Leader invites a few moments of silence and contemplation before the icon.
Opening Prayers
Leader
| We pray for those who will spend time during our service handing out leaflets to the public. We ask that our message will reach the hearts of people of good will on this street today. Creator Spirit, wellspring of our lives, as the refreshing rain falls on the just and unjust alike, |
All | Refresh us with your mercy, you who know our own injustice. |
Leader | As the stream flows steadily on, defying all the odds of stone and water, |
All | Flow over every boundary and border that separates us from each other. |
Leader | As the waters of our baptism washed us and welcomed us, |
All | Renew us now in newness of life and unity of love. |
Hymn – “Tell Out, My Soul”
1 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice; tender to me the promise of his Word; in God my Savior shall my heart rejoice. | 3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might! Powers and dominions lay their glory by. Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight, the hungry fed, the humble lifted high. |
2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name! Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done; his mercy sure, from age to age the same; his holy name, the Lord, the Mighty One. | 4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his Word! Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord to children's children and forevermore! |
by Timothy Dudley-Smith |
Psalm 69
A Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
B But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love,
answer me.
A With your faithful help rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
B Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
A and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name
shall live in it.
Prayers of Repentance
Leader: Loving Jesus, as a child in fear of your life, you were forced to seek refuge in Egypt. You know what it is like to be rejected, and to be an outsider. You call us to love our neighbours as ourselves, but we have hardened our hearts against strangers. All: Forgive us, and help us to change.
Leader: You told us to welcome strangers in our land, but we have hated, humiliated imprisoned, and killed those who have asked for our hospitality.
All: Forgive us, and help us to change.
Leader: We are called today to welcome those fleeing from war, famine and poverty. Open our hearts, and those of our neighbourhood, of our city, of our country and of our continent, to those who need shelter.
All: Forgive us, and help us to change.
The List of the Dead
The names and details which follow are those of people who have died trying to obtain sanctuary in Europe or the UK. We read them so as to honour their lives and mourn the injustice of their deaths. Many are unknown, but as Pope Francis said, ‘Every one has a name, a face and a story’. Today we mark those who died in November 2023.
After each entry, Leader says: Lord have mercy.
All respond: Christ, have mercy.
Date | Details |
? | 8 people from Gambia died of exhaustion during a 15-day boat journey from Gambia to the Canaries. Their bodies were thrown in the sea; 55 survived. |
3/11 | A boy died from exhaustion in hospital, having arrived at El Hierro (Spain) by boat from West Africa one day earlier; 83 survived. |
4/11 | 134 people from Senegal, including at least 3 children and 6 women, drowned when a Canaries-bound boat on the way from Senegal sank off Nouadhibou (Morocco);15 191 survived. 2 people died of unknown cause, their bodies found on board a boat during rescue off the Canary island of El Hierro. 2 others died on the way to hospital. A man of 23 from Syria died, his body found by nature researchers in Białowieża Forest (Poland) near Narewka River at the Poland-Belarus border. |
5/11 | 15 people were presumed drowned off Nouadhibou (Morocco), missing from 7 canoes on the way from Senegal to the Canaries. 13 people, including 2 children, from sub-Saharan Africa died of hunger and thirst on the way to Spain, their bodies in state of decay found in boats off Nouadhibou. A body, probably of a woman, wearing a white shirt & tied to a tire used as a life vest was found between rocks on the coast of Lampedusa (Italy). |
6/11 | Dinh Anh Nguyen, a man of 37 from Vietnam, was hit by a train near Calais (France) while walking on railway tracks in the dark. 182 people from Guinea, Mali, and Senegal drowned off Gadaye (Senegal) on the way from Bargny (Senegal) to the Canary Islands (Spain). 87 survived. |
8/11 | 17 people from Algeria drowned when a boat went missing on the way to Murcia (Spain) after embarkation from Mostaganem (Algeria). 2 men, both aged around 30, drowned off Gadaye (Senegal) on the way to the Canary Islands, their bodies found at Diamalaye beach (Senegal); 87 survived. |
9/11 | A body was found by the Spanish Civil Guard, after a boat from West Africa arrived south of El Hierro (Spain); 79 survived. Mohammed Amine Saidat, a man of 26 from Morocco, was hit by a train in Bolzano (Italy) while looking for shelter for the night. He had camped near the site of his death. |
10/11 | A man’s body was found by journalists while reporting in the Kupa Riverbed in Netretić (Croatia) on the Croatia-Slovenia border. |
11/11 | 7 people, including an infant, drowned, their bodies recovered in the Mediterranean Sea off Sfax (Tunisia) by the Tunisian National Guard. 2 people from sub-Saharan Africa drowned on the way from Sfax (Tunisia) to Lampedusa (Italy) when they fell from a small boat when rescuers neared; 67 survived. |
12/11 | A body was found by Belarus border guards in Belarus near the 82nd Belarusian pillar of the border fence with Latvia. A man of about 30 from sub-Saharan Africa drowned off Gadaye (Senegal) on the way to the Canary Islands, his body found at Déni Guedj Nord beach (Senegal); 87 survived. A man of 29 from Eritrea died of unknown causes on the way to Lampedusa (Italy), his body found on board a boat by Italian coast guards. |
13/11 | 7 people from Liberia, Palestine, Syria and elsewhere, including a child and 2 women, drowned when a rubber boat on the way to Chios (Greece) sank in stormy weather off Cesme (Turkey); 6 survived. Abdelbassit Mohammad, a man of 22 from Sudan, had his throat slit during a brawl between migrants under the Mollien bridge in Calais; his attacker fled. |
14/11 | 11 people from Algeria drowned in the Mediterranean sea, off Murcia (Spain) on the way from Mostaganem (Algeria). 16 people drowned when a boat hit rocks on the way from Senegal to the Canaries (Spain), their bodies found on a beach of Lagouera (Morocco). |
15/11 | A person from Gambia died of exhaustion during a 15-day boat journey from Gambia to the Canaries, their body found during rescue; 55 survived. 19 people from Algeria drowned when a boat missing on the way to the Balearic Islands (Spain) after embarkation from Algiers (Algeria). |
Mid Nov. | A person died of unknown causes on the way from Africa to Lampedusa (Italy), buried in Palma on the island of Sicily. |
16/11 | 19 people from Algeria drowned when a boat went missing on the way to the Balearic Islands (Spain) after embarkation from Algiers (Algeria). |
17/11 | 35 people, including 2 children and 5 women, from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa, drowned, when a boat capsized in high waves south of Guelmim (Morcco) on the way to the Canaries; 10 survived. Baysal Recep, a man of 42, and Geçsöyler Mehmet Ali, a man of 37, both from Turkish Kurdistan, were hit by a truck and killed while walking on the emergency lane of the A16 near the Calais ferry terminal. An Albanian man of 37 died in hospital after attempting suicide in Brook House removal centre in Gatwick in fear of deportation. |
19/11 | 18 people from north Africa went missing on the way to Alicante (Spain) after embarkation from Tipaza (Algeria). |
20/11 | A girl of 2 from Guinea died of unknown causes on a rescue ship on the way to port after shipwreck off Capo Ponente (Italy); 43 survived 8 people from sub-Saharan Africa, including 2 children, drowned on the way from Sfax (Tunisia) to Lampedusa (Italy) after shipwreck off Capo Ponente (Italy); 43 survived. |
21/11 | A woman of 36 drowned off Lampedusa (Italy) on the way from Sfax (Tunisia) when a metal boat sank during rescue; 46 people, including her sister, survived. |
22/11 | Mulu Wolde Tsehaye, a woman of 34, and Eskiel Sebsbea Tsgaye, a woman of 37, both from Ethiopia, and a man named Aman, drowned when a Britain-bound boat capsized after leaving a beach near Equihen-Plage (France); 58 survived. |
26/11 | Mikhail Zubchenko, a man of 24 from Russia, committed suicide after 14 months in Asylum Seekers Center in Echt (Netherland). He was a LGBT asylum seeker. |
27/11 | A person from Egypt was found frozen to death in the outskirts of Sofia (Bulgaria), part of group of 10 migrants; 9 survived. |
29/11 | A body was found on an inflatable boat during rescue off Gran Canaria (Spain); 50 survived. 2 people drowned, having been thrown into the sea near Cadiz (Spain) by traffickers using a fast drugs-smuggling boat from Morocco; 23 survived. |
Taken from UNITED List of Refugee Deaths, produced by UNITED for Intercultural Action (UNITEDAgainstRefugeeDeaths.eu). Collated from the following sources: 7sur7be, AA, ADakar, AfricaNews, ANSA, APNews, Barrons, BBC, BFMTV, BNNnetwork, BTA, Caminando, CrossBorderForum, Czaban, Dakaractu, El Diario, EP, ECRE, EURonewsRS, Fatto, Francetvinfo, GlobalVoices, GPKGovBY, GuardeNatTN, Guardian, Hespress, InfoMigrants, IRR, Italy24, Kewoulu, Kirlant, Le Figaro, Le Monde, LGBTWorldBeside, LGBTasylumsupport, Limburger, L1Nieuws, LV, MarineSenegal, Mediapart, MP, NewArab, Nieuwsblad, NOS, NovayaGazeta, OKO, OpenMigration, ORF, Reuters, Rudaw, SeneNews, Tahalil, TheHuffFrance, TikiToki, TimisActu, VON, VecernjiHR, VoixDuNord, Xalima, XalimaSN.
