Anticipating the lockdown, the Dean invited me, as Canon Theologian, to reflect on the implications for Sunday worship. At this stage I envisaged congregations staying at home, but I never envisaged clergy being locked out of churches as well. The Dean’s invitation made me ponder deeply on the structure of the Sunday Eucharist. Here Sunday by Sunday we have a service in two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Sacrament. The two parts are hinged on the Peace. As a true Anglican (both Catholic and Reformed), I value both parts. But the tendency can sometimes be to emphasise and value the Sacrament more than the Word. Reflecting on the Gospel reading about Jesus meeting incognito with two disciples on the road to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday, in his address last Sunday Canon Neal reminded us so well, as he literally took us on the walk to Emmaus, just how much the Word and the Sacrament go hand-in-hand. But Canon Neal also demonstrated just how much time needs to be given to the Liturgy of the Word. Those disciples were on the road for seven miles, reflecting on their personal experience of things that had so recently impacted their lives and engaging dialogue with the Word. This was long enough to make their hearts burn within them. All this they took to the table, well worked through, before the bread was broken. Now in the lockdown, the Liturgy of the Sacrament remains crucial, but we are at the same time given opportunity to reflect more on the Liturgy of the Word. My hope is that some of you are now drawing on, and finding helpful, the material Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home. During this past week, we have been inviting you at home to reflect on today’s Gospel reading, John 10: 1-10, and do to so through the lens of the image Sheep. We have even invited you to draw a picture, choose a photo, or make a model of your sheep to be a focus in your home for today’s broadcasted service. Next week the Gospel is John 14: 1-14 where Jesus describes himself as ‘The Way’. We are inviting you to explore this passage through the lens of the image Maps. The material can be found at 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 welcome you to join us in worship today here: The text of the sermon for the service is here, in both English and Farsi: ![]()
We invite you to further engage with us using the Breakfast and the Bible document here: ![]()
To access the “Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home” documents, go to the “Prayer Resources” page of this blog and look under the “Preparation” column: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. You will also find Children’s activities from the Cathedral Education Team on under the “Education” column on the same page. The documents for next week are now available, so that you can begin preparing for next Sunday early in the week. The picture above is taken from the book, Making Spiritual Landmarks, a part of the series of books entitled Randalph's Spiritual Quest and Search for Meaning for 8 to 11 year old learners. You can find the whole book and the entire series of Randalph books on the St. Mary’s Centre website, http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/randalphs%20spiritual%20quest.html. Canon Leslie
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The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; (Psalm 24.1) Our family has 2 dogs who own us. They are pretty much in charge and they dominate much of our day to day household living. Their names are Holly and Jacob (Holly is the black dog and Jacob is the brown and white dog. They are ‘allsorts dogs’ – we have no idea of their parentage, their breed is registered as ‘cross’). Unlike Adam God did not give us the responsibility of naming these animals. They were named by others – Jacob was named by Freshfield Animal Rescue in Formby and Holly by the person who she lived with before us. In these lockdown days I have been very grateful to my doggo companions. Not just because if I didn’t have to walk them I’d not get out the house. But, also for their company and their unconditional love (actually it could be argued that their love is quite conditional – perhaps they love me because I feed them, walk them and let them sit with me on the sofa!). Anyway, I experience a sense of wellbeing when they wag their tails, greet me with a sniff and just snuggle up in the evening when I am on the sofa watching tv. I am sure they have been very grateful for these lockdown days because we have been around so much more. I think their wellbeing has been enhanced because of spending time with us. So, today I want to give thanks to God for my animal companions – for the love and comfort I receive from them. I know that God’s love for me is far greater than any love this earthly life can mirror, and that this earth is God’s creation, all of it. So, I also pray that we all have a sense of the enormity of the love of God in Christ Jesus and that by the power of the Holy Spirit we extend that love to the care of all creation. God Creator Of the Universe Of the earth and sea Of the earth’s fruits and flowers Of all humans, habitats and creatures Help us to value and care for your world In all its beauty and fragility In trust for you Creator God. Amen Helen Mason 2018 Women’s World Day of Prayer Canon Ellen 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. Good morning, friends and happy May Day! As many of you will know, there is a tradition of singing madrigals on May Day, not least in Oxford, where it has been going on for 500 years. We thought we would add our own ‘lockdown Liverpool’ twist to this tradition and with it, we wish everyone a very happy spring with the hope that we’ll all be making music together again before too long. Huge thanks to Jade, Felix, Luca, Robin and Armand for their lovely singing and to Mr. Bishop and Dr. Newton for their hard work in editing the sound and video. Enjoy!
