United Benefice of Altham and Clayton-le-Moors
Liturgy of Good Friday
After the initial welcome silence is kept
Collect
Eternal God,
in the cross of Jesus
we see the cost of our sin
and the depth of your love:
in humble hope and fear
may we place at his feet
all that we have and all that we are,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
First Reading
Isaiah 52:13-53:end
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him[c]—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God.
Second Reading
Hebrews 10:16-25
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
Hymn
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Passion Gospel
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”[a]
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Silence followed by words of reflection
We focus on the cross
This is the wood of the cross,
on which hung the Saviour of the world.
All: Come, let us worship.
You are worthy, O Lamb, for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and nation;
you have made them to be a kingdom and priests
serving our God.
All: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
and made us a kingdom of priests
to stand and serve before our God;
All to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honour, glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn
My song is love unknown
My Saviour’s love to me
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be
O who am I
That for my sake
My Lord should take
Frail flesh and die.
He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow
But men made strange and none
The longed-for Christ would know
But O my Friend
My Friend indeed
Who at my need
His life did spend.
Sometimes they strew His way
And His sweet praises sing
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King
Then Crucify
Is all their breath
And for His death
They thirst and cry.
They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away
A murderer they save
The Prince of Life they slay
Yet cheerful He
To suffering goes
That He His foes
From thence might free.
In life no house no home
My Lord on earth might have
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave
What may I say
Heaven was His home
But mine the tomb
Wherein He lay.
Here might I stay and sing
No story so divine
Never was love dear King
Never was grief like Thine
This is my Friend
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend
Prayers of intercession
The response to the biddings is
Lord hear us
All Lord, graciously hear us
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father...
Hymn
Jesus Lover of my soul
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While the nearer waters roll
While the tempest still is high
Hide me O my Saviour hide
Till the storm of life is past
Safe into the haven guide
Oh receive my soul at last
Other refuge have I none
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee
Leave ah leave me not alone
Still support and comfort me
All my trust on Thee is stayed
All my help from Thee I bring
Cover my defenceless head
With the shadow of Thy wing
Plenteous grace with Thee is found
Grace to cover all my sin
Let the healing streams abound
Make and keep me pure within
Thou of life the Fountain art
Freely let me take of Thee
Spring Thou up within my heart
Rise to all eternity
Final prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
set your passion, cross and death
between your judgement and our souls,
now and in the hour of our death.
Grant mercy and grace to the living,
rest to the departed,
to your Church peace and concord
and to us sinners forgiveness,
and everlasting life and glory,
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit
you are alive and reign,
God, now and for ever.
All: Amen.
Copyright
Common Worship is (c) Copyright Archbishops Council of the Church of England.
How deep the Father’s love by Stewart Townsend is (c) Copyright 1995 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music and is reproduced under CCL licence 206171
A Reflection. Archdeacon Mark Ireland
“Return from Exile: the Challenge for the Church”
Now that the lockdown has been extended for at least three more weeks, it is a good time to begin to reflect on what we have learned during this strange period of social isolation, and how we might do things differently when we are able to reopen our church buildings and resume gathering for public worship. The experience of the Israelites in exile in the 6th century BC is a good starting point for our reflection. Not that we have been carried off into exile by an invading army, but like the Israelites we have had a significant experience of dislocation and isolation and been cut off from our usual place(s) of worship.
When the Israelites first went into exile following the destruction of the temple they had a massive sense of dislocation and loss – ‘How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’ (Psalm 137.4) However as the years went by the experience of exile turned out to have many positives – they re-engaged with their founding stories, they repented and turned away from idols, they studied the law and wrote down much of the Old Testament in its present form. And when in time Cyrus allowed the Israelites to return to the Promised Land, the trickle back was fairly slow – it seems to have taken at least a century.
The returning Israelites were also less attached to their central shrine – it took the prophet Haggai to challenge the Israelites to focus on rebuilding the temple, rather than on re-establishing their home and family life: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: These people say, “The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.” Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’ (Haggai 1.2-4)
Our own experience of exile through the coronavirus pandemic began with a massive sense of dislocation and loss. Many of us found it hard to imagine a country in which no church buildings were open and Easter had to be celebrated at home in social isolation. Yet this side of Easter we can recognise that there have been some significant positives to weigh alongside the loss. The challenge for us now is to think about how we might hold onto those positives as we begin to plan for our return from exile. The world around us has changed in many ways for good (perhaps in both senses of the word) and if we simply try to resume doing things in the old way, we may find that the world has moved on, and that we have failed to learn from the painful experience of recent weeks.
For all that the Israelites must have returned to the promised land with high hopes, they soon discovered that rebuilding their lives and the life of the nation was a hard slog, which led to a spirit of resignation and apathy that continued into the time of Malachi. I suspect that many in our communities will emerge from this pandemic battered, bruised and disillusioned, and (as so often happens) looking for someone to blame. It may be that we can only inspire people to look forward to ‘What now?’ when we have given them the chance to properly lament the trauma and loss that they have experienced, and to grieve for the loss of loved ones. The restrictions on attendance at funerals will leave issues of grief unexpressed or unresolved that may take months to work through. Scripture provides a rich language of lament and grief; allowing space for such feelings to be expressed will be important before many are ready to move forward and rebuild.
However alongside this weariness there is also unparalleled opportunity presented by this current crisis. Amid the fear and trauma there is a resurrection of community spirit and a rejection of selfishness as socially unacceptable – witness the Thursday evening claps for the NHS and the amazing response to 99-year old veteran Captain Tom’s fundraiser. As Pete Grieg (founder of the 24/7 prayer movement) has commented, ‘Our friends and neighbours are asking questions because everything is shaking and suddenly the claims of the Gospel are making more sense than ever before.’ Many in lockdown have time on their hands and are beginning to search online for deeper answers to the questions of existence and purpose. This is seen both in the large numbers accessing online worship who are not church members, and where churches are finding ways to do enquirers’ groups or small groups online, the significant numbers of new faces who are asking to join in.
Return from exile involves both hard work and new opportunity. The prophet Haggai challenged the Israelites to some hard thinking, changed priorities and energetic rebuilding as they returned from exile. However he also promised them God’s active presence among them, so that they need not be afraid, ‘But now be strong O Zerubbabel…Be strong all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you…and my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ (Haggai 2.4-5)
Interestingly the rebuilt temple seems to have been much more modestly built than the one before the exile – ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now…?’ (Haggai 2.3) and yet God promises his people that his glory will be seen more powerfully in the modest structures of the future than the great edifices of the past. And he offered them the chance to have a part in realising God’s greater purpose. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘And in this place I will grant peace.’ (2.9)
Financial resources for the Church’s mission may be tight as economy contracts and churches recover from the loss of cash income during the lockdown, but in God’s economy the Church is strong when it seems weak. The Early Church won the battle of ideas against the might of Rome not because it had power or wealth, but because it showed love to the poor. In recent days some of those newspapers that have been most hostile to the church and organised religion have begun to take a very different tone as they have seen how local churches have cared for the poor and the sick and the dying in this time of pandemic.
So as we prepare for life after lockdown, in what ways might God be wanting to challenge us as a Church to change for good? Here are some questions which I find deeply challenging, which you may like to ponder with your church’s leadership:
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Resources for Children & Young People
Resources for children and young people
Our Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) staff are continuing to produce some outstanding resources that can be used by parents at home.
Keeping children safe online
The Home Office has published advice and guidance to help parents and carers keep children safe online during the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance includes links to resources, including NSPCC resources, providing advice as well as information on: specific harms which children can experience online; child sexual abuse; radicalising content; sexting; age appropriate content; and suicide content. Includes links to services and resources, including Childline, which provide advice and support.
Read the guidance: Coronavirus (COVID-19): support for parents and carers to keep children safe online
Read NSPCC coronavirus advice: Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers
Visit Childline website: Coronavirus
‘Eastertime’ reflection – the Revd Nick McKee.
‘Eastertime’ reflection by Director of Vocations, the Revd Nick McKee.
Easter People
In the midst of coronavirus, this Easter has been both eventful and yet empty of almost all the usual Easter events. As Christians our Holy Week preparations and Easter celebrations have been derailed and disrupted in ways that none of us could ever have imagined.
Even the wider non-Christian world has found the expected Easter rhythm of feasting with family and friends, holidaying and, of course, eating vast quantities of chocolate stopped in its tracks in unimaginable ways. What do we make of our Easter faith in these distressing times?
Many years ago I went to a Christian festival called Easter People and since then I’ve always liked the idea of being ‘Easter people’, not because of the event but because as Christians we are people who live life in the bright light of the resurrection of Jesus and that changes everything. Through his resurrection we know that Jesus really is who he says he is, we know that we can be forgiven and we also know that death does not have the final word, so we can live free from the fear of death. These are the claims of Easter people like me and they fire my life, but coronavirus does not simply derail and disrupt our Easter celebrations, it brings into sharp focus these Easter claims. The first coronavirus death close to me was a fit healthy young man in his mid-20s, the second to touch my life was a man in his 60s, the third a woman also in her 60s. I do not know who the fourth, fifth or sixth will be but, unless there is a miracle, I know they will come. In the midst of so many deaths from coronavirus, claims about death not having the final word or of living free from the fear of death become challenging truths to live out and live by because it needs to be done in a way that is honest about the pain of this broken world.
Perhaps a personal example will help to explain what I mean? My father died some years ago. The brokenness of this world took its toll on him and he was not perfect, but he had a persistent Christian faith all his life. He had been ill for many years and so in many ways his death was a merciful release because I knew what lay in store for him beyond this life. Death did not have the final word for him and I was not afraid of his dying, but that did not stop the pain of being parted from him and I wept and grieved deeply at his death. I have complete, confident hope in the power of Christ’s resurrection to bring new life to my father, but I was honest about my loss and I grieved.
This Easter, I’m still an Easter person. I’m still utterly confident of the truth, hope and power of the resurrection of Jesus but I am also determined to be honest about the pain and loss coronavirus is bringing into this broken world. We know how this story ends, we know that Jesus is victorious, but this chapter is a hard one to live through and we would do well to have the imagination and courage to be honest about the grief that is casting its shadow on this particular Easter season. In doing so we can allow the bright light of Jesus’ resurrection to fire us, so that we can be Easter people sharing his hope with a world experiencing so much disruption and distress.
Revd Toby’s Newsletter
Dear friends
I hope that you are keeping well both physically, emotionally and spiritually in these testing times. In many ways we are simply called to obey a simple instruction – stay at home and save lives. But suddenly being separated from physical contact with loved ones (including our church family) is hard. Staying in all the time can get very claustrophobic, all the more so if you have a small home and no or very limited outdoor space. Suddenly being with our nearest and dearest 24/7 can try our nerves. And we can all fear and worry what will happen to us, and what will happen to our loved ones should we or they catch COVID-19. Sadly, we will all know people who will get it, and very sadly we will all know people who will get seriously ill, and in some cases die.
If you are struggling in any way with any aspect of this, PLEASE don’t struggle alone. If you’re struggling with practical tasks, ask and we will put you in touch with someone who could help. If you’re struggling with the isolation or could just do with a chat, please pick up the phone. Your clergy are actually less ‘busy’ than normal at present, with the usual run of activities, meetings and so on suspended. Of course, there is childcare to juggle, and you may need to leave a message. But do so and I’d be delighted to call you back.
I am writing this letter as we enter Holy Week and Easter. In this week, we plumb the depths of our human callousness and rejection of God – and the immensity of God’s love. We know the Christ who reveals himself most powerfully in giving up his life for us on the cross. And from that unconditional sacrifice of self, God raised him to new life, and opened for us the gates of his everlasting kingdom. That kingdom life we can share now by the Spirit, even as we wait for the day when it comes in its fullness, when death, disease, hatred and sin are forever gone and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Holy Week and Easter will be very different this year, but many of us will have more time to be with the Lord in prayer and reflection, united in spirit with Christians around the world. As many of you have discovered, I am doing what I can to make Sunday and Holy Week services available via the internet as well as daily prayer. The principal services for Holy Week will be:
Maundy Thursday 8:15pm
Good Friday 10:45am families, 11am Way of the Cross, 2pm Good Friday Liturgy
Easter Day 10:45am families, 11am Eucharist
You can find all this at www.facebook.com/allsaintsclayton . You don’t need a Facebook account to access the page or view the videos. You can either watch live or catch up once they’ve finished. The 11am service on Good Friday will be special as many individuals have recorded themselves reading lessons or reflections.
If you go to the All Saints’ website www.allsaintsclaytonlemoors.org you will find the orders of service for the main services, together with the readings and prayers for each Sunday.
You can also find services on BBC Radio every Sunday and there will be religious broadcasting on the TV over Easter as well as lots of material on line.
I pray that when Easter comes, despite the fact that we won’t be in church singing Alleluia, despite the fact that we won’t be gathering with family or watching children hunt for eggs in the garden or any of the other things we’re used to, we will still know the joy in our hearts of the truth that Christ is risen, that love has conquered, that ultimately there is nothing to fear.
With my love and prayers, now as always
Toby
A pastoral message from the Bishop of Blackburn:-
It is extraordinary that a virus that was unknown until very recently and that is unseen to the naked eye, has been able to have so much impact on so many people in such a short space of time and at so many levels of our national and international way of life.
Schools forced to close, acts of Christian worship suspended, workplaces shut down, restrictions advised on travel, unprecedented pressure on our NHS, calls for self-isolation. Who can imagine a Holy Week and Easter, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus; events at the centre of our faith, without public gatherings of worship, meditation, celebration and prayer?
Into this crisis Christians bring a positive emphasis of hope. Church is not cancelled; we continue, but in a different way. Faith can be lived out and expressed in our homes through prayer and study together.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy 2.9, he speaks of his suffering in prison, being chained like a criminal, locked down and then declares:
“But God’s Word is not chained, the work of God goes on relentlessly. The gates of hell cannot prevail!”
Of course, in a crisis opportunities to serve and help are multiplied. A recent visit to the Blackburn Foodbank showed me a band of wonderful volunteers making up food parcels for collection.
In the slow down, there will be new time for rethinking and re-evaluating our priorities in life.
This outbreak is a solemn reminder that we are not in control of our present, or our future and my prayer is that it will lead to a fresh turning to God, to a new awakening of faith and over the Easter period a deeper appreciation of Jesus’ death and resurrection. That using the familiar words of the baptism and confirmation service, sees many turn to Him, submit to Him and come to Him, as the way, the truth and the life.
The disciple Peter said to Jesus when the crowds were leaving Him, “To whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” He does indeed. May in this crisis many find that to be true.
A message for everyone!
‘Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults is the responsibility of every one of us.’ ( Blackburn Diocesan website).
Please don’t switch off yet! Read on…. With all the high profile historic safeguarding incidence which have come to light within religious institutions, it is only correct that steps have and are being taken to tighten up on ‘safeguarding’ in our churches.
As part of the church’s measures we have a duty to follow ‘The House of Bishops’ guidance, to encourage those with responsibilities to complete the church’s safeguarding training. This is so we have a common Christian approach, and all work towards creating a safe non-discriminatory environment by being aware of situations which can create vulnerability; and being able to recognise and respond to abuse appropriately.
So, Blackburn Diocese offers a variety of training to meet its churches’ needs.
Safeguarding training is open to anyone and is free.
There are three main levels of training; –
To complete the online courses or to book a Leadership course go to the website
‘Safeguarding’ training needs to be updated every three years as new legislation and changes happen frequently in this area. The last training which took place in church and which many of you attended was on the 27th February 2017, so it is time for some of us to renew our training; which for most involved will mean completing the Foundation course online. If you are unsure, just ask! Please could those of you who have roles and responsibilities, if you are due to update your training, let me know when you have completed it as I am required to keep a data base. (It may give you something to do if you need to self – isolate!) Thank you.
To find out more about Safeguarding see the notice board as you enter church, when we are able to do so, or visit our website, where you will find all the vital information, including important contact numbers and advice.
Elaine Lockwood Safeguarding Officer.
On-line worship times via Facebook live
Opportunities for All Saints’ Families to join together for worship via Facebook Live.
Monday – