It has been a long week so long that I thought I had done my blog last week and was free from it. Sorry for the lateness of this blog (it is now 5pm on Thursday). One thing I am noticing about this lock-down is the feeling that time is dragging and I guess the darker evenings don’t help this. The mornings have been quite different to the darkness of the evening, and they have given me hope as I have seen some amazing sun rises. I am at present encouraging people to look at the positives rather than the negatives in life and the Examen used in Ignatian spirituality helps me do this. The daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to see God’s presence and God’s direction for us. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that can help us see the hand of God at work in our lives and can help us look more positively at life. Here is a version of the five-step Daily Examen that St. Ignatius practiced: Become aware of God’s presence. Review the day with gratitude. Pay attention to your emotions. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Look toward tomorrow. As I end this day I am reflecting on where I have seen God today and I am aware that I have seen God in people, in conversations and in this morning’s magnificent sunrise. 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.
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I know people keep saying it, but it has been a really strange year – a strange and deeply unnerving year for most of us. Having said that, in a crisis you find out who your friends are. This year we’re seriously beefed up the numbers of meetings we’ve had with LVEN (Liverpool Visitor Economy Network) – one of the boards on which I sit representing the cathedral and bonds between the partners have been strengthened in these months of adversity. The visitor economy as many will know, is an important sector for Liverpool City region – one of the most important in terms of bringing tourists (and of course much needed revenue) into the city. The Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards in a normal year is the high point in the visitor economy calendar and a great night out. It took place tonight (Tuesday 10th November). This year was always going to be different. No big glitzy ceremony at the cathedral in 2020 for several hundred people - no big schmooze afterwards. This year, the event happened several months after it was originally due to happen (originally scheduled for May but postponed for obvious reasons) and was taking place on Zoom. Let’s face it Zoom and Teams have been life-savers for us all, but (generally speaking) they don’t replicate what it actually feels to be there in person. I’m sure many people were greeting tonight as it “wouldn’t be the same” or words to that effect. I mean no disrespect by that – people in this city region are massively sociable and love a party and this wasn’t going to be the great get together than a normal awards night would be. That’s what I thought – if I’m honest. The funny thing about it is that (despite not winning our category) I thought it was a really great event. Well done to Knowsley Safari Park by the way who won our category (Large Visitor Attraction) as they have worked extremely hard over the last few years to create a great attraction. Well done too to the Growth Platform for pulling all this together in truly challenging times. Tonight was a great event for me as it totally summed up the Liverpool spirit. It had some moments of humour, it was big-hearted, it was friendly, it was collaborative and it was indomitable. We know it has been a tough year, but everyone who spoke tonight said they were up for building back and coming back stronger. When you hear that from all the winners, it makes you very proud to be part of this sector, in this part of the world. What was also great to see is that all the winners were all gracious and all acknowledged their fellow nominees as having worked hard too in what has been a testing time for the whole sector. Tonight was different. It isn’t the way we want to do the awards every year, but it showed what is truly great about the tourism sector in the city region. It makes me enormously proud of the sector and the region we work in. It also made me think that, with people like this, we were ultimately, as a sector going to be ok. Roll on 2021 and a year when we can build back and breathe some life back into our visitor economy. With great people working in it like I saw tonight, we’re going to get through this. Paul Director of Enterprise, Liverpool Cathedral 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, the second Sunday in November, and the Sunday closest to Armistice Day (11 November), is held as Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom as a day ‘to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts’. Within the liturgical and lectionary cycle of the Church of England Remembrance Sunday comes within the period of All Saints’ tide. Last Sunday, when we kept All Saints’ Day the Gospel reading came from the first of Matthew’s five blocks of Jesus’ teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. We heard proclaimed the beatitudes that hold out God’s promises of how things may go well when God’s reign is welcomed. Today’s Gospel reading comes from the last of Matthew’s five blocks of Jesus’ teaching. We hear proclaimed one of the narratives about people who were not ready to welcome God’s reign, the bridesmaids who ran out of oil for their lamps. We hear the warning about how things may not go well when God’s reign is rejected. For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to focus on the image of candles. Candles are an important image during the season of All Saints’ tide. Candles remind us of the lamps we light at baptism to welcome God’s reign into our lives. Candles remind us of the lights we kindle to pray alongside the saints who have illuminated our Christian path, and to commend to God’s loving mercy our loved ones whom we see no longer. Candles remind us of the lives lost in war and conflict. Candles call us on Remembrance Sunday to stay on message to welcome the reign of God into our world. Today’s picture is taken from the illustrated communion book for Common Worship, The Lord is Here! To find out more about The Lord is Here!, follow this link to the relevant page of the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/childrenandcommunion.html. Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the cathedral or online at home is talents. 