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A special service of thanksgiving took place at Tewkesbury Abbey on Saturday to give thanks for the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire in the great flood of 2007.

The families of those who died lit candles in their memory, and tributes were paid to the emergency services.

The whole service was broadcast live on 大象传媒 Radio Gloucestershire. If you missed it, don't worry, you can hear the whole programme by clicking on the link below...

Order of Service

Before the service music is played by the Royal Marine Band.
The congregation remains seated during the first Civic Procession.
Please stand when the Vicar of Tewkesbury Abbey escorts the High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire to their seats.
Please then remain seated until the service begins with:

PROCESSIONAL HYMN
God is Love: let heav'n adore him;
God is Love: let earth rejoice;
Let creation sing before him,
And exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth's foundation,
He who spread the heav'ns above,
He who breathes through all creation,
He is Love, eternal Love.
God is Love: and he enfoldeth
All the world in one embrace;
With unfailing grasp he holdeth
Every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking
Under sorrow's iron rod,
Then they find that selfsame aching
Deep within the heart of God.
God is Love: and though with blindness
Sin afflicts our human hearts,
God's eternal loving-kindness
Holding, guiding, grace imparts.
Sin and death and hell shall never
O'er us final triumph gain;
God is Love, so Love for ever
O'er the universe must reign.

INTRODUCTION
The Revd Canon Paul Williams, Vicar of Tewkesbury Abbey

In the name of God we bid you welcome.
For over nine hundred years Tewkesbury Abbey has stood at the confluence of the river Avon and the river Severn. In times past these rivers have brought life and trade, but, tragically, in recent months they have brought death and destruction to this and other towns in Gloucestershire and beyond.

During the flash flooding the Abbey became an ark to shelter the many hundreds of people who were stranded from their homes. As the waters rose, it then also became a point of communication for those in the immediate area.

The image of the Abbey, standing against the flood waters, became an icon of hope for all who were affected by the flood waters.

Today it is our privilege to once again offer hospitality and to be a place where thanksgiving can be made for those who helped in the voluntary and emergency services.

In this service we will remember those who have died, and those whose courage and dedication maintained our civic life; to reflect upon the lessons to be learned and opportunities we now need to grasp; and finally to rededicate ourselves to the Common Good and to the values that made the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire shine as it surely did.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.

The congregation sits.

REMEMBERING WITH SADNESS
KYRIE
Mass for four voices - William Byrd

Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy upon us.

During the singing of the Kyrie six candles are lit from the Paschal Candle. The Paschal Candle is lit on Easter Day each year, as a sign of Christ's Resurrection bringing hope for the world.

The candles are lit by family members and representatives of those affected by the floods, accompanied by members of the clergy.
for Mitch Taylor
for Bramwell Lane
for Chris Lane
for those who may have, indirectly, lost their lives
for those who have lost their homes
for those who have lost their livelihoods
A short time of silence is kept.

REMEMBERING WITH THANKSGIVING
THE EMERGENCY SERVICES
Terry Standing, Chief Fire Officer, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service

The congregation stands.

HYMN

All my hope on God is founded;
He doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance he guideth,
Only good and only true.
God unknown,
He alone
Calls my heart to be his own.
Human pride and earthly glory,
Sword and crown betray his trust;
What with care and toil he buildeth,
Tower and temple, fall to dust
But God's power,
Hour by hour,
Is my temple and my tower.
God's great goodness aye endureth,
Deep his wisdom, passing thought:
Splendour, light and life attend him,
Beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore
From his store
New-born worlds rise and adore.
Still from earth to God eternal
Sacrifice of praise be done,
High above all praises praising
For the gift of Christ his Son.
Christ doth call
One and all:
Ye who follow shall not fall.

The congregation sits.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Ian Mean, Editor, The Citizen

Gathered here in Tewkesbury Abbey, the very epicentre of the great Gloucestershire flood of 2007, it seems amazing that the catastrophe that nearly overwhelmed us all was only two months ago.

I don't know about you, but to me that deluge which started at lunchtime on Friday, July 20, seems to have been far more distant. Months away.

Why is that?

I believe we lost a sense of time during those dark days.

