You are warmly invited to join us for the Eucharist on Christmas Day here: 
​

​

We warmly invite you to join us online for a service of lessons and carols for Christmas Eve here: 

​

I guess I do not have to tell you that it is Christmas Eve, but I do wonder how people will celebrate Christmas this year. For many they will find it difficult to celebrate, having lost loves ones, either to the pandemic or to any number of other illnesses. For others they will find it difficult to celebrate having lost their jobs or their businesses because of COVID 19.
​
Life is hard for many and unfortunately there is an expectation around us to have a fun packed Christmas. I know only too well, from my own life experience how difficult it can be to try and ‘celebrate’ Christmas when you have a sick family member with a terminal diagnosis. There are so many emotions that come to the fore. Memories of past Christmases and present sadness evoke strong emotions.

So this Christmas is going to be hard for so many people with so much loss all around. Many have talked about cancelling Christmas, but Christmas cannot be cancelled. Christmas is after all a religious festival, the festival when we Christians reflect on the significance of the birth of a tiny baby who was destined to change the world.

Jesus was not born into a perfect world. He was born into the darkness of a county occupied by a foreign force. He was born into a world of poverty and of dishonesty; a world of sickness and death. In many ways the world into which he was born is no different from our own world as we face another resurgence of the pandemic and as we face the reality of no longer being part of the European Union.

For us in the Northern hemisphere Christmas comes at the darkest point of the year. Being in the dark is not a good place to be, as we stumble around trying to find a light to be guided by. All of us have experienced darkness in our personal lives – disappointment, failure, sorrow, grief, broken dreams. We also live in a world darkened by greed, violence, tragedy and Covid. But the birth of Christ lights a lamp in our world. Christ is the great light and through his ministry we see light as Christ healed the sick, spoke out for the poor and brought to light the injustices of the world.

The light of Christ continues to shine in our world when we see little act of kindness, when we see the hungry fed through foodbanks, when people speak out for others, and when our world is healed from the ravishes of climate change.

It is Christmas Eve and tomorrow will be Christmas Day, the day when we celebrate the birth of the light of the world. However you celebrate, whether in the dark or in the light, remember that Christ is with you and remember that Liverpool Cathedral will continue to pray for you each day as we continue to walk together from the darkness of Covid to the light of a better world.
 
Heavenly Father we thank you for coming into our darkened world.
We remember before you all who have died from Covid and other illnesses.
We remember all who are living in the darkness of our Covid world.
Grant to them your light, peace and hope this Christmas.
We ask this through our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. 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.

I do love the words of the carol, “Love came down at Christmas” which has perhaps dropped out of common usage these days. Yes, this short, and yet poignant poem by Christina Rossetti, really sums up for me the kernel of the message of Christmas. It reminds me that it was the deep love of God the Father for us his children that prompted him to ask Jesus to come to earth as a human being, and Jesus’ love for us that prompted him to accept that ministry of self-giving. 
​
Yet it is the final verse that especially packs the punch for me:
​
“Love shall be our token,
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and neighbour,
love for prayer and gift and sign.”

In other words, whatever we do at Christmas, as we celebrate God’s love coming among us, Emmanuel, should prompt us to show love for one another not just in terms of warm feelings but of actions that make a difference in our troubled world. This came home to me so powerfully ten years ago, almost to the day.

At the time, I was Vicar of a city-centre church on the other side of the Pennines. The end of 2010 was a terribly bitter affair, with heavy snow in late November and thick ice on the pavements for weeks on end. In the run-up to Christmas, night-time temperatures were down to as low as -13°C, and with a nithering wind-chill to boot. Near to the church were a couple of hostels for men who were homeless. They were not exactly the Ritz, but at least offered a warm and dry bed for the night, plus a hot evening meal and breakfast. We used to see quite a few of these men wondering into our church during the day-times, looking for some (relative!) warmth and somewhere for a hot drink and snack. Two of these were Mike and John (not their real names). They seemed to look out for each other, and were both in the same hostel. But Mike had got into several fights at the hostel and was on a final warning. The next time he started with the agro he would be out straight away. Fair enough – the hostel needed to be safe for everyone else. One morning, though, they both came into church absolutely frozen, dishevelled and damp. They were starving and ashen white. It turned out that, the previous evening, Mike had started a punch-up and was thrown out in the middle of the night back onto the streets, into the bitter weather. John had been fast asleep in his room, but was woken by the commotion outside. Mike had gone by the time that John got into the corridor. What happened next was remarkable. John put his outer clothes back on, stuffed his meagre belongings into his carrier bag and checked out of the hostel, giving up the chance of a dry and warm bed and hot breakfast. As he said, he couldn’t leave Mike outside on a night like this to fend for himself. John went and eventually found Mike in a doorway shivering. And there the two of them huddled together to try and share what warmth they had.

