Epiphany Carols

Tonight's Epiphany Carols at St Martin-in-the-Fields included the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields singing Here is the little door Herbert Howells, The Three Kings Jonathan Dove, Nativity Carol John Rutter, and The Deer's Cry Arvo Part. The theme of the Service was 'The Road Less Travelled' as explored in poetry (The Journey Of The Magi T.S. Eliot, The Road Not Taken Robert Frost, and Extract from 'Little Gidding' T.S. Eliot) and some wonderful reflections by Alastair McKay on the journeys made by the Magi to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and home.

This poem, from my Alternative Nine Lessons sequence, was also read:

Star following Magi look for the Prince of Peace
in the heart of power and opulence
only to find him in obscurity and humility.
Gifts given prefigure his divinity and sacrifice, the servant King
who, in birth and death, gives his life for others

Here are the Bidding Prayer and Intercessions that I used (the intercessions are based on Alastair's reflections):

Bidding Prayer

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. God, who is both light and love, we would be a people walking in darkness still if you had not gifted us with your presence through the birth of your Son at Bethlehem. Forgive us for the countless times when we have failed to recognize you, forgotten the wonders of your love, or neglected to serve you with our whole hearts.

Just as the Magi long ago sought your presence in the world, let us do the same. As you reveal yourself in and among us, show us all the places where we get in the way of your transforming love. You have brought us through to another year and given us the choice of roads to follow from here. All that we need for the deepest of joy, you freely offer us. Hear our gratitude now and, accept our gifts, not gold, frankincense or myrrh, but hearts and voices raised in praise of Jesus Christ, our light and our salvation. May our gratitude lead us to your light and love.

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this great festival of Epiphany, let us prepare our hearts so that we may be shown its true meaning. Let us pray for the world that God so loves; for peace and unity all over the earth; for the poor, the hungry, the cold, the helpless, and the oppressed; the sick and those who mourn; the aged and the little children; and all who rejoice with us but on another shore and in a greater light, that multitude which none can number, whose hope was in the Word Made Flesh, and with whom, in our Lord Jesus Christ, we forever more are one.

Intercessions

We find God in our journeys to Jerusalem, in the midst of our mistaken hopes and misplaced expectations, as we listen for the revelation that God has for us. So, we pray for all who are in a place where they thought their deepest needs would be met only for the reality to prove a disappointment, and find they were mistaken. God of the brightest noonday and the darkest night, no pain is too great for you to bear and no loss can remove your love from us. Pain and brokenness touch us all, holding some more firmly than others. Remove the obstacles of fear and ignorance that we may bring the light of your love to those who for whom physical illnesses are a struggle, those who live with mental distress, those who grapple with addiction, and those who seem lost. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

We find God in our journeys to Bethlehem, in those special places of meeting with God, that we’d not expected, but God had always planned for us. So we pray that, just as the Magi long ago sought your presence in the world, we may do the same. As you reveal yourself in and among us, let us linger at the manger long enough to see you in the world, in friends and strangers, and in ourselves. Remove our fear and our arrogance so that the light we share is your light and the ministry we engage in is truly in service to you. Be with those who lead us, those who challenge us, and those who have not yet come through our doors. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

We find God as we travel back to the place where we started, to the people and places we call family and home, learning to know them for the first time. Almighty and ever-living God, your Son shared the life of his home and family at Nazareth. Protect in your love our neighbours, our families and this community of which we are a part; allow all of us to find in our homes a shelter of peace and health. Make our homes a haven for us all, and a place of warmth and caring for all who come to visit us. Enlighten us with the brilliance of your Epiphany star, so that, as we go into the world, we might clearly see our way to You and discover You in our work and play. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

We find God as we discover what George found and what the sage expressed, that all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. Wise and transforming God, how long you have waited for all your people to live in peace. We see difference where you see your children. We resort to violence and war where you would have equity and justice. Many claim you on their side, when in reality you are always on the side of mercy, compassion, and justice. Your wisdom still calls out in the world, waiting for an answer that is more than human foolishness. May all the leaders of the world hear her cry. Show us the way of peace and grant us the strength to pursue it with unflagging passion. We pray for an end to the divisions and inequalities that scar your creation; that all who have been formed in your image might have equality in pursuit of the blessings of creation. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

