大象传媒

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This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.
It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.聽

大象传媒 Radio 4 Sunday WorshipSt Martin-in-the-FieldsSunday 4 February 2017
大象传媒 Radio 4. It鈥檚 ten past eight and time for Sunday Worship, which comes from St Martin-in-the-Fields and marks the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act. The service is led by the Rev Katherine Hedderly and, after the spiritual 鈥淟et justice roll like a mighty stream鈥� begins with words of Emeline Pankurst.聽
CHOIR: LIKE A MIGHTY STREAM 鈥� ARR MOSES HOGAN

INTRODUCTION: REVD KATHERINE HEDDERY
PRE-REC INSERT: We women suffragists have a great mission 鈥� the greatest mission the world has ever known. It is to free half the human race, and through that freedom to save the rest.

Good morning. At 10.30pm on the evening of 5th April 1914 a bomb, planted by the suffragettes here in St Martin-in-the-Fields, exploded, blowing out the windows and showering passers-by with broken glass. The explosion started a fire inside the church and hundreds of people soon flocked to the scene.聽
PRE-REC INSERT: If it is right for men to fight for their freedom, and God knows what the human race would be like to day if men had not, since time began, fought for their freedom, then it is right for women to fight for their freedom and the freedom of the children they bear.
Even in the land that boasts the Mother of Parliaments, the seed of democracy was slow to grow. Throughout the Nineteenth Century, momentum had been increasing in the campaign for women鈥檚 suffrage. By the early Twentieth Century a number of campaign groups had united, lobbying Parliament for the vote. In 1903 there was a split between the Suffragists, led by Millicent Fawcett and committed to achieving the vote by democratic means, and the Suffragettes, led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. The Suffragettes, infuriated by the ruling Liberal party鈥檚 delaying tactics, embarked especially from 1912 on a campaign of shouting down speakers, hunger strikes, stone-throwing, window-smashing, and arson of churches and country houses. In desperation they had come to the view that direct action was to be the only way forward.聽
PRE-REC INSERT: Men make the moral code and they expect women to accept it. They have decided that it is entirely right and proper for men to fight for their liberties and their rights, but that it is not right and proper for women to fight for theirs?
The spirit of compromise that eventually steered the legislation through was in contrast to the atmosphere before the outbreak of war. We鈥檙e celebrating today the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Finally women were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections, although the franchise was restricted to those over 30 who had property rights. It took another ten years for women to gain the vote on the same terms as men.
In today鈥檚 service we reflect on what the Representation of the People Act means one hundred years on, in a world where women are still fighting for their rights and freedoms.
Let us pray. God of wonder and glory, your children have struggled throughout history to balance freedom and order, tradition and liberation. Give us thankful hearts for those who worked with courage and hope to make our society more nearly resemble your kingdom, and fill us with your Holy Spirit to discover the part that we too may play in embodying justice and mercy on earth. Amen.
Much of our music today is by women writers and composers. Priest and hymnwriter Ally Barrett has written these words which reflect on those who fought for the women鈥檚 vote and what it means today.

CHOIR/HYMN: THERE CAME A GENERATION
REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYWe now hear words from Caroline Spelman, the MP for Meridien in the West Midlands, recorded in the corridors of Westminster, on what the legacy of the women鈥檚 suffrage movement means to her as an elected member of the House of Commons.
INSERT 鈥� CAROLINE SPELMAN MP聽It鈥檚 a great honour to be a female parliamentarian, but I鈥檓 humbled by the thought of how hard women in previous generations have had to fight in order to make it possible for someone like me to enter parliament and I鈥檓 full of respect for what they achieved. I鈥檓 always conscious when knocking doors that it鈥檚 all too easy for today鈥檚 generation of women to take for granted what they did, and I鈥檓 disappointed when I encounter a female voter who says to me, well, I can鈥檛 be bothered, I don鈥檛 vote. And when I challenge them and say, but don鈥檛 you realise in living memory, you know, how hard women had to fight for the vote, they seem quite unaware of that battle, and I think we need to redouble our efforts to teach politics better in schools so that young people of both sexes really appreciate the importance of equal representation in parliament. I often say to people that, OK, the war is over in the sense that it is accepted that men and women should both be parliamentarians, but there are still battles to fight.
CHOIR: A GRATEFUL HEART 鈥� MARY PLUMSTEAD
A Grateful Heart, words by George Herbert set to music by Mary Plumstead. We now hear some of the best known words of the bible 鈥� spoken by a young woman, on discovering she is to become the mother of God. Luke, Chapter 1.
READING: LUKE 1My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.

REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYRevd Anna Stuttard is a priest in East London and used to work in the field of social justice.
REFLECTION: ANNA STUTTARD 鈥� TO BE INSERTEDRecently I was asked to speak at a local secondary school, asked to talk to a bunch of 14, 15 and 16 year olds about what it is to be a female faith leader. It was really interesting, the questions that they asked me were funny, were wise, they were challenging, and quite a few of them were about power and identity, they wanted to know what it means to be a woman with authority in the church, and also what it means to be that woman who then goes home. They asked me, 鈥榃ho鈥檚 the boss at home?鈥�. They asked me 鈥楧oes my husband tell me what to do or do I tell him what to do?鈥� . So I answered that relationships are better when they are about partnership and not power. But looking back I wish I鈥檇 talked more about equality, about how equality isn鈥檛 a zero sum thing, how if I give someone equality, that doesn鈥檛 make me less equal, it doesn鈥檛 diminish me but it strengthens me. How allowing someone dignity and respect actually increases my own dignity and self-respect. And this is important to me because, before I was ordained, I worked for years in human rights, and when I went to become ordained some of my colleagues found that quite difficult. They wanted to know why I would move from humans to God. Why I would abandon human rights for faith. But to me human rights, social justice and equality are profoundly theological, not just because we鈥檙e told to love our neighbour, but also because we are all created in God鈥檚 image. Treating a person without fully respecting them is not just wrong at a human level, it also means disrespecting God鈥檚 creation and maybe even disrespecting God. We are all of us God鈥檚 children, we are all made in God鈥檚 image, we are all precious in God鈥檚 sight which means to me that human rights are more than simply human. Because they are not just about humans. They are also about the divine.

MUSIC: LONGING FOR LIGHT, WE WAIT IN DARKNESS
REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYThe hymn 鈥楲onging for light, we wait in darkness鈥� by Bernadette Farrell, a community organizer in London who is passionate about social justice. In a few moments time our preacher is the Archdeacon of Hackney, the Venerable Liz Adekunle. But first we hear words from the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 16.
READING: ACTS 16We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptised, she urged us, saying, 鈥業f you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.鈥� And she prevailed upon us.SERMON: THE VENERABLE LIZ ADEKUNLELast year at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition there was an art installation called 'Women to Go'. Hundreds of postcards were stacked in racks. On each postcard there was a grainy, pale photograph of an 'unknown' woman who lived between 1839 and 1920, including a tattooed Inuit , a beauty of the Belle 脡poque, and a Japanese and a Nigerian woman in traditional dress. On the back of each postcard was written the life story of an influential or extraordinary woman, a 'known' women including artists, tea traders, pirates, writers, and partisans. Among them were Emmeline Pankhurst and Millicent Fawcett. These were pioneers in a world where women didn't have the right to vote or to own property. Only men were thought to be worth remembering. Each visitor was invited to take home a postcard so that others could remember these remarkable women and become inspired by them.聽聽If I could add a postcard of a woman from the Bible I'd choose the influential and adventurous Lydia, the seller of purple dye who hosted the early Christian missionaries. She was an entrepreneur who accepted that is was ok to be different and to offer generous hospitality. Presumably she didn't fit the stereotype that society set for her. She lived beyond male expectations and reached her full potential. Lydia must have loved and led in ways that were authentic, life-affirming and unrestricted, while encouraging and enabling other women to do the same.聽The Suffragette motto of 'Deeds not words', coined by Emmeline Pankhurst, inspired young women to take action. 'Deeds not Words' aimed to secure women the vote and it marked a deliberate departure from peaceful methods. It heralded a campaign of civil disobedience and vandalism. It would change the status of women in this country for ever.聽A hundred years later women have a new motto. On October 15 last year #Me too began to spread. It had been tweeted more than 500,000 times by the following day. Facebook said that within 24 hours, 4.7 million people around the world engaged in the #Me too conversation. #Me Too was used as a vehicle to help draw attention to the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.聽It has since trended in 85 countries. The motto Time's up emerged as a call to action against harassment and assault. Last month, a hundred evangelical women also launched #SilenceIsNotSpiritual to call for changes in the way sexual misconduct is dealt with in the church. Social media has democratised feminism, giving women around the world an opportunity to be heard and to make a change.聽Yet one hundred years after the Representation of the People Act, there is still much to be done. Women are still severely underrepresented, in almost all positions of power. 聽Only twenty per cent of MPs are female. Women only occupy 15% of places on the corporate boards of the top 100 companies in the UK, and represent a mere 5% of senior editors at the UK's top newspapers. The gender pay gap has become notorious and continues to make the headlines today. At home, (without counting childcare) 聽women do three times the domestic labour of their partners. We are on a bumpy and long journey. We live in a world that permits the abuse of young girls, the sufferings of mothers and the rejection of older women.聽In the face of this challenge, Mary, the mother of Jesus, says these simple words: "Let it be with me according to your word." Mary is a woman of strength, independence, integrity and action. In her Magnificat Mary speaks for the voiceless and the unknown 鈥� those oppressed and marginalised by a dominant culture. In her assent to the proclamation of Gabriel, she is actively cooperating and participating in the redemptive process of God. Mary gives us such a helpful model of leadership for our time. She joins justice and mercy, so they intertwine as one. We see this Justice and Mercy in the words of her song. She says, "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."聽Mary does not reduce justice to a crusading moment of soaring righteousness; neither does she water down mercy into idle gestures of kindness or meek submission. As the lowly were lifted up and the hungry filled, the tides of economic culture would be tipped so that the proud-hearted would be scattered, the powerful brought down and the rich emptied out.聽
This is not God's attempt simply to level the playing field. It's an offer of hope to those who have been denied hope, visibility to those whose faces are unknown, and a voice to the voiceless, just like the those women on the postcards at the Royal Academy.聽Mary urges us to imitate God in lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things. Paying attention to the lowly is offering justice. Being present to the hungry is showing mercy. Our interaction with all who suffer at the hands of injustice nourishes our faith. It gives hope. It tests our automatic responses and our biases. It teaches us to love as almost nothing else can.聽It has been said that "The truth needs to be restated every 20 years." Lydia's representation of leadership in biblical times, and the votes for women movement 100 years ago, inspire us not to lapse into self-absorption, but to take courage in action. For there comes a moment when the tide turns. Now and then we get to the place where a person urges us to pursue radical justice and mercy, even when we may appear utterly vulnerable and even foolish. This may be such a time: a time when against such opposition we may dare to speak up, dare to stand and be counted. A time to say, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."聽HYMN: GOD OF FREEDOM, GOD OF JUSTICE

REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYHelping me lead the prayer today is the Vicar of St Martin鈥檚, the Revd Dr Sam Wells.
REVD DR SAM WELLSLet us pray. Lord Christ, you longed like a mother hen to gather your offspring around you in the face of the world鈥檚 discord and disharmony, inspire all who are called into politics today. Bless and empower all women who find a voice in public life, dismantle the systems and transform the attitudes that demean or diminish the role of women in the media, business and civil society, and raise up daughters who enter a world of freedom their mothers could only imagine. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
CHOIR: SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT LORD (MARGARET RIZZA)
REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYHoly Spirit, you bring wisdom where there is confusion and life where there is despair. Be close to every young girl in home or school who wonders whether she belongs in the life of this nation, and every young woman in adverse circumstances who despairs about the constraints others put on her flourishing and the fulfilment of her talents and calling. Put a song in every weary throat and hope in every discouraged heart, that your world may receive the energy and passion and intelligence and leadership those women of the earth who are suppressed long to bring. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
CHOIR: SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT LORD (MARGARET RIZZA)

REVD DR SAM WELLSTransfiguring God, your Son was born of Mary, who sang of how you the mighty one became humble that your humble children might become strong and enter the inheritance you have prepared for them. Show each one of us in our generation where you call us to challenge, to protest, and to reform, that in your Spirit we may honour those to whose courage we owe so much, and may, to generations to come, offer a legacy worthy of your name. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
CHOIR: SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT LORD (MARGARET RIZZA)
REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYIn the Lord鈥檚 Prayer we hallow your name and the names of our sisters and brothers who have loosed the bonds of injustice and shown mercy on your people.
CHOIR: THE LORD鈥橲 PRAYER 鈥� SASHA JOHNSON MANNING
BLESSING: REVD KATHERINE HEDDERLYGo forth into the world in peace;be of good courage;hold fast that which is good;render to no one evil for evil;strengthen the fainthearted;support the weak;help the afflicted;honour everyone;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 Ghost,be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.

One woman who left a large cultural and spiritual legacy was the nineteenth-century translator Catherine Winkworth. It is significantly due to her that German hymns play such a large part in Christian hymnody of the English language today. She was also involved deeply in promoting women鈥檚 rights. We end our service today as we celebrate and honour her legacy and that of those who worked for electoral equality. We sing Winkworth鈥檚 translation of Martin Rinkart鈥檚 famous hymn, Now thank we all our God.
HYMN: NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GODNow thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;Who from our mothers鈥� arms has blessed us on our wayWith countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;And keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed;And guard us through all ills in this world, till the next!
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,The Son, and him who reigns with them in highest Heaven鈥擳he one eternal God, whom earth and Heav鈥檔 adore;For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore
ORGAN VOLUNTARY