It is now seven years since we first experienced the Liverpool Passion Plays in the Cathedral.  They were written and produced by an in-house team: Daniel Bishop, Mark Lovelady and Nick Basson, and came about with a veritable army of talented helpers. Originally there were three acts, designed to be performed in the Great Space of the Cathedral on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of Holy Week, shortly after Evensong.

The original plan was for adult members of the Cathedral Company to take part as the actors, but in the event, sufficient adult volunteers were not forthcoming.  Instead a host of younger people of the Cathedral Company, members of Cross Guild and the Overcrofters, the choristers and other young friends, were the ones who stepped up to the plate.

Any misgivings about the maturity of the young people to enter into the story of the Passion disappeared completely on that first Monday evening.  Their professionalism was remarkable and exemplary. And there was an unexpected bonus: the young players and singers brought their families with them, and their friends too, so that by the Wednesday evening the audience in the Cathedral was close to 500 people.

The whole Cathedral was used for the Passion Plays. The Well was used for the opening scenes, moving from the childhood of Jesus to overturning the tables of the money-changers. The Baptistery and Western Crossing were the scene for the plotting and scheming of the religious leaders, ending with Judas Iscariot’s dark decision to betray.

On Tuesday the procession into Jerusalem made its joyful way from the Scott Memorial to the Chancel Step before everyone moved to the darkness of the Presbytery for the Last Supper which took place around the High Altar. The final scene moved the audience to the Derby Transept, close to Lutyens’ ‘Outraged Christ’ for Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the false kiss of Judas and the violence of the arrest.

On Wednesday, the Bishop’s Cathedra became the focus for the trial, and Pontius Pilate sentencing the Lord to death. The Crucifixion itself was depicted on the Dulverton Bridge, with the people standing below.

​My abiding memory is of the first Wednesday evening. At the end, everyone had the opportunity to lay a flower beneath the Bridge, as at the foot of the Cross. That evening Dean Pete and I had to leave the Cathedral promptly,  as we were expected to robe and process at a service at the Metropolitan Cathedral to bid farewell to Archbishop Patrick Kelly. We walked together along Hope Street, but neither of us felt it right to speak. The experience of the plays, and especially the depiction of the crucifixion , had been too profound for conversation. We had been brought to stand at the foot of the Cross, and it was so profound that the youngest members of our Company were those who made this happen. It remains an unforgettable moment in my years at the Cathedral.

​This Holy Week will be quite unlike any other, I suspect. To journey to the Cross and the new life of Easter without setting foot in the Cathedral is going to be very strange for us. Seven years ago, my encounter pf surprise was how wondrously ‘the old, old story of Jesus and his love’ came alive through the commitment, talent and professionalism of the Cathedral’s young people. Who knows? It may be that  the ‘God of surprises’ has something unforgettable awaiting us this year too!

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.

And check out the following calendar of services this Holy Week as well (Links will be provided once they are made available):
 
Holy Week Reflections and Services
 
Maundy Thursday:
Service for Maundy Thursday

Good Friday:
Joint Good Friday Service between the two Cathedrals.
The Passion Gospel read by Precentors from Cathedrals around the Country
Performance of Crucifixus by  Cathedral Choir, sung remotely
 
Holy Saturday:
Vigil Prayers and Night Prayer by National Cathedral Precentors
 
Easter Sunday:             
10.30am Service for Easter Day, +Paul preaching

​Today would have been the day we hosted clergy, readers and others from across our diocese for our annual Chrism Eucharist.

Instead we have a videoed service of the word with a renewal of commitment to ministry. You can watch this via the link below.

Renewal of Commitment service
​

One of the biggest things I missed when the Coronavirus restrictions first came in, was not being able to shake hands with people.  Many of you will know that I love greeting people (friends and newcomers alike) with a smile and a handshake…..its the way I am and part of the good manners which was instilled in me from a young age by my dear mother and father.  But it is interesting that even in that short period between the first restrictions and our current lockdown, I was able to find other ways to greet – through smiles, through words, through gestures, through eyes.