This, we must remember, was the largest emergency of its kind in peacetime Britain.

It was not just floods. We had seen flooding in Yorkshire just before the deluge hit us. It was a combination of the flooding and no fresh water from the tap.

That had never happened before in peacetime Britain. Some of us here today were without water for nearly three weeks. And we were at risk from losing power to all the county. If the power had been lost, undoubtedly lives would have been lost too.

Had it not been for the courage of those fire and rescue and military teams who won the battle of Walham from the rising floodwater on that Sunday night of July 21.

Can we really imagine what it was like in the dark, standing in rising water on the Severn, 400,000 volts of electricity coursing through that electricity sub station just outside Gloucester, men trying to build a blockade in freezing water with that eerie sound of live electricity passing through the pylons?

Those teams showed great courage.

It was feats of bravery and courage like this that made us lose track of time.

Perhaps, for the first time, many people actually spent some time thinking about the wellbeing of their neighbours. Were they ok for bottled water? Especially the older people. Did they need water from the bowser on the corner of the street? How many of us chatted to neighbours at the bowsers. Neighbours we didn't generally talk to? I know I did.

Too often we pay lip service to the communities in which we live, and too often politicians I am afraid do the same.

We actually have a Communities Ministry these days with the Gloucester MP, Parmjit Dhanda, as one of its ministers.

The Gloucestershire floods and the aftermath could be no greater exemplar of community service in action to the government.

A shining example right at the heart of our communities here in Gloucestershire.

Some have referred to it as reminiscent of the wartime spirit. It was certainly as effective in galvanising our local communities to help each other over the last two months.

I think we saw a rekindling of neighbourliness that helped many people through some pretty bad days - especially for those elderly people whose neighbours became their daily lifeline.

Let us remind ourselves that many people are still suffering as a result of those floods.

Right here in Tewkesbury are many of them. Only this week, I talked to Heidi, a widow whose home was flooded out. She is still living upstairs in her bedroom and doing most of her cooking there. Her lounge was still drying out, and with tears in her eyes she had told me her husband, an ex-soldier had died in that room. After two months the builders are about to start work on her lounge and kitchen.

Heidi is not alone in her suffering. Flooding leaves fear and insecurity for the future which this government must do all it can to allay. People are still living in caravans here in Tewkesbury and in Gloucester. Many fear they will never be able to sell their homes and worry about rising costs of flood insurance.

As we come together today to give thanks for the stoic spirit of Gloucestershire through the floods, we need at all costs to hang on to probably the most important legacy of those floods.

That legacy is something government money or Severn Trent compensation cannot buy. It is the sense of community and neighbourliness without which Gloucestershire would not have survived the great flood of 2007 as well as it has done so far.

REFLECTING ON THE LESSONS THAT NEED TO BE LEARNED

ANTHEM: GREATER LOVE
John Ireland

Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it. Love is strong as death.
Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.
Ye are washed, ye are sanctified,
ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation;
That ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath call'd you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto to God, which is your reasonable service.
Song of Solomon 8; John 15; 1 Peter 2; 1 Corinthians 6; Romans 12

READING: Romans 12. 9-18
Mavis Lady Dunrossil, Chairman, Gloucestershire County Council

A Reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The congregation stands.

HYMN

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Re-clothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

The congregation sits.

SERMON
The Right Revd Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester

You can, perhaps, imagine how difficult we found it, when some of us met at the stage when the floods were still receding, to know what to call this service. What was to be its title? What would go on the invitation?

After all, the service needed to be, in some ways, a solemn affair. Life has been lost. Not as many lives as might have been, not as many as would have been the case without the emergency services, but that is no great consolation for those dear to those who did lose their lives.

"Weep with those who weep," says the apostle Paul in the reading we have heard this morning. And, yes, in solemn remembrance, we stand alongside those who grief for loss of life and offer our condolence and our comfort. To the extent that we can, we share your loss. That needs to be said and understood clearly today.

