Today is the First Sunday of Epiphany when the Church is celebrating the Baptism of Christ. The Gospel reading today is Mark’s account of the Baptism of Jesus. In this account, Mark presents John dressed like Elijah in the Old Testament. Dressed like this, John’s vocation is to anoint Jesus as God’s Messiah. The Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ means the ‘anointed one’, ‘the King’. For Jesus, John’s anointing is confirmed by ‘the Spirit descending like a dove’ and by the divine voice.  The words ‘You are my son’ echo Psalm 2, a Psalm used to celebrate the anointing of the king.
 
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to focus on the image of coronation. In his baptism Jesus was anointed to reign over God’s people. In today’s picture from his book, Water, Teddy Horsley is looking at the baptism window in his church where John the Baptist is anointing Jesus and the Spirit is descending on him like a dove.
 
Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Epiphany, the Gospel reading from the beginning of John’s Gospel pictures Jesus as the link between heaven and earth. The image to help us prepare for that reading is ladders. You can find out more about that theme here 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 Nelson.Pike@liverpoolcathedral.org.uk.
 
To find about more about Teddy Horsley’s book, Water, as well as other Teddy Horsley adventures, check out his page of the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html, or his own website here: https://teddyhorsley.org/.
 
We warmly invite you to join us in worship today here: 
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​Teddy sends his Sunday greetings to all.
 
Canon Leslie

When the first lockdown began last March, I had little or no experience of ‘blogging’. I had never written such a thing, and had only ever glanced at one or two I happened to come across through the Internet. Dean Sue suggested that we clergy might produce one each day on ‘Prayer for Liverpool,’ and I agreed to cover Thursdays each week. I might have shown a bit more reluctance had I realised how long all this was going to last! Thursdays started to come round all too frequently.
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We should not look for a reward, but there was one of sorts. All sorts of people got in touch, by email, text or in person, to say how much they appreciated what each of us wrote. The blogs clearly touched people quite deeply and were valued by many of those who sought out ‘Prayer for Liverpool’ at a time when many were longing to find comfort and hope, just to keep going.

Looking back, the blog I shall treasure is the very first one, entitled ‘Stones crying out.’ It came to me as I took my daily exercise along Upper Parliament Street and Hope Street and back again. There stood the Cathedral, silent and still, in a city which was also as silent as I have ever known it. There was little or no traffic, and in those earliest days of lockdown, hardly anyone on foot. Canon Neal was able to take delight in all the sight and sounds of nature as Spring unfolded. I merely felt the silence all around.

I write this on the day after the Prime Minister told us for the third time of asking that we must stay at home. While there are very good reasons for this, in order to save lives and preserve the life and work of NHS, I wondered if it might lead to the same dark depression, and for some, despair, which was felt by many last March. Thankfully, the roll-out of vaccines, delivered to us with incredible speed, points in a different direction, and, although the time scale must remain uncertain, it allows us to hope for the future, which as people of faith, we trust that God longs for people to share.

Those of us whose privilege it is to worship within the walls of our great Cathedral church will continue to pray each day that God shall  wipe away all tears from our eyes, and no longer a distant dream, that ‘there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ (Revelation 21)

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.

This time last year I had never contemplated writing anything that could even loosely be described as a ‘Blog’ any more than I could have guessed that I would have become competent at ‘live – streaming’ Morning Prayer from the Lady Chapel!
Blog wise I have done a little research and discovered that this is my eighteenth and as is traditional at this time I am going to take the opportunity of reviewing this last remarkable year.

Pauline and I are still walking which, if I am honest, has become something of an obsession. We have averaged over thirty miles a week for the last ten months adding up to more than 1,200 miles which means we soon could make Paris and back! In the summer I grumbled that during our walks we had to negotiate joggers and cyclists little knowing that the real enemy would be electric scooters.

In an early blog I paid tribute to members of the Diocesan cricket team of the 1980s and 90s. Sadly old age and illness have continued to take their toll in 2020 notably with the death of Jonathan Anders. Jonathon was a great supporter of the team in many ways not least when he and Elsie opened up St Anne’s vicarage as a venue for our annual dinners. He was a fine and gentle vicar and an outstanding Christian man.

Throughout last year the need for calm and clear leadership of diocese and cathedral could not have been more important or challenging. I believe that in Liverpool we could not have been better served. Our Cathedral building, subject to changing rules and regulations has continued to inspire and stands as a symbol of hope. The intimate Ordination Services in September will live long in the memory as will the recent Christmas ones as we have worshipped together in greater numbers.

On a personal note we acquired yet another grandchild in October which meant that on Christmas Day in 10 Lady Chapel Close there were (legally!) six adults and four children the eldest of whom was three! Thankfully Santa saw the sign and stopped.

All of the above seems to indicate that there are reasons to be thankful as well to lament and there is no doubt that the memories we have will in some ways shape the way we approach the future. In an earlier blog I disclosed that Myles and I attended the same school and so we have known each other in one way or another for over fifty years. As he retires, in my role as Chair of the House of Clergy, I  would like to send him my best wishes and the thanks of hundreds of ordinands who have benefitted from his care, kindness, and support and who are now flourishing in ministry.

So we stand at the beginning of another year with all its hopes and fears and I wish you all God’s blessing.

Canon Bob
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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 is the Second Sunday of Christmas and the Church is anticipating the Feast of the Epiphany, brought forward from 6 January. The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the journey of the magi (the wise men) who followed from their home in the East the star that they observed at its rising. It is Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus that offers this rich tradition concerning the magi that contains many important images. One of these images is the Christmas journey. According to the tradition, the magi undertook a long and arduous journey in order to find the Christ child. The journey brought them to Jerusalem where they came face to face with King Herod, with the chief priests, and with the scribes of the people. But their journey did not end in Jerusalem. Their journey ended when the star led them to the place where they found the child for whom they were seeking. There they knelt down, paid him homage, and opened up their treasure-chests. On the Feast of the Epiphany we are invited to share in their journey.
 
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited you to focus on the image of the Christmas journey. In today’s picture from their book, Christmas time with Teddy Horsley, Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear have followed in the footsteps of the magi to bring their treasures to place before the Christ child and to worship him. Today we are invited to join them in this act of homage.
 
Next Sunday, the First Sunday of Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of Christ. In Mark’s Gospel the Baptism of Jesus is clearly presented as his anointing. Jesus is the anointed one, the Christ, the Messiah. At his anointing the divine voice announces the words ‘You are my son’ from Psalm 2, a psalm used to celebrate the anointing of the King. The image to help us prepare for the Baptism of Jesus is coronation. You can find out more about that theme here 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 Nelson.Pike@liverpoolcathedral.org.uk.
 
To find out more about and to read Christmas Time with Teddy Horsley, please follow this link to the story on the Teddy Horsley website: https://teddyhorsley.org/other-stories/christmas-time-with-teddy-horsley. To find out about more Teddy Horsley stories, follow this link to his page on the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html.
 
We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here: 
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​Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear send their Epiphany greetings to all.
 
Canon Leslie