Walking into St. James’ Gardens on my daily exercise in the last week or two, it has not only been senses of sight and hearing that have been stimulated by the beauty of nature, but my sense of smell too. The Wild Garlic, also known as Ramsons, is at its peak, and on the calmer days, the fragrance really assaults me as I walk past the carpets of white flowers. They are all racing to produce their flowers, be pollinated, and then set seed before the tree canopy closes in. It is a marvel how nature works all of this out. The smell of the garlic immediately transports me back to woodland walks in the past at this time of year – it really feels that Spring has become well-established. It has long been acknowlegded that smell can evoke all kinds of emotions in us and yet the precise chemistry of our olfactory organs and how they communicate with the brain is still being unraveled, so I understand. I did start to look into it with a few Google searches and found myself rapidly out of my depth! I must make a note to ask our Canon Scientist about it! Yet, from experience, we all know that certain smells can influence us – the classics being supermarkets wafting round smells of freshly baked bread or coffee to encourage us to purchase their products and feel in a good mood for spending money. I have also heard of people with dementia and memory loss being treated with ‘smell therapy’ (my term) to help unlock memories from decades ago. I am struck by how, when I smell sausage rolls being cooked, I am instantly transported back to my childhood visits to my Grandma’s house in Kent. Every time we arrived there, generally mid-morning, she would always have freshly cooked (huge!) sausage rolls for us to eat with the most gorgeous pastry! It seems that God intended us to use our sense of smell in worship and in the book of Leviticus (not one I tend to dip into very often it has to be admitted) there are many references to what kinds of burnt offerings God deemed to have a ‘pleasing odour’! He also elucidates the precise make-up of the holy anointing oil and holy incense for the sacrificial rituals in the Tabernacle. In Exodus 30:23-25 we read that the anointing oil is perfumed with liquid myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane, and cassia. The incense is to include, “sweet spices, stacte and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense….and seasoned with salt” (Exodus 30:34-45). Both were only to be used for worship, not for anything else. Of course, many churches still use incense as part of their worship, and so the smell of it becomes intertwined with the experience and memories of worship. One Anglo-Catholic friend of mine (somewhat wryly) also remarked that it was useful for covering up the smell of damp and mouldy old hymn books that is such a common odour in many older churches! More prosaically, in my last church (a large Mediaeval barn of a place), there were written accounts of dried lavender being scattered across the floor in the Nave in centuries past – the aim being to offset the smell of the ‘great unwashed’! In the New Testament, there are some striking references to aroma in worship. Famously, frankincense and myrrh are two of the gifts from the Magi to the infant Jesus – incense to signify his divinity and myrrh prefiguring his death and the embalming of his body. Another reference to fragrance, which appears in all four gospels, is of Mary Magdalene pouring a large quantity of pure nard (a resin derived from a plant which grows in the far East) on the feet of Jesus, as an act of worship. John 12:3 tells us that, “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume”. That she was willing to make such a material sacrifice and risk social embarrassment by doing this beautiful thing tells us dramatically just how she adored Jesus and was grateful for all that he had done for her. Jesus was evidently very touched by this gesture. No doubt aware of the significance in worship of fragrance, St. Paul describes gifts sent to him by the Christians in Philippi as “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). Bowls full of incense are described in Revelation 5:8 as “the prayers of the saints”. With all that in mind, and perhaps especially during this time of ‘lockdown’, do we have regard to the fragrances around us, whether in our homes or outdoors, if and when we are able to get out for a bit of daily exercise. I am fortunate to be able to enjoy not just the smell of wild garlic but the ‘smell of the outdoors’ for an hour most days but I understand that not everyone can do that. In our homes, though, do we use fragrance to help our well-being so that we are not just smelling hand-sanitizer and bleach?! Perhaps even when we are watching an on-line service or having a time of quiet for prayer and reflection, we can find something that smells lovely – to enhance our devotions as we seek to offer up our worship to God as a ‘fragrant offering’? It might not be exactly the same stuff that was used in the Tabernacle or even by Mary Magdalene, but I am sure that God will still regard it as an acceptable sacrifice of praise and worship. 