Refugee service at Chapel in the Garden, Bridport

On the last day of Refugee Week, Sunday, June 26, the Chapel in the Garden will holding a service (11am) on the theme of refugees.

Margie Barbour who will be leading the service said: “We are very happy to welcome refugees who are living in Bridport to our Chapel. The Universalist ethos of the Chapel means that we accept all faiths and hope to make everyone who comes through our door feel at home. The Lord's Prayer will be read in Arabic by African Christians, and a Ukrainian prayer will be shared in Ukrainian by a refugee."

The chalice is always lit at the beginning of the service, and a prayer called “Welcoming the Stranger” will be read. It is about a child journeying far from home and seeking a safe harbour. It was originally written in Spanish by Theresa I. Soto, for the Mexican refugees.

Music will include a choir singing 'The Vine and the Fig Tree' which ends with the words "nations shall learn war no more. And into plough-shares turn their swords".

The Bible reading will be Matthew, chapter 25 verses 31-46, the parable of the Sheep and the Goats and includes the passage in verse 35: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

The experience of the Jewish diaspora will not be forgotten and Jane Silver Coren will teach a 'Zuma gali gali,' a fun Jewish song and dance. It will be shared with the children when they come into the Chapel to join in the last ten minutes of worship after Children’s Chapel, when they will be told the famous story by Leo Tolstoy, 'Papa Panov'.

Anyone who would like to come with their children would be very welcome; the children are cared for by three experienced leaders who offer fun and interesting activities to children of all ages.

The service traditionally ends with a glorious shared dance to lively music, and on Sunday it will be to 'The Rivers of Babylon' by Boney M.