My Calendar
Events in May 2024
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29/04/2024(1 event) International Dance Day 
This is a lovely day to celebrate! Humans seem to have a universal desire to dance. It happens across all societies and it was wonderful in 2019 that we had our own flashmob dance in the Peace Garden to mark this event. Here it is! Here's another flashmob of joy! And here's a wonderful song - I HOPE YOU DANCE:
A PRAYER FOR TODAY (available here as a 1:00 video) Creator God, we thank you for the beauty of dance. Help us to leap with your joy, to stretch with your passion, to balance with your strength as we express our thoughts and emotions. May our dancing always be a spirit-filled, life-giving expression of our humanity.
We pray this in your holy name. AMEN
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30/04/2024(1 event) International Jazz Day 
Here's a 4:53 reflection on International Jazz Day including an exuberant extract from The Boss and the E-Street Band! |
01/05/2024
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02/05/2024(1 event) World Tuna Day |
03/05/2024(1 event) World Press Freedom Day 
Why should we care about press freedom? (1:13) So, how are things around the world? This video (3:2) compares the freedom of the press. What do you think of where the UK is ranked?
A PRAYER FOR TODAY (available here as a 1:00 video)Loving God, We give thanks for journalists who investigate, inform and celebrate.
Strengthen and direct all who write what many read, May they be courageous in confronting evil and injustice: May they act with honesty and integrity, And feel protected and empowered to challenge oppression in all its forms.
We ask this in your holy name!
St Julie: pray for us, protect us and bless us. |
04/05/2024(1 event) World Asthma Day 
Let's start with a 30 second prayer for today - just CLICK HERE.
So what is ASTHMA, what causes it and what can we do about it? (4:17) What if someone has an asthma attack? What should we do?
A PRAYER FOR TODAY (available HERE as a one minute video) Loving God,
we hold before you all who are living with asthma - that they will receive appropriate medical support and be able to make the right decisions - day to day - to keep them safe. We pray for all who support them - family, friends and medical practitioners - that they will always find the strength to be compassionate, patient and understanding. We pray for wisdom, tenacity and insight for all who are researching causes, treatments and responses - that they will receive appropriate funding and be inspired in their work. We ask this in your holy name. AMEN |
05/05/2024
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06/05/2024
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07/05/2024
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08/05/2024(2 events) Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation ... ... for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day 
Sp, what are the basic principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (2:22)?
Here are 5 great facts about the movement! (0:55) |
09/05/2024(1 event) Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation ... ... for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War. |
10/05/2024
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11/05/2024
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12/05/2024
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13/05/2024(1 event) Feast of St. Julie (anniversary of her beatification in 1906) 
On this special day, do CLICK HERE for a short (3:52) video reflecting on the 'What If' moments of the life of St. Julie. |
14/05/2024
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15/05/2024(1 event) International Day of Families |
16/05/2024(2 events) International Day of Light International Day of Living Together in Peace |
17/05/2024(2 events) International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia 
This is a short French news item marking this day in 2020.
CLICK HERE for a one minute prayer for this day!
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day Why not catch up on the boxset of The Julie Show on this day!
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18/05/2024
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19/05/2024
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20/05/2024(1 event) World Bee Day |
21/05/2024(1 event) World Day for Cultural Diversity ... ... for Dialogue and Development |
22/05/2024(2 events) Anniversary of Manchester Arena Bombing (2017) International Day for Biological Diversity |
23/05/2024(1 event) International Day to End Obstetric Fistula |
24/05/2024
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25/05/2024
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26/05/2024
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27/05/2024
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28/05/2024
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29/05/2024(1 event) International Day of UN Peacekeepers |
30/05/2024
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31/05/2024(1 event) World No-Tobacco Day |
01/06/2024(2 events) Global Day of Parents 
This day was set up by the United Nations in 2012 and it is designed to appreciate all parents for their "selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship." Of course, not all parents manage to live up to such high standards all the time. There are plenty of bumps along the road of parenting and some parents struggle and fail. Today though, we are encouraged to focus on the challenge of being a parent. A prayer for Global Day of Parents (available here as a video 1:35) Loving, Creator, parent God – we hold before you now – all parents.
Being a parent can be exhausting and overwhelming – give all parents the strength and resilience required to meet the challenges.
Being a parent involves making difficult decisions – Give all parents wisdom as they consider them – and peace of mind when they are made.
Being a parent isn’t easy – and all parents make mistakes, When this happens, help them to put things right.
And when parents get older and need looking after, May their children do so with patience, kindness and compassion, ensuring their parents retain the dignity which comes as being a child of God created in your image!
We pray this in your holy name. AMEN June is PRIDE month 
June is PRIDE MONTH - the time of year when many countries around the world, including the UK, celebrate and continue to push for LGBT+ rights. We're probably all familiar with Pride marches, celebrations that can attract millions of people at a time, and the rainbow gay pride flag, but how, where, and when did Pride begin? What does it stand for today? And while this is a month specially devoted to celebrating LGBT+ identity - it's an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the truly diverse nature of God's creation and our own identity as a human being made in the image of God. HERE'S A SHORT PRAYER FOR THIS (and every) MONTH! When is Pride?In most countries, June is the official Pride month, but some marches and celebrations are held in July and, occasionally, August. Pride is not to be confused with LGBT+ history month, which is celebrated in February in the UK - to coincide with celebrations of the abolition of Section 28 in 2003. Section 28 was a law that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" and hindered education about homosexuality in schools. It was introduced by Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government in 1988 and repealed by Tony Blair's Labour in 2003 (after an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to do so in 2000). Why is it held in June?Pride is held in June to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a series of protests that occurred in New York city after police attempted to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, in the early hours of June 28, 1969. You can read about Marsha P. Johnson, one of the leading activists at that time, at Station 1 of the Peace Garden! (CLICK HERE FOR A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT MARSHA.) The confrontation sparked a gay rights uprising that grew year on year - including in other American cities and abroad - with each passing anniversary. The Stonewall Inn is now a designated US national monument, and New York city police issued an apology in June 2019 for its officers' actions back in 1969. The movement also spawned the British charity Stonewall, which was founded in 1989 to lobby for equal rights for LGBT+ people. Pride todayPride celebrations today often take the form of large, colourful marches through city centres. Although it is a celebration of LGBT+ people, non-LGBT+ people who believe in equality (sometimes referred to as allies) are usually welcome. Some of the world's largest Pride marches are held in New York city and San Francisco in the US, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Madrid in Spain, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, London in the UK, Tel Aviv in Israel and Mexico City in Mexico. Rainbow flags, as a symbol of gay rights and the LGBTQ community's diversity, are commonplace at Pride marches and one such flag flies in our Peace Garden during this month!
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02/06/2024(1 event) June is PRIDE month
June is PRIDE MONTH - the time of year when many countries around the world, including the UK, celebrate and continue to push for LGBT+ rights. We're probably all familiar with Pride marches, celebrations that can attract millions of people at a time, and the rainbow gay pride flag, but how, where, and when did Pride begin? What does it stand for today? And while this is a month specially devoted to celebrating LGBT+ identity - it's an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the truly diverse nature of God's creation and our own identity as a human being made in the image of God. HERE'S A SHORT PRAYER FOR THIS (and every) MONTH! When is Pride?In most countries, June is the official Pride month, but some marches and celebrations are held in July and, occasionally, August. Pride is not to be confused with LGBT+ history month, which is celebrated in February in the UK - to coincide with celebrations of the abolition of Section 28 in 2003. Section 28 was a law that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" and hindered education about homosexuality in schools. It was introduced by Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government in 1988 and repealed by Tony Blair's Labour in 2003 (after an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to do so in 2000). Why is it held in June?Pride is held in June to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a series of protests that occurred in New York city after police attempted to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, in the early hours of June 28, 1969. You can read about Marsha P. Johnson, one of the leading activists at that time, at Station 1 of the Peace Garden! (CLICK HERE FOR A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT MARSHA.) The confrontation sparked a gay rights uprising that grew year on year - including in other American cities and abroad - with each passing anniversary. The Stonewall Inn is now a designated US national monument, and New York city police issued an apology in June 2019 for its officers' actions back in 1969. The movement also spawned the British charity Stonewall, which was founded in 1989 to lobby for equal rights for LGBT+ people. Pride todayPride celebrations today often take the form of large, colourful marches through city centres. Although it is a celebration of LGBT+ people, non-LGBT+ people who believe in equality (sometimes referred to as allies) are usually welcome. Some of the world's largest Pride marches are held in New York city and San Francisco in the US, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Madrid in Spain, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, London in the UK, Tel Aviv in Israel and Mexico City in Mexico. Rainbow flags, as a symbol of gay rights and the LGBTQ community's diversity, are commonplace at Pride marches and one such flag flies in our Peace Garden during this month!
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