I often imagine that Jesus too was a wonderfully tactile person – his gentleness of touch brought miraculous healing and comfort to many.  But even he could touch people in different ways – by his own looks and smiles, no doubt; the pure love that people would have seen just in his eyes and face, that made you trust; the words that brought such teaching and gentle understanding but with such authority too.  His voice which would bring miracles to bear – without the need for touch.  And as did his mere presence, even down to the fibre of his clothing, for those reaching out with such deep faith.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday – the joyous remembering of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem; no doubt himself touched by the people themselves also in different ways – from those who would have reached out to physically touch him, or his donkey, as he rode passed.  And who knows what miracles may have happened through their own faith when they did that – reaching out to the one they had heard so much about and what his touch, his words, his very presence brought to the lives of many. He would have been touched too by their own faces and smiles and shouts of triumph – the vision of the crowd waving palm branches and proclaiming ‘Hosanna, Hosanna!’; touched by what he saw, touched by what he heard.  Although we know, at the start of this Great Week, the joy some would have experienced would have felt short lived given what happens later in the week; but the joys brought turned to eternal ones through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, by overcoming death through the triumph of the resurrection.

And even in this strange period we are in now, we ourselves can touch the lives of many throughout this Great Week – without the need for physical contact.  By the wonderful expressions of appreciation and support for all ‘frontline’ workers; by the expressions of grief – in abeyance, as such, until we may grieve properly and in fulness; by the joy brought with contacts long since lost – new words and new conversations; by the hearts touched by the unexpected email, text, phone call or videocall.  We can still touch the lives of many this Holy Week and the weeks to come, so that the way that Jesus himself touched the lives of others, might be manifest in our own ways throughout this difficult time.

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.

​Today in the life of the Church is Palm Sunday, the day when we remember Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem on a donkey. The mood, as Jesus journeys into Jerusalem, is one of praise as people shout their hosannas. The mood, however, quickly changes and, as we journey through this coming week, Holy Week, we observe that final week in the life of Jesus, this is a time that is full of emotion as we see Jesus suffer betrayal, torture, crucifixion and eventually death. As we observe and engage with Jesus in his last week, we see the fickleness of people and the human heart, but we also see the love of God.
 
We invite you to join in worship for Palm Sunday with us here: 
​

​There is also the opportunity to engage with today’s Psalm through Breakfast and the Bible in this document: 

​
​If you want to continue to reflect on today’s themes, then please do use ‘Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home.’ The aim of ‘Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home’ is for people and families to look at the Sunday Gospel in advance of Sundays and to prepare themselves for the coming Sunday worship. So do please look out for next Sunday’s material from Tuesday onwards. You’ll find the “Exploring the Sunday Gospel at Home” documents on the “Prayer Resources” page and under the “Worship” column: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html.
 
You will also find Children’s activities from the Cathedral Education Team on the “Prayer Resources” page of this website under the “Education” column: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html.
 
Also, read this excellent reflection about Palm Sunday during these present times from one of our Chapter members, Canon Andrew Holroyd: 

Today I would like us to pray for the Tsedaqah Community which is based in a house by Liverpool Cathedral (https://tsedaqahhouse.wordpress.com/
Tsedaqah is a Hebrew word which means ‘to do justice’. Tsedaqah is the reason why this missional community was formed. Young people from around the world become members as they seek to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God (based on Micah 6:8). For periods of up to a year, they serve in a variety of ministries across the Diocese of Liverpool.
Currently, the residents in the house by Liverpool Cathedral are:
Nelson Pike https://nelsoninliverpool.com/
Nelson is from the state of Massachusetts, in the US. He is an assistant to the Dean of Liverpool at the Cathedral, and also works with Micah and in the Cathedral’s music department.
Jen Williams https://jenwilliams.home.blog/
Jen is from Crosby. She works in the Social Justice Department at the Diocese of Liverpool and has been working on a number of projects particularly leading on our anti-modern slavery and human trafficking work. Jen also supports Micah food bank, which operates from the Cathedral, and she also looks after Open Table and Centering Prayer congregations in her home parish.
There are also a number of past residents and non-resident community members, including myself, who try to live out active Tsedaqah – the living out of justice and fairness. The last few weeks we have not been able to meet in person for our weekly community meal and prayers so we have been sharing time using zoom having our tea in our own homes ‘together’. This has been a surprisingly entertaining and a community building experience.
Even in these times there is no need for us to break all our routines. We are finding new ways to be community, to discuss the new work that is starting to happen and share how we are living our lives in these strange times. For me this virtual weekly get together has been life-giving and joyous. We are learning how to get through these isolation days as a community and as friends. Please do pray particularly for Nelson and Jen – but also for Mal, Debra, David, Tabitha, Mike, Kate, Emily, Emma, Sam, Felicity and Madeline and myself (the Tsedaqah community in our diocese, Ghana and the USA).  
@TsedaqahDioLiv
The Tsedaqah Prayer: 
Circle us, O loving Father, with your hope, that we may do justice. 
Circle us, O Christ our Saviour, with your hope, that we may love mercy. 
Circle us, O Holy Spirit, with your hope, that we may walk humbly with you. 
Amen. 

