    Kelvin

    Re: Recorded music in the liturgy
    The only time I can remember this really working was when the Piscy College was at Coates Hall and after the Friday evening Eucharist the student who had been leading that week’s services, Kevin Bean, turned on a cassette of Boney-M singing Rivers of Babylon. I still recall the surprised grins on people’s faces and Gian Tellini practically skipping out of the chapel

    Ian Burdon
    (Coates Hall 1977-79)

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