The Sunday Refill - 7 Links for Your Weekend (30/8/26)

Seven up...

1) Responding to Tragedy at Big Church Festival - The tragic events at Big Church Festival on Friday, including the death of forty-one year old Pastor Robert Guanco, has been in national news outlets this weekend. Reports suggest a sign fell on festival goers in high winds. Christian writer Andrew Ollerton was at the festival and was a first responder in the situation and later shared this reflective video on Saturday morning on how we might respond.

2) The Gospel According to Binface - The Clacton-by-election in August saw a record 34 candidates standing, but only two contenders secured more than 500 votes. One of them was Nigel Farage, whose resignation as an MP in July had triggered the election. The other? Count Binface, a self-styled 'intergalactic space warrior'. Who? What? Why?! Jonathan Gemmell offers some wise thoughts from a Christian perspective.

3) Every Moment Holy songs - I've been a fan of EMH for a while - 'prayers and liturgies for daily life'. Now a number of their most popular prayers have been set to music and are 'loopable' - to facilitate meditative prayer, worship and praise. I've been particularly enjoying 'The Hours: Daybreak' and 'For the Ritual of Morning Coffee'.

4) Back 2 School - It's that time of year again! Awesome Cutlery's fun 'Back 2 School' song & lyric video might be one to play with the kiddos over the coming days as nerves or unease sets in. Disclaimer: I helped Dan & Gareth with some of the lyrics, in turn inspired by Justin Whitmel Earley's 'Habits for the Household'.

5) Sundays in Prison - Appreciated this reflection on our innate desire for adoration from the speaker and poet Joshua Luke Smith.

6) CityAlight - He Will Be (Live) - I'd not heard this beautiful song from City Alight til Joyful Noise led us in singing it at the Keswick Convention this summer:

Faithful He has been,
Faithful He will be
Time and time again
His Word returns complete
To His truth I cling,
when the night is deep
Faithful He has been,
Faithful He will be

7) The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls - We've been enjoying this as a family over the holidays. Adventurist and Christian, Bear Grylls, takes cast members from the hugely-popular Christian TV show The Chosen into 'the wild' (mainly the Utah desert), journeys with them through various challenges (eating roasted tarantula, crossing rope-ladders over canyons, drinking rain water through a sock) and along the way they laugh, share, and reflect on life and faith. What's not to like?