At Your Service

Nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, a vicar's wife in Hampshire started an organisation which she hoped would help local women, by supporting and strengthening their family life.  Today, that same  organisation - the Mothers' Union - has over 4 million members and operates in 84 countries world-wide.   In August each year,  the work of Mothers' Union founder Mary...

At the heart of   AT YOUR SERVICE today are two stories from the Gospel according to St Matthew - both involve miracles, but one of them involves taking a leap of faith - it's the story of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee, and disciple Peter trying to do the same.  For   Reverend Jo Dudley  (Vicar of Christ Church in Laxey) this story took on a whole...

AT YOUR SERVICE today is full of stories! Liz Babbs - who describes herself as a creative communicator - explains why it's so important for us to take time to stop and think - then invites us to be an active part of a very special story. If you'd like to discover more of Liz's Bible-based meditations, you'll find lots of information on her website - lizbabbs.com  Another set o...

The famous Port St Mary Beach Mission has been providing two weeks of fun, games, friendship and Bible teaching every year since 1901 - only missing the years of the two World Wars!  It's an impressive record, and still attracts around 400 local children and young people each summer.  It's organised by Scripture Union Ministries Trust, and the Beach Mission Headquarters are at Ma...

AT YOUR SERVICE goes out into the glorious Manx countryside his week, as we prepare to celebrate the Feast of St Maughold on 31 July.   We reflect on the life of this great Celtic saint and his place in our Island's Christian heritage, as we spend a little time in the keeills (remains of tiny chapels), in the nearby Cross House, and in Maughold Parish Church itself, in the company of &nbs...

Do we hear God prompting us to do something in His name? And if we do, how do we respond?   Everyone taking part in At Your Service this week has answered that call to serve God, in very different ways.  Over 4 million Mothers' Union members working in 84 different countries serve God by meeting the needs they find in their local communities - and during the Covid-19 pandemic those n...

On 29 June, the Christian church celebrates two great saints - Peter and Paul - who dedicated their life to serving God and serving God's people.   On today's programme, we reflect on these two very different men, and ask the question - what does it mean today - two thousand years later -  to dedicate your whole life to the service of God, and of the community?  Reverend Mar...

Peter Shimmin is a Reader in the Anglican Parish of the Northern Plain.  He often finds that life with his faithful dog Jacko has strong parallels with the words of Jesus - today he reflects (with Jacko's help!) on the  words of the much-loved 23rd Psalm - The Lord is my shepherd.   Bethan Cannell tells her own lockdown story that's brought her back to the Island and interru...

On AT YOUR SERVICE today we've a bit of nostalgia for Father's Day, then Rev'd Alex Brown reflects on some verses from St Matthew's Gospel that are really appropriate, now that the Island has achieved local elimination of Covid-19,  and we can now stop social distancing and move out of lockdown. But Alex's specially-written reflection called "Whispers" asks some...

It's all about relationships on AT YOUR SERVICE today - a couple of people share precious memories of family relationships, and TIM PRICE - who is a member of the Ministry Team at Ramsey Independent Methodist Church, shares some thoughts on the ultimate relationship - the one between God and each one of us. And as we prepare to move out of lockdown, Father Denis Blackledge, a Jesuit priest in Live...

Reverend Dr Barbara Glasson, and Professor Clive Marsh are - respectively - President and Vice President of the Methodist Conference - joint leaders of the Methodist Church in England, Wales, Scotland, the Shetlands, the Channel Islands and - yes - the Isle of Man too! They planned to be here on the Island this weekend, but as that's not possible, they've each recorded messages which are at the he...

Today is PENTECOST SUNDAY - often called the Birthday of the Church. It's the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. When Jesus went back to Heaven, he promised his closest friends that He would not desert them - that God the Father would send a 'helper' On the first Feast of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles in the form of a rushing wind an...

THY KINGDOM COME is a call to prayer, started in England just five years ago by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, which has now become a global movement. Each year, for ten days between Ascension Day (21 May) and Pentecost (31 May) there's a world-wide invitation for Christians everywhere to pray that more people will come to know Jesus, and experience His love and His power in their life. E...

This week, Reverend Andy Fishburne (Methodist Minister in the west of the Island) finds that some words from St John's Gospel have a strong message for us today, as we take some more steps out of the Covid-19 lockdown. Reverend Dawn Mather (leader of the United Reformed Church on the Island) draws on her extensive experience as a hospital chaplain, to share a story that shows how helpful it is to...

Had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic, Services of Celebration and Commemoration would have been taking place around the Island, to mark the 75th Anniversary of the end of the war in Europe - VE Day - the 8th of May 1945. So, using prayers, hymns and reflections which would have formed a major part of those services, and presented by people who would themselves have been taking part, AT YOUR S...

Today's programme is presented by another group drawn from the Island's Christian churches, with Bible readings, prayers, reflections and music to lift us up, whilst we're locked down. We're reflecting on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, with Bible reading and a brand new poem from Christian writer Malcolm Guite, written amidst the strangeness of Easter Day this year, and read for us by Anne Clarke. Ju...

AT YOUR SERVICE this week explores the same story in three different ways -the story tells of one of the encounters Jesus has, after he has risen from the dead, with two of his followers. Firstly we hear the story as told in the Gospel of St Luke, then we're invited to imagine that we are 'the unknown disciple' in the story and finally we hear from someone who IS 'the unknown disciple' - but this...

Hello! I'm Judith Ley, and once again I'm joined by members of the Island's Christian community to offer you a mix of music, Bible reading, reflection, prayer and stories with one aim - to lift us up whilst we're locked down! For the next 40 days we stay in the season of Easter, and our Bible readings tell what happened after Jesus rose from the dead. He met his disciples a number of times - alway...

At this very challenging time, when we cannot celebrate Easter in any of the familiar ways, maybe the powerful Christian message of hope, courage and triumph is what we need to hear. AT YOUR SERVICE is presented by members of the Island's Christian community - and in this special programme for Easter Sunday, Jane Glover reads from St Matthew's Gospel, Rev'd Alex Brown has a poem he's written speci...

This is Palm Sunday - the first day of the week that the Christian Church calls Holy - a week that starts in triumph and ends in what appears to be tragedy. But is that the whole story? AT YOUR SERVICE explores the events of Holy Week through words and music, and Louise Whitelegg and Gareth Moore reflect on how those events are shaping their own life today. William King reads from the Bible, and N...

AT YOUR SERVICE today features music from Wallingford Parish Church Choir (former winners of Classic FM Choir of the Year) and the Sydney Staff Songsters from Australia - one of the many excellent Salvation Army Choirs around the world. Retreat Leader and Prayer Guide Judy Cannan has a prayer for when we're just not sure what to pray about, and she realises that even though she lives boy herself,...