Empty roads – a tangible sign of the weirdest year in living memory. Even before the landmark broadcast by the Prime-Minister on the evening of Monday 23rd March 2020, our public spaces were eerily silent. A portent of what was to come in the PM’s directive: “Stay at Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives” with its stark black writing on a bright yellow background fringed with red and yellow hatching. In nature, black and bright yellow signal danger. Even if one could not read the text, the message was clear; we were in for a tottering time. A few weeks later, I snapped a couple of pictures of the Queen’s Walk car-park outside the Cathedral on a sunny Saturday afternoon. In a space where it was common for the ‘Full’ sign to be out by the middle of the day, there were just a couple of cars! Astonishing. It made me think: as many folk across our nation were grieving as the death toll rose exponentially, all of us were in a state of grief – for a way of life that it seemed had suddenly been consigned to the archives. Little did I know that, within a couple of months of the PM’s announcement, I would have lost my Uncle Keith to Covid. Suffering with advanced dementia, his last, lonely days were in pain, distress and confusion in a Bedford hospital. Awful. A scenario which has played out too many thousands of times across our nation, let alone our world. Nor that, two months on, my father would have lost his struggle with an aggressive asbestos-related cancer. Covid restrictions prevented me from visiting him as he spent his last weeks at home. Thank goodness for WhatsApp and FaceTime. There have been hilarious moments too in the last year, as we have sought to get to grips with the (to me) new technology! Thank goodness for it, I have to say. And it has opened up more opportunities too. As far as I know, none of my colleagues at the Cathedral has ended up on a ‘Zoom’ or ‘Teams’ call upside down, resembling a cat, or looking like a gangster sporting a fedora and shades! We know that we are not quite out of the woods just yet but, on this first anniversary of the lockdown officially starting, the National Day of Reflection on Tuesday 23rd March 2021 does ring true for me. Although the current advice from the Government is to stay at home, we know that some people will want to take advantage of the ‘private prayer’ space that many churches are offering, including the Cathedral. So, just today, we are open from 11am to 3pm if you wish to do that. In a Covid-secure environment, you can light a candle or two for anyone or anything you would like to pray for and keep a moment of silence – often the only appropriate response when speech leaves us short-changed. Or you can join us on-line, via our FaceBook page. At Midday we will, with the nation, pause for a minute’s silence to take a communal deep breath. And then to join in a simple celebration of the Eucharist. Eucharist means ‘Thanksgiving’. Within it, we also remember. ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ said Jesus just before he died, as he took the bread and wine and shared it with his dearest friends. At 2pm, we will read out a list of all the names that people have submitted via our virtual ‘prayer wall’, names of those who have been lost to us in the past year, whether from Covid-19 or other causes. You can submit a name if you wish; please go to our Liverpool Cathedral ‘Home’ page and you will see the button for ‘Prayer Requests’. The link is: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/requests.html if that is easier. However you choose to mark this day, I hope that you will encounter the love of God somewhere within it. That may be in someone or something you remember, something you do, or something that someone says to you, in-person or on-line. Our human history is one of change and upheaval – and we have seen plenty of that in this last year-like-no-other. The God who we worship is the one who does not change. Even in the darkest and toughest places of human existence, we can rely on God’s hesed, a Hebrew word which is hard to translate but has the sense of his steadfast love and loving-kindness. Truly his faithfulness is great. And his mercies new every morning. We certainly need them, especially today, and in the days to come! With good wishes Canon Neal While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html.