I noticed on Twitter recently that one of my clergy colleagues from my Hull days had undergone a bit of a makeover. During his seven years with working with me his hair had gone from a rich dark black to grey – make of that what you will! His bored twin daughters had decided that he is now looking ‘too much like an old man’ so decided that it was time for a hefty dose of hair dye. So he is back to having a handsome mop of black hair – at least for the moment. Quite what he will look like as the hair grows on I have no idea. It was certainly a brave and trusting move on Matt’s part, to let them loose on his hair. I don’t think he trusted them enough to try cutting it though. I’ve seen some ‘interesting’ attempts at self-service DIY haircuts on the internet in recent days.
 
In my last two blogs, I’ve encouraged you to celebrate both the creativity of the Creator in giving us a world full of natural treasures, and the creativity of human beings who, by being made in God’s image, are intrinsically creative themselves. Indeed, at times of great adversity, that creativity is blossoming and bringing both pleasure to ourselves and others. God, however, did not just leave his good creation to its own devices – he didn’t simply wind up the clockwork toy and set it off, not caring whether it careered off its path and off the edge of the table. No, when he saw that ‘there may be trouble ahead’ as humans decided to put themselves in the place of God, his creativity came up with a plan for a makeover of all humanity. This would be a plan for re-creation. And it wouldn’t be merely skin deep, or temporary, like hair dye.
 
It all began with the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, as we celebrated on the 25th March, when he announced to her that she would bear God’s son, Jesus – a name which means ‘God saves’. Jesus duly arrived that first Christmas and, around the age of 30, began his ministry of preaching and teaching, healing, and declaring that the Kingdom of God was coming near. After his initial ministry in Galilee and the lands around it, he sets his face towards Jerusalem, and the action shifted towards the real reason for his coming to earth, namely to give his life for the re-creation of the world, and to become ‘the firstborn from the dead’ (Colossians 1:18). Through him, we are all given the opportunity to be caught up in his resurrection and to be re-created: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Remarkably, as humanity experiences God’s heavenly make-over, creation itself will be re-created: “For creation itself waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-20). Wow – that is deep stuff. And it reminds us that, as we are so concerned about our own short-term survival as humans, we must not forget the long-term well-being of the natural world around us. For it and we are interdependent – neither can flourish without the well-being of the other.
 
We are about to enter into the solemn remembrance of the events of that first Holy Week, as we recall Jesus’ journey from the Entry into Jerusalem to his hanging on the cross of Golgotha. It is more than a recalling, though; it is an invitation to enter into those momentous events – a conscious placing of ourselves into that story, as if we were there. We will, indeed, be standing and walking on holy ground.
 
As we do so, and as we see creation coming to life around us and human creativity blossoming too, may we give thanks to God that his creativity continued with a cosmic plan for our re-creation and for the renewal of his good creation. God brought new life out of what appeared to be the signed and sealed certainty of death. This is truly mind-blowing; but the joy of it all is that God invites us to play our part in his on-going work of re-creation – for we too are caught up in his divine makeover. Remarkably, a bit like my friend having the courage to let his daughters loose with the black hair dye, God takes the risk with us by letting us have a go. I, for one, am delighted that he does.

