Secret service focus to end persecution

Young people at a Marton church held a '˜secret' service in honour of persecuted Christians around the world.
Freedom Church Mereside. Youth worker Lizzie Haydon on far rightFreedom Church Mereside. Youth worker Lizzie Haydon on far right
Freedom Church Mereside. Youth worker Lizzie Haydon on far right

Worshippers at Freedom Church Mereside, on Honister Avenue, took part in a silent service and whispered hymms and prayers while blinds were drawn to keep out prying eyes on Sunday.

The event was organised by the church’s youth group in their very first solo service, which was inspired by the experiences of Christian North Korean woman Hea Woo, who they listened to at the Spring Festival in Harrogate earlier this year.

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Freedom Church Reverend Linda Tomkinson said: “When we sang hymms we had to sing in a whisper. We sang ‘Amazing Grace’ in a whisper which was quite powerful.

“The group read words from Christians persecuted around the world and we wrote messages of support and prayer which they took home and emailed to the Open Doors charity (an international ministry serving persecuted Christians and churches around the world).

“We are quite a new church, we’ve only been going for three years, and it’s the first time that the youth group have planned and led a service.”

Freedom Church youth worker Lizzie Hayden, who helped organise the service, said: “I think we take it for granted that we have this freedom to have our own beliefs and freely worship God, and other people don’t. I think our young people really learned a lot from that.”