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]. We warmly invite you to join us in worship today here: Canon Leslie Message from the Dean re: Cathedral Restrictions: The Cathedral will continue to be open every day for private prayer. This means Monday to Saturday 11am till 3pm. Sunday we will be open from 10.30 till 3pm and on Sunday clergy will be in the Cathedral to offer pastoral support to people. If you need pastoral support during the week please ask at the welcome desk and one of the Canons will be available. The Mezz in the Well is also open for takeaway food and drinks whenever the Cathedral is open. Worship Monday – Saturday Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and the 12.05 Eucharist will be live-streamed on the Cathedral Facebook page. Please do join us. After every evening prayer we will be joining other Christians to pray for the nation during this period of lockdown. Sunday A pre-recorded Eucharist Service will go out on Facebook at the usual time. At 10.30 the clergy will also celebrate and receive communion on your behalf. This service will be held in the Lady Chapel. Please keep looking at the Cathedral Web-site for further information. The Future At present it is our intention on the 22 November to live-stream the Durufle Requium at 3pm, the usual Choral Evensong time. On Advent Sunday it is our intention to live-stream an Advent Evensong at 3pm and the usual Darkness to Light Service will be pre-recorded and on Facebook form 5.30pm. As things change we will amend the worship we offer so please do go to our website for updates: www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk. Dean Sue “Unprecedented”, is the word that we have heard quite often during the past 11 months of 2020. Talking from many experiences - most of them embarrassing situations - when you learn a new language, paying attention to weight of the words is as important as the meaning of them. Normally, the main cause of the problem is some particular use of a word in different languages or better to say different cultures. As a foreigner who has been living in the UK for just about 5 years, I cannot brag about my expertise in English culture. In fact, it is more a first impression rather than deep knowledge and just as a probably very stereotypical impression I can say: “English people like to stick to their own traditional ways”. Whether my impression is right or not, I feel the word “unprecedented” is an extremely heavy word in this country. Nowadays, it is used for justifying almost any kind of failure in governance. Apparently because we have never seen this situation, failure is inevitable. I was born in the early years of a long war between Iran and Iraq and later in my life I saw another war (it is not so uncommon in the middle east), two big earthquakes, one coup, one big economic collapse, at least four uprising following by bloody suppressions, unwilling immigration and many other unprecedented things and still I am -or at least consider myself- a young person. So maybe what is unprecedented in a western country, for Iranians is the normality of life. For us, this word is usually used to address a great success or a big achievement. Noticing the different cultural weights of a simple word, make me think about our true understanding of events in different places and times; events which have been explained to us through the words which have been translated for us. How much of truth has been lost in translation? How much accuracy in translation is required to receive the true spirit of an event? And what is the accuracy of translation? Or more importantly, what is the truth? It is better to stop here. In one of the most significant moments of the history of Christianity, in spite of the presence of people with many different languages, interpretation did not seem to be a problem at all. Neither meaning nor cultural weight of the words made a problem at the day of Pentecost. Act 2 reminds me of my job in a powerplant where I had to communicate to people from very different countries. There was an engineer from Turkey who could not speak English and I could not speak Turkish but somehow, we managed to form a great professional relationship which eventually turned to a strong friendship. I suppose there was something more crucial than words which worked for us. In that particular case, it probably was both sides’ commitment to comply with technical specifications of the job. It is so easy to find differences. Even without misinterpretation of incidents or ignorance of cultural weight of the words, it is so easy to find our own personal reasons for hatred and bitterness; but I believe whenever a strong reason for reunion comes across, all of these seemingly legitimate reasons can be put aside; like the Pentecost day at which different weights and meanings of words were not important any more. An unprecedented time can be one of those strong reasons of reunion; spending time with our family members, taking care of vulnerable members of society, expressing our gratitude to NHS staffs and key workers, finding new ways to do our works and maybe reprioritizing our whole life were some of the precious experiences that we gained during the recent period of lock-down. Unprecedented times can be a gift to do unprecedented good and acquire unprecedented knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes we think there are not much to do to help the situation but during the corona time we realized even some small actions like wearing a mask or keeping two metres distance from others can work like a domino chain in community and improve the situation gradually. We learnt all of these little things because of the unprecedented conditions; no matter what the cultural weight of the word or geographic place of the incident is, in England, Iran, China or Brazil, same pattern of acting with social responsibility and considerate behavior works effectively and that is why the current difficult situation can be a cause of reunion and ignoring all of our cultural, religious, historical, economic and social contrasts for the sake of humanity. Canon Saro [Saro is a Lay Canon of the Liverpool Cathedral Chapter, and a member of the ‘Sepas’ Farsi-speaking congregation that meets here.] 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. All Saints day, the 1st of November, is often seen as the beginning of a season of remembering. The Saints can sometimes be thought of as people who in the past have done great things and who have set examples of courage and Godly living. This is undoubtedly true although a quick look at the qualities necessary for Sainthood suggests there have been different standards for women and men! It seems that as a woman you had a better chance if you were a reformed prostitute or died protecting your virginity as did St Wilgefortis who prayed for deliverance on the night before her arranged marriage and woke up on her wedding day with a full beard! Consequently, she lost both her husband-to-be and her life. Some men got there by merely being reasonably good Bishops. However, it would be wrong I think, merely to consign the Saints to history. There is a story, told on more than one occasion in assemblies at St Margaret’s High School by the Reverend Ken Miller, school chaplain and undoubted saint, of a young girl going on a school trip visiting a Cathedral. The guide showing them around spent a great deal of time explaining about the significance of some fine stained glass windows. When she got home her mother asked her how the day had gone and what she had learned. “ We saw lots of interesting things”, said the girl “ but the best thing was, we learned about the Saints”. “What did you learn?” asked her Mother. “O it’s really great”, came the reply, “the Saints are the ones the light shines through”. I have met many people over the years in very different circumstances who have struck me as people through whom the light shone, Ken himself being one of them. They will be unsung but they will have made a difference to those round about them. They are in our midst now at a time when they are most needed and I thank God for them. Canon Bob 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. All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day and the Feast of All Saints, is kept by the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, and other Western Churches on November 1, and this year falls fittingly on a Sunday. All Saints’ Day is an occasion on which to call to mind, to celebrate, and to give thanks for all the Saints from Christian history, and to acknowledge our share in their heritage. The Gospel reading chosen for All Saints’ Day in the year when the Church follows Matthew’s Gospel in the opening verses of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. These verses contain the famous beatitudes which have been translated in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible to begin as follows: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. This powerful recitation of ‘blessing’ inspires us to follow in the footsteps of the Saints and to share in their quality of life. In Matthew’s Gospel the beatitudes introduce the new law that inspires Christian discipleship, and catalogues the blessings on the new way of life empowered by God’s grace. The beatitudes are signposts in God’s kingdom. So to prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of signposts. In today’s picture from their book Signposts and Symbols Aled and Siân have been following the signs to the stone church. Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the cathedral or online at home, is candles. 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 more about Aled and Siân in their book, Signs and Symbols, follow this link to the book on the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/Exploring%20Our%20World%20Series/Signs%20and%20Symbols/Signs%20and%20Symbols%20Short%202016%20WEB.pdf. To explore more books in the Exploring Why series, follow this link also to the St. Mary’s Centre: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/Exploring%20Our%20World.html. We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here: Aled and Siân send their Sunday greetings to all. Canon Leslie In the last few weeks the British Legion have launched their poppy appeal. Every year we wear poppies to remember all those who have given their lives to keep us safe and to enable us to live in peace. This year the British Legion are undertaking new and imaginative ways of selling poppies (www.britishlegion.org.uk). Poppies are an important symbol in the life of our nation. The reason poppies are used to remember those who have given their lives in battle is because they are the flowers that grew in the battlefields after World War One ended. There are many different ways to remember those who have died and in the Church we spend quite a lot of time in November remembering. We begin on the first of November with all Saints Day, and then we move to All Souls’ Day on the second day of November. This year All Souls’ Day is all the more poignant as we remember with thanksgiving and with sadness all those who have died from COVID 19. Amongst those who died will be saintly people: the nurse, the doctor the mum or dad, the friend all people who may have given unselfishly their lives for others. So as we move towards this period of Remembering, light a candle at home or in the Cathedral for all the saints both past and present and remember with thanksgiving all who give their lives for others. 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. It’s approaching that time of year when we remember to remember. Well, of course, remembering is something we can do any time. But the first half of November seems to have a concentration of prompts to remember. There is that certain ditty which gives us a clue: “Remember, remember the fifth of November…” and all that. Hard on its heals is Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, as we remember the sacrifice of countless men and women who, over the years have stepped up to the plate in the service of freedom and justice, and many paying the ultimate price in terms of their lives. The words of the Kohima Epitaph sum it up perfectly for me, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, ‘For our tomorrow we gave our today.’” The Church year also urges us towards remembrance. This Sunday is All Saints Day, and the following day is All Souls. On All Saints, we remember all those who have chosen to follow Jesus in their words and actions, in every time and place, those who have died and, crucially for me, all those who are still alive. Most, of course, are nameless – their words and works have been forgotten by us, but not by God. A few we do remember by name and they have their special ‘days’ throughout the year when we give thanks for them and celebrate their legacy. All Saints, though, is about everyone – all the saints! Being a saint doesn’t mean that we are perfect – far from it. We can see that very graphically illustrated in the lives of the saints – the hagiography – many of them most conspicuously had the proverbial ‘feet of clay’! All Souls, though, is most definitely