When I heard this the following morning I was stopped in my tracks. Utterly, utterly amazing. I had been preaching for years about what love is and trying to fathom its depths; yet in one truly self-sacrificial gesture, John had shown me a stunning example of what true love is – love in action. I found myself questioning whether I would have given up my place in a warm and dry hostel, to head into the inevitable misery and danger of such a night.

At this Cathedral, we desire that everyone who comes into our courts (physically or virtually!) will indeed encounter the God who knows them and loves them. No more so is that true than at Christmas. And this Christmas of all Christmasses. We also pray that people would find ways to respond to that love, by receiving it in their lives, and also to share that love with those around them, and especially those whom they find it hard to love. We may not be asked to do what John did for Mike, but God surely asks us to be open to that kind of self-sacrificial love which came down to us at that first Christmas, a love which is made evident in action; in “prayer and gift and sign.”

May you all have a peaceful Christmas and a hope-filled New Year, and bring some peace and hope to others too.

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.

​Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent when we light the last of the purple candles that adorn the Advent wreath. Christmas has not yet arrived. The purple candle and the purple vestments remind us of the penitential mood of the Advent season. The Advent theme of keeping watch, keeping awake, keeping ready for the Lord’s coming is still ringing clearly in our ears.
 
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, the reading from Luke’s Gospel focuses attention on Mary, the mother of Jesus. As the season of Advent draws to a close, we are invited to prepare alongside Mary to welcome Jesus afresh into our world on Christmas Day. In Luke’s account, the news of Jesus’ conception is brought to Mary by the angel Gabriel. Mary’s response is positive and direct: ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ We are reminded of the Annunciation by the inspiring icon in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.
 

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 Nativity stable. As Mary prepared for the birth of Jesus, so we prepare our homes and churches by re-enacting the Nativity, and the stable is an important reminder of the kind of world into which Jesus was born. In today’s picture, from their book Christmas crib service, Aled and Sian are preparing the stable in their local church.
 
On Christmas Day, the Gospel theme turns attention to Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus that gives prominence to the shepherds who leave their sheep in order to greet the Holy Family. The image to help us prepare for Christmas Day is the shepherds.  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 Christmas Crib Service and other adventures with Aled and Sian, please visit the following 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 send their Sunday greetings to all.
 
Canon Leslie

When I was about to move to 2 Cathedral Close nearly ten years ago, Canon Richard and Louise who lived next door asked me about the silver birch tree which is shared between our two back gardens. It had got a little out of hand, and they hoped I would be happy for it to be pruned. I was more than happy for this to happen and it was duly scalped. It has certainly grown back with a vengeance in the intervening years. The first photo hardly does it justice, but at this time of year, it is not much to look at – a bit like the present Precentor! It comes to its full glory in late spring and is one of the last of the trees to shed its leaves in the autumn.

When I first contemplated moving in retirement, I thought how much I was going to miss the various views from this house - the River Mersey, the Welsh hills, and indeed this silver birch as it marks the seasons each year.

The house to which I move in January is literally just around the corner. It doesn’t offer views of the river, nor of the hills of Wales,  but from one of the windows in the main living room, I will still be able to see the Silver Birch in the garden here. From the other window, there are more trees. The second photo was taken a few weeks ago during the autumn.

I dare to hope that these two views which will be there for me as I retire from stipendiary ministry will help me to look back with thankfulness for so many wonderful years here at the Cathedral and in the parishes of the diocese too. So many lives and experiences have enriched my own, and for this I shall always be grateful. But I hope that the view from the other window will help me to look forward, to press on in the knowledge that with God our Creator and Redeemer, who years to make all things new, the best is always yet to be, and God’s mercy is renewed with each returning day. Thanks be to God!
 
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.

