Hundreds attend Harlow Civic Service at St Paul’s

Faith Matters / Mon 21st Oct 2024 at 09:04am

IT was standing room only as hundreds attended the Harlow Civic Service at St Paul’s church in the town centre.

The event was led by Rev Jokey Poyntz and hosted by the chair of Harlow Council, cllr Andrew Johnson.

Also in attendance was mayor’s and chairs from across the counties. Informally known as “the chain gang” they support each others service and charities throughout the year.

The theme of the service was citizenship.

Amongst the speakers were: Harlow MP, Chris Vince; the leader of Harlow Council, cllr Dan Swords. There was also a reading by Rabbi Irit Shillor on Prejudice and Judging Others.

We also had a performance by Hare Street Community Primary School and Livewire.

2 Comments for Hundreds attend Harlow Civic Service at St Paul’s:

David Forman

2024-10-22 15:16:43

Editor please note: the Rabbi's name is Irit Shillor, although I suspect predictive text is the culprit?

Clark Renney

2024-10-22 22:53:52

It is interesting that Harlow Council Leader, Dan Swords, chose a reading from Titus, which begins with: 'Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.' (Titus 3:1). The subject of obeying civil authorities, (such as councils!), is a contentious one in Christianity. In Romans 13:1-2 we read: 'Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.' The Bible suggests in several places that the Earthly authorities are 'instituted of God'; yet even a cursory glance at the Christian message presents us with challenges from these passages. Some years ago I was involved in a discussion about an hypothetical scenario in which a Christian living in Nazi Germany is hiding his Jewish neighbours. The law, passed by the 'rulers and authorities' states the Christian is committing a crime, and should hand his Jewish neighbours over to the Police; but the Christian knows only too well what that would mean. His Christian Faith compels him to do what is right, before what is law. 1 Peter 2:16 reads: 'Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;' Perhaps inadvertently, Mr Swords has solved this conundrum for us in his reading: 'Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, TO BE READY TO DO WHATEVER IS GOOD.' (Italics Mine). If our Leaders local, national, international or spiritual are calling us to do what is good, they deserve our support. If not, they should answer to us, (before they answer to God!). (All Biblical References are from the New International Version)