Prisons week service in Norwich hopes for 500
 Standing Firm in the Christian Faith is the theme of this year’s Prisons Week Service to be held in Norwich Cathedral on November 25, at 6.30pm, writes prisons chaplain Ruth Brett.
Speaking in Norwich Cathedral last Saturday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams spoke of the central importance of ‘standing firm’. Those of us who can still remember when we first came to faith know the importance of standing on firm ground if we are to grow in love and discipleship.
Recent star of Songs of Praise, Prison Chaplain and Methodist Minister, Rosemary Wakelin (pictured right) has written a drama especially for our service.
Rosemary, a regular on Radio Norfolk’s Pause for Thought is the author of many literary pieces and also wrote last year’s Prison Week play entitled ‘The Least of These’, and has written a sequel which encompasses the Prison Week Theme ‘Standing Firm’.
The play will be woven into the pattern of the service and performed in the body of the Cathedral…so watch out you could be sitting next to an actor!
There will be a sermon by the Very Rev Graham Smith Dean of Cathedral, hymns, prayers, worship songs and music to complement the theme.
“I have always loved writing and to be able to write on a theme that is so close to my heart, our pilgrimage with Christ is especially poignant,” said Rosemary. “He is the one who not only enables us to ‘Stand Firm’ in our faith, but also sets us free from all that binds us. This is particularly relevant as we remember before God those whose lives have been bound by crime, their victims and families.
“So I do hope that you will be able to join us this year as we thank God for those who have begun their journey of faith, to pray for the each one of us as we continue on our spiritual journey and as we seek God’s guidance for the coming year.”
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