A service of lament was held for victims of abuse was held at All Hallows Whitchurch last week, using a specially crafted liturgy on the theme of ‘Longing for Light’.
The service was organised by the Revd Sue Hart in response to recent reports into church-related abuse, particularly the publication of the Makin Report in the abuse of John Smyth.
Revd Sue said: “Like everyone else who has read the Makin report, I was left beyond horrified by the suffering that was perpetrated by Smyth, and then compounded by the inadequacy of the church’s response. I think I expected everything to just stop for a bit, to maybe have some kind of period of mourning and lamenting, but that didn’t really happen, and it felt as if we very quickly we moved on to ‘business as usual’. And I felt if I wasn’t ready to do that, how could anyone who was directly affected by abuse hope to do so?”
A friend and priest in the neighbouring diocese of Portsmouth got in touch to share some liturgy she had crafted, called ‘Longing for Light’, which Revd Sue then adapted for her context. She was helped by Kerry Murphy, an ordinand at St Mellitus who is on placement with Winchester University Chaplaincy, who created some moving prayer stations. “The prayer stations were designed to help attendees connect with God in meaningful ways,” said Kerry. “Each station offered a tangible act of prayer and release, such as writing a prayer on a stone and dropping it into water – a symbol of God’s tears and the letting go of pain. The space felt sacred, a sanctuary filled with compassion, reverence, and prayer, where people could express their deepest hurts and hopes, knowing they were heard by both God and those present. It was a powerful moment of healing and communion.”
Revd Sam Cullen explained that it also felt appropriate to hold such a service during Advent, “a time when the church focuses on light shining in the darkness. It was also an opportunity at the end of the church year and start of a new one began, to rededicate ourselves to keeping vulnerable people safe.”
One person who attended the service reflected on how poignant it was, but also the sense of how more needing to be done to hear the voices of those who have suffered…
‘I have to say I felt profoundly inadequate last night. There are some instances where the sense of ‘stepping on holy ground’ is so intense, and my awareness of how many mistakes I can make when trying to speak into experiences that are not my own, and that are so fragile and precious, can be almost overwhelming. And, the fact that it’s still my voice being heard and not the voices of those who have been silenced worries me. However, I have to trust that I don’t know what might have been happening last night, or what difference us coming together, stumbling, feeling our way imperfectly, offering our prayers might have have made.’
The service plan drew on the work of Revd Sarah Chapman, former Advisor in Healing and Wholeness at Canterbury Diocese, who co-wrote a book with a survivor. The book, “The Statues Gasped”, contains useful resources for framing the liturgy and space, including ideas for prayer stations.
Revd Sue continued: “It seemed like perhaps something tiny I could do to indicate solidarity with those who have suffered; to pause and reflect on the pain that has been caused, and the church’s part in that. I am very new in my parish post so it felt like going out on a limb, but the benefice rector Revd David Roche was supportive, so I gathered a little team around me. I think it’s important to say that I felt very vulnerable and inadequate hosting this service, but it just felt like it was the right thing to do. I think sometimes in the church we can become afraid to do things out of the norm, or that feels risky, but, my experience is that it is in those moments, when we feel a little alone, and maybe like we’re swimming against the tide, that faith becomes real.”
