It is now over six months since we went into the first lockdown. It was a strange experience as we quickly had to adjust to working from home, to only going out for our essential needs, and to waving at people from a distance. We had to learn how to communicate electronically and how to socialise through Zoom or Microsoft teams. Then came the summer when we had the freedom to meet people on our patios, in our gardens, in the park and eventually in pubs and restaurants.

Now as we approach winter we are being asked to go in reverse, to cut our social time in pubs, not to meet people in gardens and on patios, to keep to the rule of six, and obey local lockdown rules. It is all deeply frustrating, but to keep each other safe we need to take care not to spread the virus. We need to wear masks to keep the other person safe and we need to hunker down and hibernate like the animals for the winter.

As Liverpool Cathedral and as people of faith we are resilient and we believe in hope: hope that good will come from this crisis, hope that we will look out for each other and hope that we will continue to be a caring society. Every day here in Liverpool Cathedral we pray for the city, for all who have difficult decisions to make, and for each of you. Most of all we pray for new life and new birth as we look towards the spring.

Autumn and winter are times when nature dies back and rests dormant in readiness for the new life we see in the spring and summer. Bulbs and seeds as they rest in the dark wet soil are getting ready for the spring. So we, too over these next few months need to rest and wait in the darkness of winter so that we can come out from Covid 19 and these new restriction as renewed and hopeful people.
 
We at Liverpool Cathedral are a resilient and hopeful people. So, as we approach this time of restrictions and darkness, we offer you hope through the gift of music and prayer, knowing that God is with us and guiding us in the darkness and in the light.

​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 Gospel for this Sunday continues the lectionary journey through Matthew’s Gospel and we reach the point when Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem and kicked the money changers out of the temple. The religious leaders try to set a trap for Jesus by asking him to give an account of who gave him authority to act in the way that he does. Jesus sidestepped the trap by asking them an equally controversial question, about the authority on which John the Baptist acted. Here is a clear example of how religion and politics get so quickly confused.
​
To appreciate the complexity of the conflict between Jesus and the chief priest and elders, we have first to appreciate the political complexity that threatened the working relationship between the temple and the occupying Roman forces. Jesus was acting out the God-given authority of the Messiah and that was politically provocative.

To prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of setting traps. In today’s picture from his book The Grumpy Day, Teddy Horsley falls into a trap that has been set for him on the carpet. Literally he falls over the vacuum cleaner.

Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the cathedral or online at home, is the vineyard, when the Gospel reading continues to develop Jesus’ interaction with the chief priests and the elders of the people, challenging them to open their eyes to see what God is doing to bring about change. 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 [email protected].

If you’d like to learn more about Teddy Horsley and his writings, visit his website: https://teddyhorsley.org/, or his page on the website of St. Mary’s Centre: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html.
​
We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here: 

Teddy Horsley sends his Sunday greetings to all. 

Canon Leslie
​

Early in my time as Precentor, on a Sunday at the end of September, the Cathedral hosted a National Service to commemorate the lives of police officers who had died in service during the previous year. The service took place on Sunday afternoon and was attended by government ministers with HRH The Prince of Wales as the Principal Guest.

As always on such occasions, strict security measures were in place, including the requirement for  the Cathedral to be closed altogether on the Sunday morning. It happened to be ‘Back to Church’ Sunday, and irony of this was not lost on Dean Justin, as he was then. ‘How did you celebrate ‘Back to Church’ Sunday?’ he quipped. ‘We closed the Cathedral!’ was the answer. In fact we provided an alternative service in the early evening, so all was not lost.