Well, the above photo could be one used in an amusing caption competition or similar; and it has made us all smile as we have entered the vestry in the cathedral recently!  For those who may not be able to see it so well, the photo is of a wooden crate with its lid off.  Inside all one can see is straw.  Handwritten on the side of the crate are the words “Baby Jesus – do not remove!”  The photo clearly shows that Baby Jesus has most definitely been removed and is no longer in the crate!  Oh dear!  Ah but worry not – that’s because Baby Jesus is safely in our crib within the cathedral – our crib which was blessed last Sunday; one of a number of nativity scenes around the cathedral reminding us of this most special time of year.  Scenes which, even with the current restrictions, have many families visiting just to see the cribs, the trees and all the cathedral can offer this year – in a safe and secure way.  It is different and yet the same….in that Baby Jesus definitely hasn’t been removed!
​
But as well as the smiles and the amusement behind such writing on an empty box, the words also spoke to me about ourselves, and where Jesus is for each of us.  This time of Advent allows us to reflect upon such things, as well as busily prepare ourselves for the Christmas services and festivities.  As I said in my homily on Sunday – what do we see as to where Jesus is?  What do we see as Christian disciples when we have the love of God, the power of the spirit – and the Baby Jesus in our hearts and minds….as we should do if we invite him to be with us?  That we, like Mary and Joseph might cradle him in our arms – a tiny infant, so fragile and delicate – yet so powerful and wonderful.  What do others see in us, if we invite Jesus in – if we look beyond the historical and into the world of the faithful.  What do we see in others in their needs and requirements – can we see as Jesus grew up to see….to see the injustices and the wrongs?  What do others see in us, if we truly have Baby Jesus within every fibre of our being – can we act as he grew to act; with gentleness, kindness, compassion and love?

The title I’ve chosen for this piece may sound a little out of place from what I’ve just written or read.  “The Kingdom of God has come near….” It is taken from Luke chapter 10, verse 9 – and is one of my favourite verses.  It is part of the directive Jesus is giving to his disciples as he sends them out into the towns and villages – to heal the sick who are there and tell the people, the Kingdom of God has come near to you.  There are many different ways of interpreting this – but one I particularly like and always have in my own mind, is not something to do with time, but with space.  That in coming to the people of the town, the Kingdom of God has indeed come physically near to them….by what they as disciples say and do; bringing the love of God, the power of the spirit – and that Baby Jesus within each of them.  For Jesus is with them – and as such, so is God’s Kingdom.  When they are there, the Kingdom of God has indeed come near.

And this is the power that God gives each of us – at this time, at all times.  The power to freely invite the Baby Jesus once more into our lives, to ask the Spirit to be with us and work through us, to pass on the love of God by who we are…..it is a mission for each of us; a charge for each of us – as special and as precious as the Baby Jesus himself.  So much so, that our own words should cry out from our hearts – Baby Jesus within…..do not remove! 

May we, even in these troubled times, invite the Baby Jesus once more into our hearts and minds.  May he become afresh an integral part of our daily lives – that we cry out from deep within ourselves “DO NOT REMOVE”!  For with him there, wherever we are with others, the Kingdom of God does indeed, in small way, come near to those we are with.  For which we give thanks and praise to God.

Since this is the last reflection of mine before the glorious feast of Christmas – may I take the liberty of wishing you personally a Very Happy, Holy and as safe a Christmas as possible. 

With my love and prayers for you all; God bless you and go gently.
 
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 is the third Sunday of Advent when we light the pink candle that adorns the Advent wreath. The Advent theme of keeping watch, keeping awake, keeping ready for the Lord’s coming is now well established. Last Sunday on the Second Sunday of Advent the Gospel reading from Mark’s Gospel introduced John the Baptist, the messenger, the forerunner, the one who came crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ Last week when we lit the second purple candle on the Advent wreath we thought of John the Baptist stepping out into the limelight to prepare the way for Jesus.
 
This Sunday, on the third Sunday of Advent, the Gospel reading from John’s Gospel keeps attention on John the Baptist, but today the emphasis is more clearly placed on defining the relationship between John and Jesus. Today John’s message is clear that he is not the Messiah. Moreover, John’s role was not to draw attention to himself, but to draw attention to the one to whom he points. Today as we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath, we think of John stepping back into the shadows, leaving the light to shine on Jesus.
 