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Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the season in the Church’s year when we prepare for the events of Holy Week and Good Friday. It is a season for reflection and penitence. Today’s Gospel reading from John invites us to call to mind how Jesus prepared his followers for his death on Good Friday. Like them, we need to approach Good Friday and the death of Jesus in confidence of the resurrection. In this passage from John’s Gospel (that follows immediately after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey) Jesus offers the model of the grain of wheat being buried in the earth and dying before growing into new life. For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to reflect on the image of seeds. In today’s picture from his book Water, Aled is taking care of the seeds that he has planted, and making sure that they have enough water to germinate. He has a picture too to remind him of what will grow from the seeds he has planted. Next Sunday, Palm Sunday, focuses our attention on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. The image to help us prepare for next Sunday’s theme is processional banners. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials. Please send us your ideas and photos of the things you may create; email them to [email protected]. To read Aled and Sian’s book, Water, follow this link to the resource on the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/Exploring%20Why%20Series/Water/Water%20Short%202016%20WEB.pdf. For more adventures, see the Exploring Why section of the St. Mary’s Centre RE Resources page: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/Exploring%20Why.html. You are warmly invited to join us in worship streamed live from the Cathedral Facebook page. The service will go live just before 10:30 on Sunday morning, so tune in then to watch the service live: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolCathedral. Aled and Sian send their Sunday greetings to all. Canon Leslie The nice weather of the past couple of weeks brought many people out of their homes. Maybe, the boring lockdown has been lasting too long. Dealing with nagging children and annoying spouse is not everyone's cup of tea. However, it seems that one long year of endeavor and sacrifice eventually is going to pay back. Talking of sacrifice, it was a bit different from the historic ways mainly associated with torture and blood-shedding. Staying at home, working in pajamas, online shopping, gardening, and family feud are some of our new forms of the sacrifice of which we are proud and bored. It is the Lent season. In less than two weeks, we would pay tribute to the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem like what the people of Jerusalem did at the time. Howbeit, in less than one week, all of that eagerness and tumult vanished, and Jesus ended up on the cross. That was not a very warm welcome although, all of it meant to happen as a part of the divine plan of salvation, the ultimate sacrifice. Even if our offering is nothing compared to Jesus's one, still giving up on our routine life and making restrictions is not that easy, especially unwillingly. Confusion over the approaches plus financial difficulties makes the situation much harder. Many people have lost their loved ones. Many others are still suffering from the long-term effects of the disease. Maybe at the time, many of us wondered if there is any hope. And suddenly, an amazing thing happened; a light in the darkness, new medical development, and vaccine. Probably "suddenly" is not a very welcomed word for the scientists who persevered months with research and experiment. But anyway, from our point of view, a sudden light brightened our perspective. In physics, a dark area is an area with limited light sources. In other words, there is no darkness. It is just the absence of light. I think it is the same for our hopes and disappointments; when we forget about our aspirations, fears come through. Upcoming Easter to me is a special one; the resurrection of a crucified man in the middle of shock and disappointment of his friends and family was in-fact the fulfillment of his mission and the start of a new era in history. People did not understand what was going on until Jesus came back like a light in the darkness. Our limited knowledge usually deceives us. Usually, we do not have the complete picture; therefore, we decide what is right and what is wrong until our mind's dark corners are enlightened sometimes by experience, sometimes through science, the wisdom of years, or maybe a divine plan. Post corona time is a new era in humans' modern history, an age at which our insight regarding the world, nature, and human changes. This disease reveals lots of our weaknesses and lots of disproportions in our societies. It probably burst lots of bubbles in our minds and creates a new perspective; of course, for those who perceive not just see. Canon Saro While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. Last week, a very poignant memorial was held online for those healthcare workers who have lost their lives through this pandemic – nearly a thousand of them. As one of them, even if I do not work clinically in the hospitals now and my clinical work was never in the melting pot of A and E, which it has been for many of these individuals, we are still brothers and sisters, all people together striving to heal, to cure, to help, to care for our patients. In a very real sense, they have given their lives for the sake of others; that many patients indeed did live, alongside the many thousands that we have sadly lost. And although the vaccines bring us hope for a brighter, more normal future, we must still remember those lives which are still being lost – the numbers being much lower than in recent weeks; but each one is still a mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter…..an individual – unique and distinctive, who loved and is loved. Last Sunday, mothering Sunday, will have been very different for many people – not least with the lockdown and not being able to gather, greet, express love and thanks for our mothers, the mother church or those who mother us. But also remember our mothers no longer with us. In Newsham park, near to where I live, it is lovely to see the daffodils out in a glorious bloom – the picture above is from just one corner of the park. Interestingly, I estimated about a thousand in just this small patch…. In my rural home parish of Ribchester in Lancashire, many volunteers would normally have gathered on the Saturday before Mothering Sunday, to lovingly put together small bunches of the flowers, to give out to our mothers and indeed all our loved ones. A lovely gesture…..back then, I would take some home to mum and even some years I received some myself – from the members of the church choir who thanked me for mothering them! Bless them! The lectionary for Sunday offered two alternative gospel readings for Mothering Sunday – both recounting our Lady, Jesus’ mother Mary, within the life of Jesus. The first (Luke chapter 2) at the presentation within the temple, when Simeon reveals to all, including Mary and Joseph, precisely who their baby boy will be. The path that he will take, to bring us salvation and eternal life – that we might live. A path, though, that will bring sorrow and pain to Mary herself, as a sword will indeed pierce her own heart. The second (John chapter 19) is at the foot of the cross; where the realities of Christ’s sacrifice are made abundantly clear. Like the unimaginable pain of those who have seen and witnessed their offspring pass away before them, Mary is there seeing the boy whom she brought into the world, taken from it in such a cruel and savage way; his life as a ransom for many…..that we might live. Lent allows us, indeed encourages us, to consider and reflect upon the life of our Lord; born, raised, died and resurrected for us. But so too those who have loved and nurtured us in our lifetime; those who still do – even as we support and pray for others, they pray and support us too…..that we might live our lives for the good of others. That is something for which, for myself, I am truly grateful. With my love and prayers for you all; God bless you and go gently…that we might live daily with the love of God in our hearts. Canon Mike 😊 While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the season in the Church’s year when we prepare for the events of Holy Week and Good Friday. It is a season of reflection and penitence. Today’s Gospel reading from John invites us to call to mind Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. At the beginning of chapter 3 of John’s Gospel, Nicodemus is introduced as a Pharisee and as a leader of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. Chapter 2 has closed by saying that many of those in Jerusalem for the Passover believed in Jesus because they saw the signs. Nicodemus may have been among them. He has come by night and may be walking from the darkness to meet the light that has now come into the world. For John’s Gospel darkness and light, night and day, are important themes. For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to reflect on the image of darkness. In today’s picture from his book Night Time, Teddy Horsley is looking through his bedroom window at the dark night sky, and sees there the light of the moon and the stars breaking through the darkness. To learn more about Night Time and more books by Teddy Horsley, you are invited to visit his page on the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html, as well as his own: https://teddyhorsley.org/. Next Sunday, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, focuses our attention on Jesus teaching about a grain of wheat needing to die before it brings fourth much fruit. The image to help prepare for next Sunday is seeds. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials. Please send us your ideas and photos of the things you may create; email them to [email protected]. You are warmly invited to join us in worship streamed live from the Cathedral Facebook page. The service will go live just before 10:30 on Sunday morning, so tune in then to watch the service live: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolCathedral. Teddy sends his Sunday greetings to all. Canon Leslie Many of you will remember this statement from childhood days. Well I do! I remember being squeezed into the back of a very small car with my brother and sister for car journeys to grandparents and to beauty spots or holiday destinations. It was not a comfortable experience and invariably one of us would ask ‘are we nearly there yet’. At the recent webinar, ‘Who cares? What kind of life after COVID-19,’ one of the contributors used the phrase to reflect on the journey of Covid 19 and to ask ‘are we nearly there yet’. Of course the answer was, not yet. I have been reflecting on this statement over the past few days as I observe more and more people getting frustrated, because we are nearly there, but not quite. I am one of those people, I would like to have my hair cut, I would like to have coffee with friends, I would like to have a meal out, but it is still not possible and I can feel the frustration within myself. There are friends who tell me that they recognise behaviour in themselves that just would not happen in ‘normal’ times. It feels harder this time round to deal with the frustrations of being nearly there, but not quite. For me what does not help is the continually toing and froing of information about when we will come out of lockdown. Only this morning I heard that the Chief Medical advisor, Chris Whitty, has warned about coming