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.

It is now over a week since we have been ‘locked down.’ It still feels strange to communicate with people via a screen. Although I talk to people and say prayers with the team ‘virtually,’ I have also valued my early morning walks, more and more.
 
Like Canon Neal I am using St James’ Gardens as my ‘playground’ and I am so grateful to the Friends of St James’ Gardens for their hard work over the years in keeping the gardens as a public space for all.
 
St James’ Gardens is wonderfully laid out. As you can see from the picture, there is one path through the garden, but there are two separate spurs that take you off the main path. As you walk the spur, however, you eventually return to the main path.
 
Life feels a bit like this. We were walking down the main path of our lives and all of a sudden we have been led down a side-track, a spur, called Coronavirus. We have no idea how long we need to walk the side-track, the spur before we can re-join the main path, but what I know is that God is walking with us. God is guiding us into new ways of communicating with each other. God is calling us to find new ways of supporting and caring for one another.
 
I have hope that we will eventually re-join the main path and that the God who knows and loves us will journey with us on the spur, the side-track, so that when we re-join the main path of our lives we may be ready to greet each other with joy and a greater understanding of what it means to be us.

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.

​The Canadian psychologist Professor Paul T.P Wong said, “Adversity is an opportunity for creativity, because is forces us to dig deeper and discover something new about oneself.” Which is, I suppose, a more eloquent way of saying that ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention’. Well, just at the moment, many of us are surely putting those proverbs to the test! In all sorts of ways.
 
New talents are emerging. For example, one of our Zone 2 café-style church members evidently has a gift for joinery. As part of the Zone 2 service screened for last Sunday (29th March) we see Pete making a wonderful vegetable planter from bits of old decking. If you don’t believe me, have a look on the prayerforliverpool.org website and you will see the link to the service. I’ve heard of people starting to send poems to each other, after years of not writing any. Others are spending time making music, others in the garden, and still others joining in with on-line dance and exercise classes. My wife and I have benefitted from the culinary creativity of our neighbours in bread and cake – thank you folks! Some enterprising person posted on the Zone 2 WhatsApp group last week a quiz of Merseyside place names, ‘spelt’ with emojis! I’ve put them at the end of this blog for you to have a go at. Some of them are very tenuous – you have to think a bit laterally and loosely! But it’s all good fun. Many of the Cathedral clergy are having to upgrade our on-line creative abilities, by learning how to make little videos to upload to our new website  
https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/
 
Last week, I wrote about appreciating the wonder of God’s creation around about us, and taking time – perhaps on our daily exercise - to savour the natural delights of this unfolding season of spring. The Bible tells us that we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) and one of the ways in which all of us bear the imprint of God is being, by nature, creative. Many of us adults bury our creativity – that may be the result of our schooling, sadly. My mother tells me that I used to write wonderfully creative stories as a youngster – apparently the saga of ‘The Roaring Lion’ (written when I was about 7) gave great enjoyment to quite a few members of my family. (Alas the manuscript has been lost to posterity!) Somewhere along the line, that aptitude seems to have been lost and, by the time I reached the age of 16, the crowning achievement of my literary ‘career’ was to achieve an ‘unclassified’ in English Literature O-level. I hear many people saying that they are not creative but it’s there in all of us, and may need a bit of encouraging out and nurturing. Now may be a good time to do that – both for the enjoyment of others, and also to help us maintain good mental health. Maybe a very positive thing we can do is to encourage each other in this endeavour. In our chatting over the phone, texting, and communicating on-line, is there someone this week that you can encourage to draw out their creative gifts and help them gain the confidence to share them with others, either now, or when things return to something like normality?
 