Next Sunday is once more ‘Back to Church’ Sunday and how is the Cathedral marking it?  Once again we are closing the Cathedral not just for the day but for the entire weekend, Friday to Sunday. No royal visitors this time, but the occasion is one of huge significance for our Diocese which the Cathedral is here to serve, and for the parishes whose curates made deacon last year will be ordained priest, while other parishes will be receiving the gift of a newly ordained deacon. As government and national church guidelines lay down that no more than thirty people may currently attend an ordination service, we are holding no less than eleven such services, during which eleven priests and twenty five deacons will be ordained. I hope this helps to explain why the Cathedral has to be closed for visitors and worshippers during the weekend.
​
There will however be one exception, as at the earlier time of 10am, there will be a quiet Eucharist in the Well of the Cathedral. Places for this are very limited and need to be booked through the Cathedral Website. There is also, of course, the recorded celebration of the Eucharist available for you to join in at home, available from the Website too.

Earlier in my ministry in the Diocese, for almost twenty four years I was involved in listening to those who wanted to explore their vocation, and in supporting many of them through their years of training and formation.  Many of these women and men currently serve as clergy in the Diocese now. In these last few months before I retire, I am so thankful that there should be such a diverse and talented group of people about to take this step and begin a new chapter of their Christian journey. Please remember those to be ordained in your prayers, and within our Cathedral company, we remember Simon Macaulay, formerly a lay clerk and member of staff in the Liturgy and Music department, who will be ordained Deacon.
​
These words have been sung at ordinations in Liverpool for very many years:
Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire
to work and speak and think for thee. Amen.
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.

It was late evening on 17th March, having said good bye to the choristers for the last time for who knew how long, that I wrote to the parents, staff and volunteers of the Cathedral Choir, saying, ‘here’s an e-mail I never thought I would have to write’, to confirm the sad news that, for the first time in the history of the choir and of the cathedral, the choir was to be suspended completely. Even during the second world war, choral services continued after the evacuation of the choristers with men’s voices only but COVID-19 was to have a greater effect on Liverpool Cathedral and its music than even the Luftwaffe could manage.
 
As I locked up the Eastern Undercroft that night and walked down the slope to the plaza, I stopped to take a photograph of the still floodlight Cathedral which we reproduce below; it was to become the first of many photographs I would take of our deserted and locked down cathedral in the coming weeks and months. Deserted but still cherished and loved and a beacon of strength and hope for our choir, our cathedral company, our city and our diocese. My fervent worry but also hope that night, was that no matter how long this lockdown lasted, our cathedral worshipping community would survive intact, maybe even stronger and that once again, ‘our hearts and minds and hands and voices’ would combine to such great effect as many of us have witnessed in some of the great occasions in our history.
 
Well, my hope was well placed. Thanks to the wonderful spirit of community within the cathedral, the hard work and commitment of our clergy and staff and the commitment and resilience of our amazing probationers, choir probationers, choristers and choral students of the choir and musicians, (with a bit of help from technology thrown in!) we have worked together to stay in touch, to sing, to pray, to worship, to talk, to celebrate, to mourn, to laugh, to love and above all to care for each other, to continue to be the cathedral community we all value so much. 
 
‘It's not the same though’, despite the great efforts of many people across the church during this time, despite phone calls, what’s app groups, Zoom calls (other video conferencing options are available), pre-recorded worship, live streamed worship, even dial a prayer was available, ‘it’s not the same’ was the response of many. And of course it’s not, however important our new found online ministry is, and it really is important for those who can’t get to church and even in a world without COVID-19, it must continue, it’s not the same, it’s not the same as shaking hands, hugging, fist bumps, high fives, hugging and kissing and ultimately, it’s not the same as hearing prayers and music in the same sacred space and it’s not the same as receiving the Holy Communion, in the form of bread only for the time being, but even the cup will return one day, and we will meet again, around the table of the Lord, we will sing again, we will exchange the peace again and we will value what we have, maybe even more than we did before, because we have been without it for so long.
 
We have been praying for our communities during this time; please pray for your cathedral community and especially for the choir, for our children and young people as they return to schools, colleges and universities and as we prepare to sing and pray with you, once again. 
 
In thy house, great God, we offer
of thine own to thee;
and for thine acceptance proffer
all unworthily
hearts and minds and hands and voices
in our choicest
psalmody.
 
