‘I shaved my head during a church service’

Judith Russenberger recently shaved her head as an act of repentance during a church service in Southwark Cathedral. Here she explains why

On Sunday, I knelt before the altar in Southwark Cathedral during a Eucharist service and I allowed my son to cut off my hair. I did this as a sign of penitence. As I knelt head bowed, I felt weighed down by the collective grief and pain that is being inflicted upon God’s creation by human thoughtlessness, ignorance and greed. It was a deep sorrow that I could only express symbolically on behalf of myself for the generations to come.

To be penitent is to be contrite, to be sorry, for what we have done, and to want to make recompense, to make good, the damage or injury we have caused, and to want to reform our lives so as not to fall back into that sin again. To be penitent is not a means of earning forgiveness – God’s forgiveness is freely given – but is our heartfelt response to the generosity of God’s forgiveness.