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. I cannot believe it is Thursday once again - the week seems to have flown. Yesterday morning I did my usual walk to the supermarket to get my weekly shop. I go around 7am and I walk so that I get my daily exercise. As I walked I was reflecting on what I would say in this blog. As you can see from my pictures I began to think about those who supply our daily needs. The pharmacy, the supermarket, the delivery drivers, the bin men and the transport workers - all people who have continued to supply our daily needs. So often in the past we have taken these people for granted - well I know I have, but these are key workers who keep us fed and safe. As we continue to journey through COVID 19, I keep asking myself where is God in all of this suffering and hurt? Like many before us who have faced pandemics and untold sufferings, I have no answer as to why God allows this to happen. But I do know that I see God at work in the generosity of those who come and stack our supermarket shelves, who deliver food to restock these shelves, who bring people to work on the buses and who continue to deliver our post and clear away our waste. There God is at work as all these key workers generously smile and offer help. There God is at work where they risk themselves and their families’ safety to serve us. We offer them our gratitude and thanks just as we offer our gratitude and thanks the NHS staff. So on this Thank you Thursday we thank God for the hands that serve, and for the hands that heal. 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. Something quite unexpected happened the other day! Completely out of the blue a book was delivered through the letter box. It is as you can see a record of a pilgrimage that I was part of in 1973. My home church was All Saints, Crosby which in those days was linked with St Luke’s. The Curate, Ian Elliott and his wife, Ronnie organized the journey (long before internet or email) for 6 of us from the ‘youth group’. We were to travel in a Bedford van to Israel and back. Yes from Crosby to Israel! Over the years we have had some reunions but Ronnie had decided that the time was right to produce this book capturing photographs and memories. So I have been transported back to a time when I was 19 years old and for 5 weeks lived with 7 others as we travelled some 5.000 miles. It took 2 weeks to get to Israel, visiting on the way Rome, Pompeii, Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Istanbul and Ephesus. We then had a week visiting all the sights in the Holy Land camping first by Lake Galilee and then outside Jerusalem. (In case you are interested I am the one in the photo in the blue shirt with hand on hip!) Our journey home took in the Acropolis and Mars Hill in Athens, a sail along the Corinth Canal and a brief visit to Venice. As you can imagine the whole experience was the very opposite of Social Isolation and was a real lesson in how to live as part of a small community. This was combined with visiting places of great holiness. At the moment we are denied much of what living in community involves, although keeping in touch with each other is, thankfully possible, and extremely valuable. Being grounded we are also unable to visit places of personal significance. My hope is that when we can resume whatever normality may look like, this period of time will give us a sense of value for the most important things in life. 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. ‘Don’t point the camera at the lights!’ During ordination training in Salisbury nearly fifty years ago, we boasted about being the first theological college to have our very own television studio. At the time this was seen as cutting edge. My memory is that it was only really used for recording our first faltering attempts at preaching. A group of students would listen to us in turn, followed by the embarrassment of having to watch our recorded efforts. The group would then offer helpful (or occasionally unhelpful) criticism. When it came to practical matters, the instruction not to point the camera at the lights is all that I can now remember. In the intervening years, I have not been aware of any skills lying magnificently dormant in this direction. As precentor at Liverpool Cathedral, I have often relished the opportunity to use the largest space for worship in the Anglican Communion. With the Cathedral building no longer available for us, the challenge has been to use the somewhat smaller spaces of our houses to create worship which may help us all to connect with each other and with God. As the weeks go by, we are becoming more adventurous. Canon Neal’s sermon last Sunday, drawing on Luke’s story of the Road to Emmaus, found him moving through St James’s Gardens as he spoke to us. Mehdi from the Sepas congregation read to us in Farsi. The choristers led prayers with many of them appearing to pay tribute to NHS and front line workers. Music has included recordings made over the years by the Cathedral choir and the grand organ, and we have been treated to some of the spectacular views inside and outside the building. If you have not yet shared the celebration of the Eucharist for last Sunday, 26th April, may I warmly encourage you to do so. As a parish priest, I used to preside at an early celebration of the Eucharist each Thursday, sometimes attended by just one or two. When filling in the service register afterwards, in the attendance column, I was often tempted to write ‘2 + the whole company of heaven!’ It feels strange, and it is exceptional, for the President to celebrate the sacrament alone, yet this is a dimension of worship in which many are playing a part, some seen or spoken, while others are using their technical skills behind the scenes. In this time of social distance, such an act of worship is there for us all, and it helps us to prepare for when we may meet again around the Lord’s table, with all who stand before God, in earth and heaven. 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. Unlike many of the cathedral clergy, my home is not beside the cathedral. Instead I own a small house on the boundary between Kensington and Fairfield. Ideally placed for me to walk into the uni – when one is allowed to and when, truth be told, I’m not feeling lazy! I am blessed that within these lockdown weeks, my daily constitutional walk can be around the beautiful Newsham Park – indeed it was one of the reasons which attracted me to living in this area. I do feel very fortunate, though, when I consider those people who don’t have such facilities around them in the present time – particularly those in inner city regions, families living in apartment blocks etc. I keep them very much in mind and prayer – how it must be when one has no green space nearby in these difficult times. Yesterday’s gospel was taken from St Luke (Luke 24:13-35), and records the encounter for two of the disciples on Easter day on the Emmaus Road. It was beautifully and imaginatively unpacked and reflected upon by Canon Leslie and Canon Neal yesterday; and it made me think we are all on some sort of journey – in our day-to-day living, but especially now, even though our main feelings are ones of stasis, seemingly not going anywhere. But we need to allow Jesus to open our eyes to see the journey we are on and the opportunities it might bring post-lockdown…in the changes to our lives and how we live them; in the changes in attitude to things that we consider of worth, rather than just things to accumulate and have; the things we really miss when we don’t have the freedoms we all take for granted – like being in touch with loved ones, seeing them, being with them. Our present journey as a cathedral church means we can creatively keep everyone in our hearts, thoughts and prayers, more than usual. All of us are on a new Emmaus road, a journey looking forward to being open to all and worshiping together once more. But, as my postman engaged me in conversation on Friday, perhaps we might allow Jesus to open our eyes in this period to new ways of loving neighbour once the lockdown is over. It is proof itself that even on this unknown road, where we don’t know where the journey will lead us, God's love is still at work through the people around us, in the every day, and He will bring us to a safe earthly destination where lives are hopefully changed permanently for good in helping one another. The creative power of the love of God can open our eyes to all these new opportunities to be Christian, to be Christ in the world at large – during this journey this day, may our prayers be to allow God to do so for each of us….in Jesus’ name. With my love and prayers for you all; stay safe…. 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. I appreciated the Dean’s invitation to write the Sunday blog this week. In a strange kind of way, for years my life has been shaped by the rhythm of Sunday worship. Each Sunday is the same, and yet each Sunday is different. Each Sunday is the same because there at the centre is the same Eucharistic structure and the same foundation narrative. Each Sunday takes us to the table where Jesus presides with bread and with wine. Each Sunday is different from the one before and from the one after in two ways. We travel through the liturgical year from Advent to Christmas, from Lent to Easter, from Pentecost to Christ the King. We encounter the Gospel set for the day and we are invited to take that Gospel to heart. Some may see that Gospel set for the day as the springboard for thought during the coming week. Others, like me, may see that Gospel set for the day as the culmination of preparation invested throughout the previous week. During this uncomfortable period of COVID-19 lockdown, I have been inviting