Clergy Blogs
Thursday 18th April
Dear All,
Readings: Psalms 98:1-8
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy.
1 Corinthians 14:15: So, what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
Reflection: Forgiveness sort from those who prefer other musical genres! 😉
The Jazz Gospel: We start with a quote: ‘Jazz helps us be sensitive to the whole range of existence. Far from offering us rose-coloured glasses … it realistically speaks of sorrow and pain…. Jazz stimulates us to feel deeply and truthfully…. Jazz thunders a mighty “yes.” There is a spirit of possibility that is present in those creating and listening to jazz’: ’When Miles Davis blows the cacophony that can barely be contained by the word song, we come closest to the unimaginable, the potential of the future, and the source of our being. Yet, jazz musicians will tell you that improvisation is risky business. They will also tell you, as John Coltrane did, that sometimes they receive their inspiration from divine sources. When you listen to Coltrane, you hear beyond the notes. You hear the old neighbourhood and the folks we left behind emerge behind half notes. The straining trumpet blasts away the illusion that our upward mobility will bring peace.
But while jazz challenges and prods us, it also takes us to church… the key to understanding links between worship and jazz is subsumed in the word awe. This is an emotion that is accessible to everyone: jazz can erupt in joy - joy infused with the riffs of awe tends to be unspeakable.…
For some, the call to worship comes as joy spurts from jazz riffs.’
Jazz pianist and minister William Carter describes how jazz can help us pray:
‘I have a high view of instrumental music as a potential spiritual gift for the listener and the musician alike.… A jazz quartet can utter things in the presence of God that mere words fail to say. A saxophone can lament on behalf of those who feel helpless. A piano may offer intercessions for those who are in need. A string bass can affirm the firm foundation of faith. Drums and cymbals may call pilgrims to break into joy.’
Worship through Music: I’ll wait and I’ll pray written and played by John Coltrane (1960)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97L2687jCfc
God bless,
Jane 🙏
Thursday 11th April
Dear All,
Reading: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him… So, it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 45–49
Reflection: Christ’s resurrection at Easter display both Christ’s sovereignty and his divinity. The empty tomb declares victory over death and, for the first time ever, we see what the resurrection life will look like.
Several times during his ministry, Jesus alluded to this resurrection life, but it’s Paul who gives us the most insight into the implications of Christ’s resurrection for the church. In today’s reading we find Paul taking two significant theological steps: if Christ has been resurrected, then so it is possible for us and, because Christ is ‘the last Adam’, when we will be resurrected, it will be an act of re-creation, when amazingly, we will be transformed from the image of ‘earthly human’ into the image of Christ!
This frames resurrection as an act of renewal, humanity moving into the complete fulness of our calling to carry God’s image (Genesis 1:26–28). This link with creation, connected through references to ‘Adam’ and ‘image’, is a statement both of identity, as well as giving an idea of how to live right now, since we now know that the kingdom of God is a reality.
In the ancient world, ‘Image of God’ was a title commonly reserved for kings. So, we have a renewed call to participate in God’s care over creation by showing Christ’s love and power. When we serve those around us, we are joining in with God’s Spirit, and this, in turn, brings transformation to our communities.
However, there is a second resonance of the word ‘image’ that also has implications for our life as Christians today. In ancient temples, worship was directed towards the ‘image’ (or idol) of a god. This image was believed to contain the physical presence of that god and be a channel for the god’s power. As Christians, we are the fulfilment of God’s promise to us God’s people, for God lives within us and then through us God offers power, presence and blessings to the world.
Each of us, enabled by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, is creating a renewed, post-Jesus’ resurrection life, lived out through our calling to represent and to reflect God in the world.
I wonder what opportunities we might have this week to show the love and power of God to the people around us?*
Worship through Music:
Blessed Be the God and Father written by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, sung (2012) The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral, directed by David Halls
(Wesley wrote this anthem for an Easter Sunday evensong at Hereford Cathedral, which at the time had only treble voices and a lone bass!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfeQLy-XXXo
God bless,
Jane 🙏
*Reflection inspired by an LICC article by Dr Freddy Hedley - Dean of Studies, WTC Theology
Thursday 4th April
Dear All,
Reading: Mark 15: 40-41 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there,
Mark 16:1-8 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.
Reflection: Through our Lent readings in the gospel of Mark we’ve remarked on Jesus’ inclusivity… in this regard we should never underestimate how counter-cultural Jesus was. There may have been circumstantial and cultural reasons for this… but we notice that before and during the passion narrative, how Jesus spoke to women, women supported him financially, women were amongst his itinerant followers, women were at the foot of the cross and it was women discovered the empty tomb. So please forgive the cartoon - I hope it makes you reflect… and chuckle too!😉
Worship through Music: Led like a Lamb to the Slaughter written and performed (1983) by Graham Kendrick.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=graham+kendrick+led
O Praise the Name (Anástasis) written (2016) by Beth Croft sung at Soul Survivor (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfCDIlShc_k
God bless,
Jane 🙏
Thursday 28th March
Dear All,
Reading: And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. Mark 15: 20-25
Reflection and worship through art for this Holy Week: For our reflection we’ll be using Sieger Koder’s Stations of the Cross and prayers from 'Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community' by PadraigÔ Tuama.
During Lent, Sieger Köder's Stations of the Cross are hung around St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee. The Stations of the Cross tell the story of the path of Jesus to the Cross.
The practise of following the Stations of the Cross began when early Christians visited Jerusalem and wanted to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. They would trace the path from Pilate's house to Calvary, pausing to pray at various stages. Eventually, pilgrims brought this devotion home with them and since then Christians of differing traditions have used the Stations of the Cross as a way to pray during Lent and Passiontide.
The artist Sieger Köder was born in 1925 in Germany. During WW2 he was a prisoner of war, and this experience, alongside his experience of Nazism and the Holocaust, shaped his work. His art has been said to be a vibrant glimpse of the depth, the length and the width of the mystery of Christ in every person.
Pádraig Ó Tuama is an Irish poet, theologian and conflict mediator. Between 2014 to 2019, Ó Tuama was the leader of the Corrymeela, Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation organisation.
For this week’s reflection we use Sieger Köder art alongside Pádraig Ó Tuama poem prayers:
(Due to copyright unable to upload images to Website)
1. Jesus is condemned to death
God of the accused and the accusing,
who made the mouth, the ear and the heart of all in conflict.
May we turn ourselves towards that which must be heard
because they will hear your voice. Amen
2. Jesus takes up the cross
Burdened God,
who bore the weight of wood on torn shoulders,
We pray for the torn and the burdened,
that they may be held together
by guts and goodness.
Because you were held together
by guts and goodness. Amen
3. Jesus falls for the first time
God of the ground,
whose body was - like ours - from dust,
and who fell - like we fall - to the ground.
May we find you on the ground when we fall.
Oh, our falling fallen brother,
may we find you,
so that we may inhabit our stories, our selves. Amen
4. Jesus meets his mother
Mary, Mother of Failure,
you met your son at the end,
in a place beyond words,
and must have felt faithless and empty and alone.
We pray that we may have the grace
to live with our own stories of failure,
knowing that love can continue
even when things end. Amen
5. Simon of Syrene helps Jesus to carry the cross
Simon of Cyrene, stranger from afar,
you were a help to an unknown man.
We pray for all who help:
that their help may be helpful;
that their kindness may be kind,
because yours was,
even though you knew you couldn’t do enough. Amen
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Veronica, your story is doubted but valuable.
You did what you could even though it was very little.
May we do the same even when we doubt. Amen
7. Jesus falls the second time
God of the Fall, you felt the fall
Gather all who fall.
Gather all our fallings.
Gather the voices.
Gather the breath that's forced from our bodies.
Because falling, too, has a story. Amen.
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Women of Jerusalem, while you mourned, Jesus saw you
and spoke to you - he in his sorrow seeing you in yours.
May we see each other, even when we feel unseen.
Because when we see each other, we are seen ourselves. Amen
9. Jesus falls the third time
Women of Jerusalem, while you mourned, Jesus saw you
and spoke to you - he in his sorrow seeing you in yours.
May we see each other, even when we feel unseen.
Because when we see each other, we are seen ourselves. Amen
10. Jesus is stripped
Jesus of the flesh, naked you came from the womb
and naked you were made for the cross.
What was designed for indignity and exposure
you held with dignity and defiance.
May we do the same because you needed it,
because we need it. Amen
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
Jesus of Nazareth, this cross was torture,
it only gave life because you made it hollow.
Bring life to us, Jesus,
especially when we are in the places of the dead.
Because you brought life
even to the instruments of death. Amen
12. Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus of the imagination,
You never grow old, always a young man,
and most of us grow older than you did.
When lives are cut short
the living question the meaning of living.
May we live with meaning,
even when meaning fades,
making meaning so that we
have something to live for. Amen
13. Jesus placed in the arms of his mother
Mary, Mother of death and life,
you held the corpse of your young son
the worst of fears –
in your arms, as he went where we have not yet gone.
We mark this with silence and art.
May we also learn from fear,
because fear won't save us from anything. Amen.
14. Jesus is placed in the tomb
Jesus of the unexpected,
for at least some of your life
this was not how you imagined its end.
Yet even at the end,
you kept steady in your conviction.
Jesus, keep us steady. Amen
Worship through Music: God so loved the world from Stainer’s Crucifixion sung by the choir of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge at Easter 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_14CpHBRd3k
or in its entirety: Crucifixion by Stainer from Peterborough Cathedral (1978) conducted by Stanley Vann. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfUtAMghNVs
God bless,
Jane 🙏
Thursday 21st March
Dear All,
Reading: Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world;now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. John 12:20-33
Reflection. We have been thinking a lot about our call to discipleship being a servant, which is the model that Jesus gives us… this reflection, written by Katie Conley*, seems to both follow on from our striking sculpture last week and to resonate with this theme:
“There are three things that strike me about John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour
The first is that a mark of true disciples of Jesus is a commitment to service. For me, serving means ‘doing’. Yet in the past few weeks I have been recovering from a spinal injury and not able to ‘do’ as much as normal. My service has been severely restricted. But it has reminded me that God only requires us to serve with the capacities we have been given. We do not need to compare ourselves with those with greater capacities.
Second, Jesus’ followers need to be where he is: ‘where I am, there will my servant be also’. Where, then, is Jesus? He is, of course, omnipresent. But we also know that he is with the downtrodden, the marginalized, and the despised. If our eyes and ears are open, such people are not difficult to find where ever we go even though they are sometimes masked under a ‘professional’ culture.
Thirdly, when I think about God and honour, I think about how I should honour him, not the other way around! Yet in this verse Jesus says that his Father will honour those who serves and follows him.
This echoes for me the parable of the prodigal son. When he repents, the son thinks that he will return home as a servant, rather than as a son. Yet, what a welcome he receives! He is greeted with the wide-open arms, kisses, and gracious words of his father. Before he is able to perform any act of service, he is honoured with the best robe, sandals and a ring. He is reinstated as a son, and offered forgiveness and honour. All because he is back where his father is.
In summary, whatever our circumstances, this verse can inspire us to acts of service, especially towards the vulnerable. It can also inspire us to believe, when we fail in this and admit it, that God will lift us up. As we turn again to follow Jesus, God honours us. How amazing!”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that you sent your son Jesus Christ to restore us to a right relationship with you. Thank you for your promise to honour those who serve and follow you. Draw close to us today as we draw close to you. Amen.
* Katie Conley, Career Coach and Author of God’s GRACE for Your Career
Worship through music: Lead you to the Cross by No Other Name (2009). The song was inspired by the life and work of Dr Martha who was a doctor, a friend and a servant to the people of the Arabian Peninsula. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvp0ksrMPzY
Worship through art: Christ of St John of the Cross (1951) Salvador Dali
This makes me think of the Father looking down on His Son, the agony that both were going through.
God bless,
Jane 🙏
Thursday 14th March
Dear All,
Worship through art:
The Prodigal Son sculpted (1963) in patinated bronze by Herman Wald (1906-1970).
Reading: While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.’ (from the parable of the prodigal son is found in Luke 15:11-32, this extract is Luke 15:20b-23)
Reflection. Last Friday we celebrated International Women’s Day was celebrated, Sunday was Mothering Sunday and this Tuesday was the 30th anniversary of the first women being ordained priest (12th March 1994). It feels the right week to share this amazing sculpture by Herman Wald - born into a Jewish family, in Romania, in July 1906.
Looking at the sculpture, the Prodigal Son is outstretched, vulnerable and in a pose of complete humility in front of the standing figure. The upright figure should be the father, but here the prodigal son does not return to his father, but to his mother. In 1937, as Romania was becoming largely anti-Jewish, Herman left his mother behind and, whilst he established a new life in South Africa. In 1942 she tragically perished in the Holocaust. In 1961 Herman returned to Europe to visit Auschwitz where his mother had died. This sculpture is about Herman portraying himself as the prodigal son returning to his mother, expressing his survivor's guilt for leaving her behind.
An interpretation of the sculpture by Father Patrick van der Vorst, “The prodigal son, bent in an upward arch, shows how everything from his past, through his feet and his naked, scarred body, all lead back to his mother. The soles of his feet are turned towards us, the viewers, inviting us into his pain. The mother figure bends over him, with arms hanging helplessly by her side. She wants to support him, but she is no longer there to do so.”
Prayer: Father God, whatever mix of deep and complex emotions this last week has stirred - whatever our relationship is or was with our mother, whether we ever knew her or not. Whether we are, would have liked to have been or never wanted to be a mother - that is deep - as is the loss of parent, however timely, and even more so the loss of a child - at whatever age or stage. In this happy difficult season may we be sensitive to one another and open to your unwavering, unconditional love for each and every one of us. Amen
Listen: Thirty years on from the ordination of women priests, Jemima Lewis, Head of Communications for the diocese, speaks to Canon Peggy Jackson and Dean Catherine Ogle who were ordained priest in 1994. This has made me reflect on my own journey… the Bishop of St Alban said “yes” to my response to a call to ordination 33 years ago… yet I only finally went forward for training in 2013 and was ordained in 2016… this interview is accessible but profound… Thank you Catherine and Peggy!
Music for Worship: Gloria, gloria, in excelsis Deo Taizé
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uicBdKwA1hA (Undoubtedly sung with more gusto 30 years ago in Dean’s Yard outside Church House!)
God bless,
Jane 🙏