Canon Nick 
Nick Basson is our Choir Guardian and Youth Minister​

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 Gospel for this Sunday is the narrative of the ten lepers from Luke 17: 11-19. This is a poignant story that takes place when Jesus was travelling on foreign soil (Samaria) making his way to Jerusalem. The ten lepers were social outcasts as a consequence of their disease. They kept social distance when they tried to attract Jesus’ attention. Their healing was important because it meant not only physical healing, but social healing as well. The point of the story is that, although all ten were healed, only one came back to say ‘thank you’ to Jesus.
 
The Gospel reading is well chosen for Harvest Festival. Like those nine healed lepers, it is all too easy for us to take good things for granted. Harvest thanksgiving is a time to give thanks not only for the harvest, but for all the blessings that we experience in life. The call to be Christian, is the call to be thankful people, to be people whose lives are shaped by a sense of gratitude.
 
To prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of thank you cards. In today’s picture from a book in their Christian Special Places series Aled and Sian prepare the altar in their church with the bread for the Eucharist. Here in the picture bread, fruit of the earth and work of human hands, is linked with other fruits of the earth placed in front of the altar to celebrate harvest festival. In this way Aled and Sian recognise their call to be a thankful people, to be a Eucharistic people, to be people whose lives are shaped by a sense of gratitude.
 
Next week we return to our lectionary journey through Matthew’s Gospel and reach the point when Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem and kicked the money changers out of the temple. The religious leaders try to set a trap for Jesus. The image to help us prepare for participation in next Sunday’s service online at home is setting traps. 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 [email protected].
 
To find the Christian Special Places series and read about more adventures with Aled and Sian, please do check out the following link to the relevant page of the St. Mary’s Centre website: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/christianspecialplaces.html.
 
We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here.
 
Aled and Sian wish everyone a very pleasant Harvest Sunday.
 
Canon Leslie

As I walked down to the water front early on Monday morning the sun was just coming up and the whole scene was majestic. It made me think about God’s beautiful world and the interconnection of nature and the amazing biodiversity in our world.

Much of my thoughts were fuelled by the Micah Lecture of last week and David Attenborough’s television programme ‘Extinction: the facts’ which I saw the night before. What I took from the programme was the sobering message from a United Nations Nature Report that one million species are at risk of extinction and the fact that we human beings are responsible.

The hope we were given is that nature can bounce back if we give it a chance. An example of nature bouncing back are the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, who in the 1970s were on the verge of extinction and through careful management now number over 1,000. We also saw a bounce back during lockdown as carbon emissions reduced dramatically.

We live in a beautiful diverse world and as we approach Harvest Festival on Sunday we have so much to thank God for in God’s creation. We also have a lot to lament as evidenced by David Attenborough and his colleagues. Harvest gives us the opportunity to stop to look at our beautiful world to give thanks and to pray for all work to protect the security of God’s wonderful and diverse creation.

This harvest as we think about our world and our responsibility to preserve our beautiful planet I wonder what we can do to help; Can we reduce our plastic consumption, can we reduce our travel, so reducing the effects of Global warming.
 
What can we do?
As a Cathedral we have decided to reduce our paper consumption and COVID 19 has helped us to do this. As you may be aware from tomorrow you will be able to access all information about the life of the Cathedral on our web-site: www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk. Click on blogs and news, on the home page and you will see the Cathedral E-news.