remembering all those who died, those whose faith was known to us, and those whose faith was known only to God. Those whom “we love but see no longer”, as the Funeral service puts it. This year, All Souls will, I imagine, be particularly poignant for many of us, as a great many families have lost someone special. I number myself among them, losing an uncle to Covid-19 and my father to cancer. I shall certainly be attending this Sunday’s ‘Special Memories’ service in the Cathedral at 3.00pm, which Canon Mike is organising; you can find more details and book your place for the service on Eventbrite by following this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/liverpool-cathedral-special-memories-service-sunday-1st-november-tickets-126087792983. For me, it will be an opportunity to pause, reflect and light a candle in memory of Keith and John. I have also brought into our house a sprig of rosemary – an ancient symbol of remembrance, with its evergreen foliage. As Christians, we are about remembrance all year round, of course, as we celebrate the Eucharist or Holy Communion. “Do this in remembrance of me” commanded Jesus. For us, remembrance is not just about looking back, let alone nostalgia. It is looking back in order to look around and look ahead. The Eucharist is about us feeding in the here and now, receiving afresh the grace of God to strengthen our relationship with God and to equip us for our journey with God. It is also the “foretaste of the heavenly banquet” which reminds us that, one day, God will throw the party to end all parties - in heaven. No wonder we join together at every Communion in the ancient words, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”! So, may I invite you to remember to remember at this time? How we remember is individual and very personal. By all means make use of the opportunities that we offer at the Cathedral, both the special ones at this time of year, and those that come each and every day. Remembering well, paradoxically, helps us live better in the present and the future! 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. The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) prepare for the Passion Narrative (the last supper, Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion) by Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and removing the money changers from the temple. Then while Jesus is teaching in the temple the local leaders try to entrap him with three clever questions. The first is a political question about paying taxes to the Roman occupation. The second is a theological question about the resurrection of the dead. The third is a legal question about identifying the most important commandment in the Law of Moses. Today’s Gospel reading focuses on the third question: Which commandment in the law is the greatest? Jesus responds to that question by citing two passages from the Old Testament and gives us his well-known summary of the law: You shall love the Lord your God with all year heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. To prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of feeling loved. In today’s picture from his book The Windy Day, Teddy Horsley feels the Holy Spirit making him safe and loved. Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the cathedral or online at home, is Signposts. Next Sunday the cathedral is celebrating the Feast of All Souls when the Gospel reading is the beatitudes with which Matthew’s Gospel opens the Sermon on the Mount. The old law revealed on the mountain through Moses was a list of commandments, things to avoid. The new law revealed through Jesus is a list of blessings, things to embrace. The beatitudes are signposts in God’s kingdom. 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]. If you’d like to learn more about Teddy Horsley and his writings, visit his website: https://teddyhorsley.org/, or his page on the website of St. Mary’s Centre: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html. We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here: Teddy Horsley sends his Sunday greetings to all. Canon Leslie There is one weekend in the year in the life of the Cathedral which is quite different from all the rest. First there is the Annual Legal Service, taking the place of the Cathedral Eucharist. It is probably the most colourful service of the year with its processions, civic, academic, legal and judicial, with the judges ‘in full fig’ processing in their order. The service is planned with help from a small working party, chaired by the High Sheriff. Early on we received strong advice to plan for a virtual service this year, months before there was any talk of 'tier 3'. Since March we have become adept at producing recorded services, largely through the enthusiastic expertise of Dr Chris Newton. The various speakers were recorded one evening in the Cathedral and the music with the choir on another. The Bishop of Burnley sent us a recording of his thought-provoking sermon. Bishop Paul recorded the blessing, and Dean Sue the welcome and opening prayers. Usually at the Legal Service, a guard of honour is formed by local uniformed organisations, and it was suggested that we might include promotional videos from the organisations, So, as the Cathedral choir sang the anthem, we were given a glimpse of the work of Scouts, Boys’ Brigade, Fire Service Cadets, and Guides. The service has been very well received and while everyone regrets very much not being able to come together in the Cathedral, we are glad that it has reached a whole new audience. The second feature of this weekend is the Anniversary Organ Recital which takes place on the Saturday closest to 18th October, the day in 1926 when the Cathedral organ was dedicated. It is given by the Cathedral Organist, and this year it was decided to give it twice, on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, following Evensong. The second recital on Sunday 18th October happily co-incided with the fortieth anniversary of Ian Tracey’s appointment as Cathedral Organist, and we were delighted to commemorate this with thanksgiving during the prayers at Evensong. Ian’s reputation as a recitalist is world class, and he continues to serve the Cathedral with great distinction. Ian is the driving force behind the appeal to restore the Grand Organ which began in 2007 and will hopefully be complete next Easter, after fourteen years of fundraising and hard work. Congratulations, Ian! Canon Myles 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.
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