Several months back, at an evening service, someone from the Gathering Place led an evening reflection on the theme 'forgive us our debts', drawing on the Lord's Prayer in various translations.  It was so good, I asked them if they'd be willing to share it with a morning congregation... time passed and today they shared a freshly prepared reflection exploring the concept of debt and indebtedness, rooting their thoughts in Nehemiah 5: 1 - 13.

Obviously, I have read this passage before; many years ago (at least ten because I recall where it was) I even preached a series on Nehemiah, but somehow this passage had never struck me until it was read for us today.

It was a very thoughtful, and thought-provoking reflection, rooted in a real-life story of debt-induced suicide, naming the complexity of the inter-relatedness of insititutions and individuals, and calling to mind the words of the Lord's Prayer, according to Matthew, forgive us our debts as we forgive those indebted to us.

The intercessory prayers, led by one of our younger adults, used the framework of the Lord's Prayer and picked up some of the same ideas and nuances along the way.

It was, for me, and I am sure for others, a great service.

I was thrilled to see others exericsing their considerable gifts, and it was a delight to receive rather than to give out.  I was - and am - proud of our Worship Planning Team and their gently increasing role in helping to shape our worship life both visibly and invisibly.

Next week I have two services to construct for Remembrance.  Being blessed with the gift of receiving this morning has encouraged my soul as I being to think about a whole other set of complex topics.