So as we give thanks for God’s creation and the Harvest we pray:
Creator God, 
you made the goodness of the land, 
the riches of the sea 
and the rhythms of the seasons: 
as we thank you for the harvest, 
may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
​
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 strange times continue – now into our new academic year and its first semester, the strangeness certainly continues.  At this time of year, I often think back to my first day at uni (yes, I can still remember that far back!); the excitement, the trepidation, the realisation – when my mum, dad and the dog drove away from the college car park in Durham, leaving me on my own.  The first communal dinner together with complete strangers in the college dining hall, to meet a friend who stayed with me throughout my time there and also the terror of then, having sat at the end of the table, finding that the tradition was to then serve everybody else for their meal.  The anticipation of meeting new friends, joining many different societies including the Christian unions for both college and university and feeling my faith develop in so many different ways.  The endless cups of coffee with friends and the far too often overused phrase of ‘I really must go and do some work’…..only to sit around and indulge in yet another cup!  Finding the chapel choir and university choral society – a stepping stone from music at school to a lifetime of singing and choral music.  Learning to row….and then in the next three years spending far too much of my time on the river or in the chapel choir, rather than in the library working!  Friendships formed quickly – some life long, some too long….and that was just the first term!  It was an exhilarating time – even all those decades ago. 

When we consider our new students starting here in Liverpool now, the landscape will be very different – not least the measures in place at least to try and maintain social distancing and to keep everyone safe.  The pavements are littered with signs which remind me more of the rules in school corridors (as you can see above) – of keeping to the left, of one-way systems, of not loitering, of keeping your distance, of masks to be worn….of patience and respect.  In many ways, the freedoms that I enjoyed in my first uni will be very different here and now.  But I suspect there will still be enjoyment, and the work will have to start up after the very different, mostly virtual welcome week….teaching which for many of us lecturers is still through an online world; one which actually started with my postgrads two weeks ago now.

In our Cathedral shop there are some lovely little prayer cards – one of which is called ‘A Student’s Prayer’.  I have it on my desk, for the occasions when I can give it to students whom I meet in the cathedral from time to time.  Its words are perhaps written for more ‘normal’ times, but in essence they very much apply now for students in this current situation – with that mix of excitement and, for some, extreme trepidation.  It reads….

This is it, Lord: I’m off to university.  I’ve worked for this.  Essays, revision, exams…

And now, with everything I own packed into a bag, I’m leaving home.  I’m nervous, Lord, and excited.

My world is growing larger, my life more challenging.  I’m leaving behind what I know and understand and stepping into the unknown.

New people await me, new experiences, but something remains, always: you.

Walk with me, Lord.  Amen
 
It is indeed a step into the unknown, especially now.  But it is all an education though, it is all learning – the academic and the experiential; but the latter in a very different way to usual.  But God is still there to be with us and to uphold us, especially when the going gets tough.  The learning from the courses and the experiences is continuous though – much like our faith, much like our daily lives as Christians…..learning from God’s holy word and from seeing God’s work in action in the world around us – in the good and brilliant, and also in the stressful, anxious and sorrowful.  Whatever is happening within our lives, on our planet, God is there in the mix of it all….we saw that in brilliant examples of reaching out and caring for each other in the heart of the lockdown period; we will see it again, as we approach yet another challenging time.

Last Sunday was the 14th Sunday after Trinity; but it was also Education Sunday.  A Sunday chosen in the church calendar (across many different denominations and traditions) as a special day of prayer for all involved across the whole spectrum of education.  In recent times it has been chosen as the second Sunday in September, to coincide with the start of the academic year.  The theme for this year is entitled “A learning people in a time of change”….and how true that is for the current times.

But Christ calls us to continually learn, in times that are always changing; the beauty of holy scripture is how dynamic it is, in being wonderfully applicable in times of change…as it has done over thousands of years, through the mighty upheavals of the past times across the world, as well as in this country.  And still it endures.  That should teach us all something in itself; that the love of God is constant, and is there through all the changing faces of our world and society; how we become the eyes and hands of Jesus through God’s love, in the power of the spirit is what we must continually learn – day in and day out, to love those around us in such changing and challenging times; to adapt accordingly and show the world, that God’s love is there no matter what, for all people and for all time.  That is an education for us all, a lesson for us all, which we should never tire of learning.
 