Prof. Wong says that, by digging deeper, we will discover new things about ourselves. I strongly suspect that he is right. There is, I am persuaded, something even deeper going on in these creative processes, be they existing or newly discovered; something spiritual, in fact. I am reminded of the story in Exodus 35 of the people of God in the wilderness after their release from slavery in Egypt. The desert life was certainly a place of significant adversity and yet God was with them, and had given them, through Moses, the Ten Commandments. God commanded them to fashion the Tabernacle, a large and colourful tent, in which the Law of God could be housed. Everyone brought items from their own possessions to contribute to this great collective endeavour. Bezalel and Oholiab, along with other skilled people, were tasked with gathering all these offerings into a final design. We are told that God, “filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen, or by a weaver – by any sort of artisan or skilled designer.” Bezalel himself was “filled with the divine spirit” so that his natural skills were amplified and applied by God’s Holy Spirit, the same spirit who had moved over the face of the waters at creation, no less. So God’s talents, skills and gifts of creativity are surely part of our spiritual life, and indeed can form part of our very worship of God. Like any good parent, God delights to see us ‘having a go’ and encouraging us to develop our aptitude. Can I even sense him chuckling about my ‘U’ in English Lit. and prodding me not to use that as an excuse never to try writing poetry again? In these days, when we are stymied in our opportunities for offering worship in a service in church, maybe, just maybe, God will show us new ways to worship him. Will we allow God to journey with us to discover more of his creative image in each one of us? Happy inventing!
 
And, as promised, here’s the emoji quiz of places in Merseyside. Can you guess where they are?

Since the present restrictions began last week, and we find ourselves mostly confined to our homes, the daily exercise, as permitted and encouraged by the Government, has become a highlight of each day. For me this has meant going for a walk, either around the perimeter of the Cathedral, or more adventurously along to Upper Parliament Street, then Hope St and back again. The exercise is wonderful, both for physical and mental well-being, but the walk also provides an opportunity to think – perhaps even to pray – in the unusually quiet and deserted streets.
My favourite view on these daily walks is the familiar one as you turn the corner into St James’s Road from Upper Parliament Street. It is the view of the steps up to St James’s Mount with the Cathedral in the background. The view has hardly changed since the photographs taken in 1924, as King George V and Queen Mary left the Cathedral by coach after attending the great service of Consecration. The only addition is the Vestey Tower, itself completed during the darkest years of World War Two.
For this present season, the Cathedral stands in complete silence, majestic and strong, but empty. The prayers of its clergy have not ceased, but they have moved, as required by national advice, into our homes beneath the Cathedral’s shadow. Its organ and its bells are silent, the great space no longer echoes with the glorious sounds of our magnificent choir, and the many familiar daily sounds  - children enjoying workshops, the bustle of the shop and the tower, hospitality in the Welsford and on the Mezzanine, the busyness of vergers, cleaners and maintenance – all of these are still, for now but not for ever.
I was fortunate enough to be present, as a young curate, at the service when Her Majesty the Queen came to celebrate the completion of the Cathedral in October 1978. The preacher at the service was the Archbishop of York, Stuart Blanch, who had previously been Bishop of Liverpool. Some words from his sermon speak to me particularly in the silence of this moment:
The stones of this great Cathedral from the quarry in Woolton have been shouting since 1910, shouting about the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, but who is near to those who are of a humble and contrite spirit. This is one of the great buildings of the world, not simply performing a function, but reminding us of the greatness and majesty of God. In this temple we see the Lord high and lifted up. I have never been able to enter this Cathedral without a revived sense of the majesty of God and a revived sense of my own unimportance in the scheme of things. But strangely enough, this has managed to combine a testimony to the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity with a testimony to the God who is near to those who are of a humble and contrite spirit. The days for dogmatic utterance and thunderings from the pulpit are over – and I do not regret that – but that is no reason for keeping quiet. In art and in music, and speech and literature, in reasoned discussion and in poetry, in service to society and in sacrifice on behalf of it, we need to proclaim our faith in Christ as One who is near to suffering humanity and yet remains the high and lofty One.  If we, as disciples of the Lord keep on keeping quiet, these stones will shout aloud to succeeding generations as long as this nation remains a nation, and this city remains a city.’
During this season of silence, we must largely leave it to the stones to do the shouting, and, we need have no doubt that they will do this for us, built by the people, for the people, to the glory of God, as long as this city remains a city. But we also dare to look forward with prayer and hope to another moment when the sounds which we love so much return.