out of lockdown to quickly and the threat of another wave if we did not take things slowly. My brain tells me that that makes sense especially in the light of other lockdowns, but my emotions respond differently. I feel the frustration rising. To deal with this frustration I think of the advice to stay in the present moment. To live each hour and each day in the present. It is not easy I know, but if we stop breathe and think of the God who knows and loves us perhaps our frustration and stress will reduce. We need to remember and dwell on the fact that by staying present in the moment God is with us in that moment. God has not abandoned us, God is with us through all the trial and tribulations. As we continue our Lenten journey towards Good Friday and Easter and as we continue to walk in lockdown we need to take a day at a time. We need to be trusting and hopefully people. We need to try and dwell in the moment WITH God. Dean Sue While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. I’ve never been one who enjoys slow, gradual change. When I did my homework at school and studied at University, I liked having a single, long time to study and was annoyed by breaks or interruptions. I like to get things over with and sorted and then move on to something else. So you can imagine my impatience with Lent. Lent is gradual. It is slow. It seeps into your bones, this season of abstinence and discipline. And it’s so incredibly slow I’m almost sick of it by week two. It’s only now, really, that I’ve acclimated to the season, its profound and helpful focus on self-examination and repentance, simplified liturgy, and austere aesthetic. This year, Lent is lining up with a slow, gradual build back in the Cathedral in expectation of Easter. We are slowly, cautiously building back, having learned, with the whole nation, the care necessary to keep everyone safe as we move towards whatever lessened lockdown lies before us. I’ve argued previously that Lent is not the same thing, at least theologically, as lockdown. And I stand by that argument. Covid-19 is not an arbitrary punishment for the sins of humanity. All I know about it is that it is, at least a part, of the consequence of living in a broken world where disease is rife. But far more importantly, I know that the God of Love in Jesus on the Cross loves His world and absolutely loves us. And does not wish us His Children any evil. That love, though, is a mystery. Our God is one big ol’ mystery who keeps his infinite cards mostly hidden. And part of the Christian vocation is to take the time over the whole of a lifetime to consider what we know about God and what God is saying to us everyday in the tradition of the Church, Scripture, and our God-given reason. Especially in times like Lent. Where we have the opportunity to delve into the riches of our faith and consider the loving kindness of the Lord. Slowly. Patiently. Persistently. Nelson Tsedaqah Community Member While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. Today is the Third Sunday of Lent, the season of the Church’s year when we prepare for the events of Holy Week and Good Friday. It is a season of reflection and penitence. Today’s Gospel reading from John invites us to call to mind how Jesus cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem as part of his preparation for the new order that he was bringing into being. The narrative of Jesus cleansing the temple occurs in all four gospels. The story is treated very differently by John. While the other three gospels place the story after the Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week, John places the story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The key image for John is that Jesus not only cleanses the temple but replaces it. Just as the temple was the meeting place between God and the people of God in the old order, so, after the resurrection, Jesus is that meeting place in the new order. Here is one of the images of Messiahship held out during Lent. For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to reflect on the image of spring cleaning. In today’s picture from his book The Grumpy Day, Teddy Horsley is getting ready to help with the spring cleaning at home. He likes using the vacuum cleaner. Next Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, focuses our attention on the theme of night and darkness that plays such an important part in John’s Gospel. The image to help prepare for next Sunday is darkness. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials. Please send us your ideas and photos of the things you may create; email them to [email protected]. To find out more about Teddy Horsley and his book, The Grumpy Day, follow this link to his page under the Resources Page of St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html. You can also visit Teddy’s website here: https://teddyhorsley.org/. We warmly invite you to join us in worship today here: Teddy Horsley sends his Sunday greetings to all. Canon Leslie Holding on to a stone parapet for dear life, head spinning just a little with vertigo, I looked out over the city as the wind whistled past, and Les, head of the Cathedral Constables, proudly pointed out landmarks from the vantage point of two thirds of the way up the Cathedral Tower. A month in to my new role as Canon Precentor it was an experience that has resonated. But I was warned. At ordination priests are reminded that the ministry is not one we can sustain in our own strength, but only with the constant aid and presence of God. Our gathering in the morning and evening to pray shapes the Cathedral's day, and mine, moments of profound stability, even when hearing the searing words of the prophet Jeremiah, as we do in Lent. The presence and aid of God, who is good, who is with us, without whom we fall, but who raises us up on high, through simple, extravagant love. At