You may want to look at some of the links detailed below.
Dear All,
Following the sad news of the death of His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, I felt it would be helpful to share a range of relevant resources for churches and parishes which are listed below:
A reflection on his life by Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, which includes a link to a short video, may be read here
A reflection by the Archbishop of Canterbury, may be read here
A reflection by the Archbishop of York, may be read here
A Church of England online book of condolence, prayers and liturgical resources may be found here
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple
and that God’s spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16 (New International Version)
Extract from Facing the Storm, by Eddie Askew first published 1989.
Behind the carved oak pulpit in the old church, I noticed a mark on the worn wall. At first glance, I thought it was just a random roughness, a shadow on the stone. Then I realised it was the outline of a cross. It must have hung there for years and, when taken down, it left the mark on the wall.
As individual Christians we leave a mark. Most of us lead unremarkable lives.
Actually, I’m not so sure of that. When you get to know people, you find few who are ‘ordinary’. No one is exactly like another. Each is remarkable in individual experience. Each of us has something of value to give. But we lead unspectacular lives, rarely producing headlines in the newspapers. Yet our presence in the world, our faithful performance of the little acts of daily living, makes its mark.
There are times when we feel useless. We can’t stop the steamroller of world events without getting flattened. No-one listens to the thin sound of our protest. But ‘your living shall not be in vain’, as the song puts it. We make our mark and, however small it is, it’s our mark, and the world will never be quite the same again.
God grant the mark we leave is the mark of the cross. I may not see its cosmic breadth, or deep significance – sounds pompous anyway – but in the faithful living out and quiet affirmation of this day’s duty, lies worth, and joy.
And on some wall a mark is made. A mark of love, shaped like a cross.
Hope you are having a Very Happy and Peaceful Easter.
Unfortunately, the original recording had technical issues with sound. Fortunately, we did a separate recording using a phone in case we had issues experienced previously! The link to this can now be found here: https://youtu.be/xPtlbWgRgf8
Please take a pebble. A small initiative of #RealLove on Good Friday in Meltham on our Greenway. 400 stones have been painted by Christians in Meltham. They all have a heart- personally designed by the artist – and are a reminder that the Easter message is – Jesus loves us without limits. You’ll find them in #Meltham down on the greenway. Please take one home or to give to others. You may even want to hide them elsewhere for others to find!
The four Church of England churches within the Meltham Parish have all decorated a tree and a cross outside. Please stop by and take a look.
Good Friday reflection – Crucified God, you suffer with and for your people: in these lonely times of deep distress sharpen our sense of your accompanying presence. Amen.
A reminder that their is a service at St Bartholomew’s this afternoon at 3pm featuring readings and musical excerpts from Stainer’s Crucifixion and Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary sung by 3 soloists. It can also be viewed live on YouTube hopefully using this link: https://youtu.be/8hjfJ6SKB8I
There will be a special Good Friday service at the Cross featuring readings and musical items taken from Stainer’s Crucifixion and Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary (which have usually been performed on this day for many years now). We cannot unfortunately yet have a full choir singing at this times, but are able to have 3 soloists singing the musical items telling the story.
PLEASE NOTE! The usual social distancing and hygiene measures will be in place including the wearing of face coverings. We will also need to ensure that we do not exceed the now reduced seating capacity to ensure appropriate distancing can be maintained. Should turnout be high, we may need to ask people to return home and watch join via YouTube to ensure everyone’s safety (though we hope this is not the case).