And, of course, it is not the only source of loss. The floods have receded, but not everybody is back in their homes, not every business is back on its feet, not every personal treasure has been rescued and restored after flood damage. I pray every day for the county of Gloucestershire - you would hope your bishop would do that - but every day I add to that prayer now a prayer for those still affected by the aftermath of the floods. Most of those people are being wonderfully cheerful and resilient, most of the time, but to be, for instance, out of your damaged home for seven or eight months is very hard. For one reason or another there are many people who are still suffering and, because we belong one to another, there are communities that still feel quite fragile. We owe it to those people and those communities to identify with them and not to imagine that everything but the roads are mended. And that too needs to be said and understood clearly today.

Nevertheless I think our instinct, back at the beginning of August, was right. Thankfulness needed to be part of today, quite a big part of today. Quietly, reflectively, we need to give thanks.

We give thanks, first of all, that it was no worse, as it so easily could have been. We might have lost power for 600,000 people. We might have seen greater loss of life. We might have seen civil society on the verge of collapse. It was tough, but we were given the resources, the grace, to cope. In a sense we were delivered from a calamity. We give thanks for our deliverance.

And then we give thanks for the emergency services. Spreading out from the Tri-Service Centre at Quedgeley was a superb operation, involving the military, the police, the fire service, the County Council, the district Councils and many more, working with good decisive calm leadership and helped enormously by the local media. Many of those who kept working, almost without rest and sleep, through the period of the emergency are here today. Some of them are high profile public figures; others are unsung heroes who simply kept at their post and worked unflaggingly. To each and every one of those we say, with admiration and gratitude, thank you. We deeply appreciate how you worked together and we hold you in high honour. We thank God for you.

But the title of the service speaks of thanksgiving for the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire. Those who worked under the umbrella of the emergency services were among those who showed that spirit to a high degree. But they were not the only people to do so. We saw, indeed we still see, the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire in a whole series of ways.

We saw, see it, so often in the resilience of the people whose homes or businesses were flooded. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit some of those people, standing there in their homes in wellington boots with the water still lapping around us. And the wonderful thing was that everybody said, "Of course there are people much worse off than I am". I never met the person who might have said, "I'm the one you really should feel sorry for. Nobody has had it worse than me". I never met that person, because I don't think that person existed. Everyone rather played down their loss. Everyone thought of others. There's the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire and isn't that something for which to be thankful?

Then there was the kindliness and good neighbourliness, which just occasionally tuned into courage and heroism, where rescue was involved. But most of the time, it was simply the offering of hospitality, the fetching of water, the concern to make sure the elderly and the infirm were all right. The impression in our society today is that we are not as good at those things as we used to be, we lead more privatised, more selfish, lives. In Gloucestershire in July and early August that was not true. And, if it is true some of the time, we must hope and pray that what we recovered then, we can hold on to. Care for one another must be at the heart of a civilised society. Kindliness and good neighbourliness. That was another manifestation of the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire.

Kindliness and good neighbourliness is a spontaneous response. Beyond, an extension of it, we saw some wonderful community initiatives, One of the first happened here on the Friday night of the flash floods when the abbey became a place of shelter, hospitality and sustenance for people who had been trapped in cars and coaches on the motorway. And it wasn't the only place where that was happening. Later, when the nature of the emergency had changed, there were good community initiatives to help with the distribution of water to the housebound. In all sorts of ways people banded together, a community spirit took hold, and got things done. The spirit of the people of Gloucestershire.

I confess that for me the element of this spirit that made most impact was the steadfast refusal by nearly everybody to look for scapegoats. All through the emergency, and since, you've heard much more praise, than blame. Of course there are lessons we need to learn, protocols we need to put into place, warnings we need to heed. But that's different from creating a culture of blame. The spirit of the people of Gloucestershire was wonderfully demonstrated on this very spot, a week into the emergency when Channel 4 gathered together a group of about two dozen of us, representatives of the emergency services, community leaders and some of those whose homes or communities had been flooded. I took great comfort in the words of St Cyprian that a bishop is most like God when he is silent, since I didn't get a word in edgeways during the programme! But others did. Jon Snow wanted a row, a battle. He wanted the flood "victims", if I may call them that, to turn on the man from Severn Trent or the man from the Met Office or, failing that, on the man from the County Council. But he entirely failed. Some probing questions were asked politely. Some honest and quite humble answers were given. But there was no row. Blame hardly came into it. Here was a county where people were standing together, facing a challenge together. I came away proud of the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire.

And, of course, there has been the Flood Relief Fund that has now raised more than 拢800,000, still rising, nearly all of it from Gloucestershire. Some of it has come from generous individuals, giving according to their ability, the greater part of it from business and commerce and from the major institutions of the county. And I think that is worth celebrating too. The generosity of individuals, but also the commitment to our common life of the institutions and the businesses and firms that are spread across Gloucestershire. So, as we celebrate the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire, part of what we celebrate is their generosity.

So, yes, above all today a profound thankfulness to God and to one another for the spirit of the people of Gloucestershire. To some extent we have rediscovered something we took for granted and we must hold on to it now and channel it for the common good. As we move into the autumn, praying for only the rain we need and no more, there is a practical task of reconstruction, renewing the physical infrastructure of the county. Alongside that, there are important questions to be asked locally and nationally about what must be done to avoid potential disaster for the future. There is an on-going solidarity with those whose lives have not returned to normal after the devastation of the floods. There is a renewed sense of community. There is a proper humility in response to events that show us how fragile our world is and how dependent we are on one another and on the goodness of God. Above all there is gratitude, a humble thankfulness in our hearts.

REDEDICATING OURSELVES TO THE COMMON GOOD

CREATOR GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYER
Words from the Bishop of Gloucester's Flood Prayer, set to music by Barry Ferguson

Creator God, hear our prayer.
Help us to live in harmony with the laws of nature
and in reverence for a creation you have made to be very good.
Creator God, hear our prayer. Amen.

The congregation sits or kneels.

PRAYERS
Led by representatives of other Christian denominations:
Father Bernard Massey (Roman Catholic)
Dr Tony Jeans (United Reformed Church)
The Revd Ann Sherratt (Methodist)
Mr Brian Kenyon (Baptist)

Loving Father, we give you thanks for each other, for the help and support that has been given and received. Bless all who live their lives in the service of others, and strengthen them that through their dedication your love may be seen.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Loving Father, we pray for those for whom these last weeks have brought loss and pain. May they know your comfort and the knowledge of your eternal love.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Bless those who are away from their homes or have had their livelihoods damaged. As they see their lives restored, heal their memories and sooth their fears.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Loving Father, guide those whose responsibility it is to formulate policy and make decisions. Give to all entrusted with authority an open mind, wisdom to discern the right way forward, and strength to bear their responsibility faithfully.

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Finally, give us all a willingness to live in harmony with your creation. This we ask in the name of Jesus who taught us to say:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

The congregation stands.

HYMN

Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather;
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is,
No lion can him fright;
He'll with a giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a pilgrim.
Since, Lord, thou dost defend
Us with thy Spirit,
We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away!
I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.

ACT OF REDEDICATION
The Right Revd Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester

People of Gloucestershire, will you continue to build the Common Good by word and deed, and in partnership one with another work for the Kingdom of God?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you turn away from all that brings discord and division to the community you serve, and seek the harmony and unity that is God's will?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you seek and serve all people, loving your neighbour as yourself?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you acknowledge God's authority over human society: by prayer for the world and our county, by defending the weak, and by seeking peace and justice?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you respect the resources of the earth and be good stewards of the creation?
With the help of God, we will.

FLOOD PRAYER

Creator God, hear our prayer.
As we look back with dismay on the floods across our county,
we ask you to look with compassion on all who are suffering
on those whose homes are spoilt, whose livelihood is threatened.
We thank you for acts of courage and kindness
and for all who worked to rescue and relieve.
And, now the floods have gone, guide us to learn lessons.
Help us to live in harmony with the laws of nature
and in reverence for a creation you have made to be very good.
Creator God, hear our prayer.
Amen.

BLESSING

Go forth into the world in peace;
be of good courage;
hold fast that which is good;
render no one evil for evil;
strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak;
help the afflicted, honour all people;
love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen.

ORGAN VOLUNTARY
Allegro (Symphonie VI) - Charles-Marie Widor

The congregation remains standing as the processions leave.