We find God because the Christ child has come, and we are overwhelmed with joy. Loving God, as we enter into this New Year, grant that we may walk with the one born in Bethlehem and that our worship and our praise may bring to him, to you and to the Holy Spirit, the glory and honour due your most Holy Name. By his coming, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light, that our feet may be strengthened for your service, and our path may be brightened for the work of justice and reconciliation in our broken world. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Almighty and most merciful God, you took on human flesh not in the palace of a king but in the throes of poverty and need: Grant that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart; that, following in the steps of your blessed Son, we may give of ourselves in the service of others until poverty and hunger cease in all the world, and all things are reconciled in the reign of Christ. Amen.

These prayers make use of materials from here, here and here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Dove - The Three Kings.

All Saints and All Souls

In our 10.00am Parish Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields this Sunday we celebrate and give thanks for the saints who have witnessed to the Christian faith through the centuries. The preacher will be Revd Katherine Hedderly.

The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields sing Rutter’s Requiem at our evening All Souls Choral Eucharist, in our remembrance of all those we have loved and see no more and whose memories we treasure. I will preside and the preacher will be Revd Richard Carter.

At St Stephen Walbrook we will hold a special Discover & explore service for All Souls at 1.10pm on Monday 2nd November. This service with explore aspects of bereavement with readings, music, prayers and reflection. The Choir of St Stephen Walbrook and the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields will join together to sing pieces from Fauré's Requiem. The service will end with an opportunity to light candles in memory of loved ones.

The Choir of St Stephen Walbrook and the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields will join together again later in November for a shared service between St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Stephen Walbrook. This service will be a Choral Evensong on Sunday 15th November, 5.00pm, at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

The Discover & explore service series at St Stephen Walbrook will continue with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields for services exploring Faith, Hope and Charity on:

• Monday 9th November, 1.10 - 1.50pm – Charity.
• Monday 16th November, 1.10 - 1.50pm – Hope.
• Monday 23rd November, 1.10 - 1.50pm – Faith.

This series of services is part of our Philanthropy in the City programme.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel Fauré - Requiem.

Patronal Festival

St John's Seven Kings celebrated its 110th Anniversary over its Patronal Festival weekend on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th October. Our celebrations included Choral Evensong (Saturday 4th October, 6.00pm) followed by refreshments, Patronal Festival Service (Sunday 5th October, 10.00am) followed by a Bring & Share Lunch, plus photographic displays and the celebration of special anniversaries/birthdays for congregation members.

Choir members from several local churches supported the St John's Choir in leading worship for our Choral Evensong. The service included the anthem 'A Clare Benediction' by John Rutter.

Many former members of St John's returned for the weekend including:

• Revs. John & Rosemary Enever, who preached at the Patronal Festival Service. Rosemary is a former curate at St John's who became Vicar of St Andrews Great Ilford and Area Dean of Redbridge; and
• Judy Acheson, our former Church Mission Society Link Worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Judy was celebrating 50 years as a Christian. As a result of her ministry in the Congo , St John's continues to support youth work in that country.

Returning and current members gave testimonies in our Patronal Festival Service to the work of God in their lives through St John's. We heard from Michael Blackstaff, Margaret Willmott, Dr. Winston Solomon, Chris & Veronica Watts, Charity Anyika, Julia Beaman, Lester & Margaret Amann, and Judy Acheson. 

Michael Blackstaff, a former server at St John's , had written a reminiscence in which he said, ' St John’s was, and is, a very special place. I was a bit short on blood relations (though very rich in adoptive ones) and came to regard it and its many good people as part of my family. I shall always feel greatly privileged to have been welcomed into its loving embrace.'

There have been more that 15 different significant anniversaries/birthdays which are being celebrated within our congregation this year and all these people were congratulated as part of the Patronal Festival Service. They included two 60th wedding anniversaries, one 50th wedding anniversary, and two 90th birthdays, among others. We prayed for these folk using the following prayer: 

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the special milestones which these people have reached in the course of this year. Such moments provide a reason for stopping and remembering all that we have experienced up to that point in our lives; times of great joy and great challenge. In all, as we look back, we see your presence alongside us supporting and equipping us for life. Enabling us to enjoy and share those times of intense joy and pleasure, to bear and share those times of deep anxiety and pain, and to live fully the times in between – those times of ordinary, everyday life in families, church, community, and at work. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in the lives of these people and may they know a special joy and blessing from you in the celebration of these particular milestones. Amen.

