Unity Service Report
Revive Service of Unity, 26 January 2020 @ BEC
'What kind of trace do you leave behind?'
Matthew Hopley, Lead Chaplain for Warwickshire Police used the analogy from forensic science and Philippians 1:27-30 to challenge us as the body of Christ, to consider what kind of trace we leave behind. Edmond Locard a French criminologist coined the phrase, 'Every contact leaves a trace'. So, Matthew's question to us was, do we leave a trace of grace wherever we go, live, work or study? We are in this together to create stronger, more loving communities.
We were reminded from a great quote by Sir Robert Peel that 'the police are the public and the public are the police'. They cannot do their job effectively without our support. It was moving to hear Police Chief Ben Smith thank us via a video for praying for them. So, please continue to pray for our police often working in challenging situations. These are the issues we prayed into on the night:
Wellbeing of Warwickshire Police officers, staff and volunteers. (Body mind soul and spirit)
Continued growth of a positive culture within the force.
County Lines and the impact on society.
A reduction in violent offences.
The survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation, and for the teams to successfully identify and prosecute offenders.
The successful appointment of new Volunteer Chaplains by the summer.
The strength to avoid the temptation or corruption or abuse of power.
It was lovely to see so many from across the spectrum of denominations present at BEC for the Revive Service of Unity where churches came together to worship, to encourage one another, to pray for our police service and community. We asked different church leaders (& youth) representing Rugby, south, east, west, north and central to each light a candle and pray for different issues facing our town. Lighting the candles served as a reminder that Jesus is the Light of the world and that ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ John 1:5
Thank you so much to everyone who came and supported the service and to BEC making everyone feel so welcome. You can find a recording of Matthew's talk here.