Evensong hearing our remarkable choral scholars and organists magnifying God. It is good to be here. I have encountered some remarkable people already in these last weeks, colleagues, musicians, regular worshippers, and this week, the dignified and heartbroken family of a young woman killed in her prime. God is here, in the midst of the city, a blessing, the font of hope and grit for the days ahead; playfully calling us away from weariness to soar again, as our great building does, lifting our eyes to the hills, to the joy at the heart of everything, the giddy horizons and infinite life that it is our incredible destiny to enjoy, hidden with Christ in God forever. Canon Philip While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. As we begin to move slowly out of Lockdown, we can look back on the past 12 months and reflect on how we have used the time given to us. When we were first told to stay at home, I had a spurt of energy and cleared out cupboards and drawers quite ruthlessly. It felt good to be doing something useful. I set a pattern for daily walks building it up slowly until it came to a point where I felt I had missed something if I hadn’t gone out for my daily exercise. One of the challenges I set myself was to tidy up all the files that I had covering my Family History research. My father was born in Burma, now Myanmar. As a child I was never really interested in a place so far away and my dad never spoke much about his childhood. It wasn’t until he was coming near to the end of his life that he began to talk about his life in Burma. It became an ambition for me to travel to Burma one day and through the Liverpool Diocesan Mothers’ Union Link with Burma this became more than a dream. I talked with some of the Trustees who had visited Burma and learnt more about our link. We had a visit From Bishop Barnabas from Burma to a Diocesan meeting. He needed an interpreter and a young Burmese priest from London came up to help. Rev David Haokip. David and I have kept in touch and he is now a priest in the Southwark Diocese. In 2001 I was able to join a tour group visiting Burma. We were an interesting mix of people; some had been born in Burma when their fathers were in the British Army. Others had fought in Burma during WW2. It was fascinating learning from their stories and different experiences. I had taken with me gifts from Mother’s Union and was able to meet with Daw Rhody, The wife of the Bishop of Rangoon and the President of Mothers’ Union in Rangoon. We were able to exchange greetings, visit together and meet with the staff of Holy Cross Theological College. This was where I met Saw Maung Doe who was on the staff of the college, and his wife Joanna. We became very good friends. Doe came over to Oxford several times during the next few years to complete his studies and he was able to visit Liverpool. He came to the Cathedral and my own church whilst staying with me. In 2006, I was able to return to Burma as a guest of Saw Maung Doe and his wife Joanna. I spent two weeks visiting various church communities and experiencing the work that the churches and especially Mothers’ Union were doing round the country. It was humbling to see how committed families were to their Bible studies and church groups. The Mothers’ Union had a full programme of activities for the young women covering, Health Care, Food management, Bible studies. The women travelled across Rangoon to take part in these groups. We visited schools and community groups and were able to share in their activities and worship. On this visit I was able to see places connected to my family. On some occasions this was quite difficult as we were straying on to areas that were guarded by the Military, so we simply had to drive past and not stop. At all times during my visit I felt very safe and well cared for. God was with us wherever we went and shone through in the lives of these very special people who have remained a big part of my life. They people of Myanmar are always in my thoughts and prayers and especially now at this time of unrest. We have found these times of lockdown difficult, but we know that it will come to an end soon and there will be no violence. In many ways our worship has grown with all the advantages of technology we can access. I pray for the church and its leaders in Myanmar and hope that they can continue to worship in church or at home as they wait to see what the future holds. This Lent we should think about all those Christians around the world who are tortured for their faith or must worship in secret. We give thanks for our freedom to worship and pray for disadvantaged and isolated Christians throughout the world. Lord God, we pray for the world we inhabit, for those who lead and make the important decisions; for those who follow and those who have no voice. We pray for mercy and justice, compassion and integrity. Lord we want to pray about all the conflict in the world especially at this time we pray for the people of Myanmar, remembering Bishop Mark Doe and Joanna, Marilyn and Rachel and all our friends in Mothers’ Union. Keep them safe at this time of unrest in their country. In Jesus name we pray. Amen Canon Val While you're here: Why not prepare for next Sunday's worship? Our preparation sheet for adults and for children can be accessed by clicking on the Resources tab of this website: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. |
supporting you during these uncertain times AuthorLiverpool Cathedral is a place of encounter. Built by the people, for the people, to the Glory of God Archives
September 2022
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Prayer for Liverpool
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Liverpool Cathedral is a place of encounter.
Built by the people, for the people, to the Glory of God www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk |