A Memorial Service for Stephen Lawrence

SAM WELLS - Welcome and Introduction

(The Reverend Doctor Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields)

To include reference to St Martin’s Voices and London Community Gospel Choir

MUSIC - Hymn 'Be Still for the Presence of the Lord'

Be still for the presence of the Lord

The Holy One is here

Come bow before Him now

With reverence and fear

In Him no sin is found

We stand on holy ground

Be still for the presence of the Lord

The Holy One is here.

Be still for the glory of the Lord

Is shining all around

He burns with holy fire

With splendour He is crowned

How awesome is the sight

Our radiant King of light

Be still for the glory of the Lord

Is shining all around.

Be still for the power of the Lord

Is moving in this place

He comes to cleanse and heal

To minister His grace

No work too hard for Him

In faith receive from Him

Be still for the power of the Lord

Is moving in this place.

(Please be seated)

SAM WELLS – We will now hear from Stephen’s brother, Stuart Lawrence.

Reflection - Stuart Lawrence

MUSIC - Psalm 46 St Martin's Voices (tune Luther)

SAM WELLS - The Reverend Grace Sentamu Baverstock will now read from the Gospel of John chapter 20 – after which Archbishop John Sentamu / The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Lord John Sentamu will preach.

Scripture Reading - The Reverend Grace Sentamu Baverstock

John 20: 1-18

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.'

Address - The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Lord John Sentamu PC

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN - 'We Shall Go Out with Hope of Resurrection'

by June Boyce-Tillman

(Please stand)

We shall go out with hope of resurrection,

We shall go out, from strength to strength go on,

We shall go out and tell our stories boldly,

Tales of a love that will not let us go.

We’ll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted,

We’ll dream our dream of hurts that can be healed,

We’ll weave a cloth of all the world united

Within the vision of a Christ who sets us free.

We’ll give a voice to those who have not spoken,

We’ll find the words for those whose lips are sealed,

We’ll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,

Vibrating love alive in every heart.

We’ll share our joy with those who are still weeping,

Chant hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,

We’ll leap and dance the resurrection story

Including all within the circles of our love.

SAM WELLS - We are now going to have two readings. In a moment we’ll hear The Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer read Maya Angelou’s poem Father Mother God, but first The Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP will read from Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, the Long Walk to Freedom…

READING - Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela – Imran Khan KC

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning.

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

READING - Father, Mother, God - Maya Angelou -The Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence

during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence

during the bright and sunny days,

for then we can share that which we have

with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence

during the Holy Days, for then we are able

to celebrate you and our families

and our friends.

For those who have no voice,

we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy,

we ask you to pour your love out

in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain,

we ask you to bathe them

in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask

you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed,

we ask you to shower upon them

the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless

sea of substance,

we ask you to give to all the

world that which we need most - Peace.

MUSIC - 'A Prayer of Desmond Tutu' by James Whitbourn - St Martin's Voices

SAM WELLS – that piece was 'A Prayer of Desmond Tutu' by James Whitbourn sung St Martin's Voices. We are now going to have a reflection from the Mayor of London The Right Honourable Sadiq Khan.

REFLECTION - Mayor of London The Right Honourable Sadiq Khan

MUSIC - 'Proud' by Heather Small - London Community Gospel Choir

SAM WELLS – That was the London Community Gospel Choir with ‘Proud’ by Heather Small. I will now lead the prayers of intercession.

SAM WELLS - Prayers of Intercession

God of grace, in Stephen you gave us a person whose example we may seek to follow.

We give thanks for all who have inspired us, mentored us, raised us up and restored us.

Make us a light to another’s path.

God of truth, in Stephen’s death, we see the painful reality of our society laid bare.

Raise up people of integrity who make this a nation of justice, solidarity, vigilance and courage.

Shine a light on places where shadows of injustice linger.

God of hope, in Stephen’s ambitions you help us glimpse a future bigger than the past.

Empower the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation to fire imaginations, open doors and see young people fulfil their potential.

Hold a light before us when we are discouraged.

God of love, in this Stephen Lawrence Day you give us a way to cherish his legacy.

Transform our culture, that it may become one where all belong, each is valued, and every person has something to give.

Give us the light of freedom.

MUSIC - The Lord's Prayer arr. Bob Chilcott - St Martin-in-the-Fields Junior Choir

Blessing - The Right Reverend and Right Honorable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London

MUSIC - Song as guests leave 'Joyful Joyful' by Henry van Dyke - London Community Gospel Choir

END