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 making presents. The image reminded us that John’s job was to direct attention away from himself and toward the one who comes after him. This was John’s present to Jesus, as he stepped into the background to bring Jesus into the foreground. In today’s picture, in their book The Present, Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear wrap the present that they have made with bright ribbon.
 
Next Sunday, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Gospel theme turns attention to Mary as she prepares for the birth of Jesus. The image to help us prepare for the fourth Sunday of Advent is the Nativity stable. 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.
 
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 and Betsy Bear send their Sunday greetings to all.
 
Canon Leslie

On December 10 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations, at its General Assembly. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document that sets out the rights which everyone is entitled to as human beings – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status (www.un.org). The document has been translated into more than 500 languages.

This year, the theme for today’s Human Rights Day is: Recover better – Stand Up for Human Rights. The theme has been developed to take account of the COVID 19 pandemic and the implications of the pandemic for the most vulnerable and poor in our society and in our world. As we are aware the pandemic has shown how the most vulnerable in our world have been affected. The elderly in our own country and the care offered to them have been affected deeply as COVID 19 spread through our care homes and deaths among the elderly rose. Likewise people from the Black and Asian community have been badly affected as we saw COVID 19 take the lives of many Black and Asian frontline workers. Those who live in poverty, who don’t have the basic necessities, have also been badly hit as the numbers of people using Foodbanks has risen and deaths have occurred among the poorer parts of our country in disproportionate numbers  in relation to the rest of the country.

The United Nations clearly states on their web-site (www.un.org) that human rights must be at the centre of the post COVID 19 world: 

Human Rights must be at the centre of the post COVID-19 world
The COVID-19 crisis has been fuelled by deepening poverty, rising inequalities, structural and entrenched discrimination and other gaps in human rights protection. Only measures to close these gaps and advance human rights can ensure we fully recover and build back a world that is better, more resilient, just, and sustainable.

• End discrimination of any kind: Structural discrimination and racism have fuelled the COVID-19 crisis. Equality and non-discrimination are core requirements for a post-COVID world.
• Address inequalities: To recover from the crisis, we must also address the inequality pandemic. For that, we need to promote and protect economic, social, and cultural rights. We need a new social contract for a new era.
• Encourage participation and solidarity: We are all in this together. From individuals to governments, from civil society and grass-roots communities to the private sector, everyone has a role in building a post-COVID world that is better for present and future generations. We need to ensure the voices of the most affected and vulnerable inform the recovery efforts.
• Promote sustainable development: We need sustainable development for people and planet. Human rights, the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement are the cornerstone of a recovery that leaves no one behind.

 
As Christians we cannot but agree with the UN’s call for Human Rights to be at the centre of a post COVID 19 world.  We are called by God to respect the Human Rights of all people. We are also called to address the inequalities in our world and to respect every living creature created by God. As is stated in the letter to the Galatians:

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

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.

​When our fabulous Director of Music very kindly invited me to choose the music for my installation as a Lay Canon, alongside Canons Saro and Mike, my mind immediately turned to a carol anthem which has resonated with me since the first Christmas I spent as a volunteer in the Music Department nearly thirty years ago:

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance;

Christmas at Liverpool Cathedral has always held a special place in my heart as a result of that Christmas all those years ago, my first duty as a Music Department volunteer was making endless egg buns and heating sausage rolls (under the tutelage of the much loved and missed Music Department Administrator, Eleanor Wright), for the annual reception for the choir community after the Christmas Recital, as it was then, and so began my journey with generations of musicians, singers, and of course, the children and their families, many of whom I now rate as the people I most value and trust in my life.

We have always been very proud of the way we celebrate Christmas at Liverpool Cathedral; using the ceremonies established by Dean Dwelly in the 1930s and 1940s, with his now well documented liturgical creativity, the lighting of the tree and blessing of the crib (not the other way round, as is sometimes said!) and the Holly Bough Carol Service, both now preceded by the dramatic, Darkness to Light Advent Procession, so well designed by Ian Tracey and Dean Walters in the 1980s, is a tradition we can all be rightly proud of. 

Of course Christmas 2020 will be slightly different and the music community are desperately sad not to be looking forward to singing to the usual thousands of people whom we welcome to the many Christmas concerts and services during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Choristers across the land can’t believe Christmas will be Christmas without accompanying hundreds or thousands of people singing that famous section which means Christmas really has begun…..

Canon Nick Basson

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.