We also presented a gift to our former curate, Rev. Santou Beurklian-Carter. Following the service, we enjoyed a delicious and varied Bring & Share lunch and viewed photographic displays from the extensive Church archive.

Former Vicar Rev. Gordon Tarry sent a message saying, 'St Johns will always be a very special place and people for Julia and I, and our family. We hope you have a great week-end, with much joy and laughter.'

The weekend was a great encouragement and inspiration through the many testimonies to God's work in many lives through St John's.

At our 8.00am service I preached the following sermon:

The traditional image for our Patron Saint, St John the Evangelist, is the eagle and that is, of course, why images of eagles can be seen in different parts of our church. This image for John and the writings we traditionally attribute to him wasn’t chosen at random but was selected because it expresses something of what John’s writing do for us.

Richard Burridge, in his important book Four Gospels, One Jesus? tells us that the eagle was used to represent the Evangelist because he gives us the high-flying, far-seeing perspective of the eagle when he writes about Jesus. These writings give us the big picture about Jesus and his significance.

We can see this in our Bible readings. In 1 John 1, we read that Jesus, the Word of life, has existed from the very beginning and in John’s Gospel we read of Jesus speaking of his coming again at the end of time. This is the big picture into which John sets the stories and theology that he gives us about Jesus. When John writes about Jesus, he is not simply saying that these are interesting stories about a great human being. Instead he is saying that this is God himself, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, walking, talking and acting in the flesh.

In 1 John 1 there are two key features of God that John wants us to grasp in our to understand the significance of the big picture. The first is that God is someone that we can see and the second that God is someone who enables us to see.

John uses the image of the Word made visible to tell us that God is someone that we can see. The heart of the Christian faith, he is saying, is the incarnation; the reality that God, in Jesus, became a human being and lived in a particular culture and time. John was able to say of this Word; “we have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it and our hands have touched it.” God is no longer detached from us and unknowable to us, instead he has chosen to come close to us, to move into our neighbourhood, to become one of us.

The incarnation is at the heart of Christianity because it is a sign of the love that God has for us. God loves us so much that he is prepared to become one of us, even though this means huge constraints and ultimately leads to his death. As a result, he understands us and understands human life. Now whatever we go through, God has been there before because he has experienced life in all its wonder and heartache.

However, God is not simply someone who can be seen by us. He is also the one by whom we can see. John gives us the image of God as light to help us grasp this facet of God’s being. Light is not something we can see directly but something that enables us to see ourselves and our world. This is what Jesus does for us through the incarnation; he shows what humanity was originally intended to become. For the very first time in the history of the world a human being lives a fully human life.

As a result when we see ourselves and our world in the light of the life of Jesus, what we see is our failure and inability to be the people that we were created to become. In the light of the way that Jesus lived his life, we see our lack of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. As this letter says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But when we live in the light, seeing ourselves as we really are, then we become honest with ourselves and with God. By coming into that honesty we confess our sins and are purified of them.

Both these understandings of Jesus are necessary for us to become fully human. If God was just light that exposed our failures then we would be condemned by God. If God was just alongside us as the Word made flesh then there would be no prospect of change for us. But because God, in Jesus, is both the light revealing our failings and the Word made flesh understanding our failings, we can receive forgiveness and change to become more fully human.

John gives us many paradoxes and parallels in his writings. Jesus is both this and that; both Word and flesh; both flesh and light; both message and image; both human and divine. As a result, his writings can seem difficult and dense; yet it is only because Jesus is both/and that we can know what real humanity looks like and have some real prospect of moving towards that reality in our lives. To repeat, it is only because God, in Jesus, is both the light revealing our failings and the Word made flesh understanding our failings that we can receive forgiveness and change to become more fully human. So this Patronal Festival, let us be thankful for the big picture that John paints for us and thank God for the salvation that comes to us because he is Word and flesh; flesh and light; message and image; human and divine.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Rutter - A Clare Benediction.