With my love and prayers for you all, as always; 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.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is from Matthew’s fourth block of Jesus’ teaching. This is the chapter on the relationships among Christians, or life in the church, and is sometimes described as a community rule. While some of the teaching in Matthew’s community rule may seem quite harsh, the dominant message concerns forgiveness.
 
The parable that Matthew places at this point in the community rule is a very powerful one underpinning just why Christian people should be forgiving people. Christians are people who recognise that they have been forgiven so much by God, and consequently they should go on showing forgiveness to others.
 
Matthew makes the point in the parable of the slave who was forgiven a large debt by his master, but then refused himself to forgive a small debt owed to him by one of his fellows. Those who refuse to forgive tend to box themselves into a tight corner.
 
To prepare for this Sunday’s service I invited those of you who want to do some thinking beforehand to focus on the image of the mender. In today’s picture from his book Explorer, Teddy Horsley discovers who has mended the broken shelves in the kitchen.
 
Next week is Harvest Festival in the Cathedral. So next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline in the Cathedral or online at home, is simply Harvest. 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 [email protected].
 
If you’d like to learn more about Teddy Horsley and his writings, visit his website: https://teddyhorsley.org/, or his page on the website of St. Mary’s Centre: http://www.st-marys-centre.org.uk/resources/TeddyHorsley.html.
 
We warmly invite you to join us in worship online here:
​

Teddy Horsley sends his Sunday greetings to all.
 
Canon Leslie

One of the duties that the Dean handed to me once the Cathedral emerged from lockdown was to help set up for the 12.05 weekday Eucharist. Since we opened, these take place now in the Main Space at the Nave Altar, mostly because it’s the most accessible in terms of wheelchair accommodation as well as social distancing precautions.

The practice of celebrating the Eucharist in the Main Space has taken on a new meaning. The main Space is arguably the busiest place in the Cathedral any day of the week. So at the service, it’s common to have people sat down within the barriers for the service, as well as roaming around or standing beyond them. Folks are always welcome to join us, and if I’m standing near the entrance of the barriers (which are there to facilitate social distancing as folks move around the Cathedral), I try to gesture to any and all that they are welcome to come and sit down and participate.

Something special occurs when our liturgy, our expression of our faith and the practices that to which our faith beckons us, is flung in front of the public eye like it is now in the Cathedral. Beyond anything else, I think it’s a mark of our hospitality that we worship centrally in our building and try to make other people, regardless of who they are or where they come from, as welcome as possible in our worship.

But I will make a confession: at first, I was suspicious. It almost felt rude to be doing all of this “religiousy” stuff in a space where during the week, secular tourists and casual visitors enjoy the art and architecture guided by our expert staff and volunteers. I felt as if we were interrupting their fun.

I’ve come to realise that sometimes, God is at his most poignant when He interrupts. Abraham, Moses, even St. Paul all attest to a surprising (and even unwelcome) intrusion by God into their lives that brought them to faith and arguably changed the course of their and our lives entirely. 

Sometimes, that’s absolutely necessary. If we’re sunk in a life that feels like it has no meaning, or is bereft of love, or absolutely overwhelmed by the reality of the sinister chaos that each daily news briefing always seems to bring—the God in whom we believe has the power to interrupt our fear and both show us his love and call us to action.

I will never forget the time I confessed some trepidation leading the noontime prayers and announcing the service at the lectern one day. I said to Dean Sue, "I feel as if I'm interrupting them." Her reply was to, "Remember that they might need to be interrupted."

Liverpool Cathedral is a place of encounter, built by the people, for the people, to the glory of God. We can draw folks in with impressive architecture and scads of history, even a nice cuppa and slice of cake (though not at the moment for the latter unfortunately). But most importantly, we can then show visitors what all the glorious complexity of a Cathedral points to: the reality of God at work in human lives, who has more power than we can comprehend or imagine.

And a God who is never afraid to interrupt us for our own good.

Nelson
Tsedaqah Community Member at Liverpool Cathedral

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.