All: Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Hymn – “Wait for the Lord”
by Communauté de Taizé
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near. Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart! (x3) |
Reading
(Mt. 24 3-14) When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah!” and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
‘Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But anyone who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.’
Reflection by Barbara Kentish
Prayers of Intercession
Everyone present reads in turn. All say the response in bold.
We pray for the thousands of men, women and children, known and unknown, who set out to seek safety and a better life in Europe, but who were drowned in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Aegean, or the English Channel, and for those who mourn them. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for migrants who have met hostility or violence from authorities or vigilantes. We pray for those pushed back into the sea, those forced into the desert, and for those who persecute them. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for the protection of all people in refugee camps in Calais and elsewhere and the communities they build. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for refugees arriving in the UK and being placed in detention in poor conditions at arrival, and those made homeless on being granted asylum. We pray for their mental and physical well-being and for the recognition of their right to decent housing. We pray for Ibrahima Bah and all others imprisoned through unjust laws. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, those working in this building, and all others who work to maintain border regimes, that they will be guided by their conscience to change policy. We pray for the end of the hostile environment, and the creation of safe, legal routes to claim asylum in this country. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for a resolution to the conflicts and oppression which displace people, for the end of the arms trade, and the realisation of the right of people to remain in their homes. We pray for the people of Congo, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, Ukraine, Russia, and Palestine. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for those who are fleeing the effects of climate change, with rising sea levels, drought, flood or crop failure, yet who have caused little or no damage to our climate; for those who make decisions about compensation, and those who continue to exploit the earth for profit. We ask forgiveness for our complicity in this. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray for the safety and success of those serving aboard the rescue ships: the Sarah, the Maldusa, the Life Support, the Aurora, the Mission Lifeline, the Rise Above, the ResQ People, the Imara, the Nadir, the Geo Barents, the Sea Punk 1, the Sea Watch 5, the Humanity 1, the Ocean Viking, the Open Arms, the Louise Michel, and others; and of the volunteers of the Alarm Phone, and the reception teams on the Greek and Italian islands. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
We pray that you create in all of us the strength and resilience to resist unjust immigration laws and to support one another in this struggle. O Lord hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto you.
Leader invites those present to add other prayers if they wish.
Concluding Prayer
by the Baptist Union of Great Britain
All: God of all humanity,
When your people were enslaved and displaced
You led them to a land that they could call home.
When your people were in exile
Your promise was that one day
They would live in streets of play and laughter.
When your disciples were afraid and uncertain,
You spoke of your Father’s House
With mansions and places prepared.
We pray today for all those who have no place to call home,
Hearing the heart-cry of your word
For those who are without refuge.
Where shelter is ours to offer
Grant us the will and resolve to reflect the generosity of our Creator.
Where others stand in the way of those who need safe haven
May our cry for justice never falter.
May the idols of self-interest and economic gain
Never deflect us from the ways of your Kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn – “Awake from your slumber!”
1 Awake from your slumber! Arise from your sleep! A new day is dawning for all those who weep. The people in darkness have seen a great light. The Lord of our longing has conquered the night. R | 2 We are sons of the morning; we are daughters of day. The One who has loved us has brightened our way. The Lord of all kindness has called us to be a light for his people to set their hearts free. R |
R Let us build the city of God. May our tears be turned into dancing! For the Lord, our light and our Love, has turned the night into day! | 3 God is light; in him there is no darkness. Let us walk in his light, his children one and all. O comfort my people, make gentle your words, proclaim to my city the day of her birth. O city of gladness, now lift up your voice! proclaim the good tidings that all may rejoice! R |
By Dan Schutte |
All introduce themselves briefly. Any announcements are given.
[List produced by UNITED for Intercultural Action – campaign ‘Fortress Europe No More Deaths’