those who visit the prayerforliverpool.org website to join me in preparing for the Sunday Gospel at home, so that when we share in the Sunday service online we have already prepared for engaging with the distinctive Gospel theme. I have shaped this preparation through identifying a core image at the heart of the Gospel theme. Today, the Third Sunday of Easter, I have offered the image of Sharing Bread as a lens through which to view the narrative of the journey to Emmaus. I have invited you to prepare the space in which you will engage with today’s service by placing there images of bread. I have invited you to prepare your minds, hearts, and souls by thinking seriously about Luke 24: 13-25. Here at the cathedral we would be interested to know if you have been willing to engage in this process and how you have experienced it. Next week I am offering the image of Sheep as a lens through which to view the ideas in John 10: 1-10 about the Good Shepherd. I invite you to engage with these materials in readiness for next Sunday, and during the week to share your ideas and photos of your creativity with us by emailing them to [email protected]. You will find our Sunday service video here: If you’d like to follow along with Canon Neal’s sermon, the text is here, in both English and Farsi: ![]()
We invite your further participation today by engaging with the Breakfast and the Bible notes here: ![]()
To access the “Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home” documents, go to the “Prayer Resources” page of this blog and look under the “Worship” column: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. You will also find Children’s activities from the Cathedral Education Team on under the “Education” column on the same page. The documents for next week are now available, so that you can begin preparing for next Sunday early in the week. The picture above is taken from the book, Exploring Why: Bread, a part of the Exploring Why series of books for 3 to 7 year olds. You can find the whole book and the entire series of Exploring Why books on the St. Mary’s Centre website, http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/Exploring%20Why.html. Canon Leslie How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 37.7 Mark and I take our dogs Holly and Jacob out for a walk every day. We walk around the cathedral (very slowly – they are old dogs, I have a dodgy back and Mark is recovering from his cancer treatment). The dogs have to read all their ‘wee-mails’ and it seems we stop at every lamp-post, corner and piece of grass. But, it is a highlight of our day. Along the way we often knock on the doors of our neighbours and say hello. Stepping back quickly once the door is answered and standing on the other side of the path but nevertheless chatting, sharing small excitements of the day and sometimes consoling each other over the challenges. Joan Walters always has a great story to tell (and a puzzle to swop) and we often chat to her along the way, we also see the Padfield family (Jude is Vicar at St James in the City) and their children are a bundle of fun. Our dogs usually have a bark at Lee and Daniel’s dogs and sometimes Pauline Lewis pops her head out the Lewis living room window to say hello. Then we visit Nelson Pike at Tsedaqah House. This is Holly and Jacob’s favourite person to knock on. Jacob is particularly pleased to see Nelson – even if it is from across the path. Jacob also loves seeing Martin who drives the Micah van – Martin is like the dog whisperer. Then there are the other neighbours, too many to mention by name: cathedral clergy, lay people and families on the close, older neighbours supported by those immediately beside them, Community Spirit (who have had to stop working in the house but come to tend the garden), and those who have become friends through their connections with us as neighbours. As we walk our dogs we often stop and stand (at a distance) and chat. But, as we come back toward the house we usually stop and sit on the bench that is opposite the tower and just sit and chat and think and pray. That incredible tower reaching up into the sky is silent (we miss the bells ringing!) but it is so beautiful. The powerful calm of the enormity of the presence of the structure and the way the sides encircle the space. It reminds me of the wings of a bird of prey and eagle in flight but also of the way a bird gathers it’s young and tends its eggs – gently, hopefully, nurturing. This is a beautiful place to sit at the end of a walk and I am grateful for it. So, my prayers this week have been around allowing myself to be gathered and nurtured by God. Cared for like a mother bird cares for her young: tenderly cherished and encouraged, fed and joyfully enabled. As I sit on that bench my prayers are that it is possible for us all to feel that sense of peace and love in the gracious arms of our God who cares for us. Canon Ellen 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 |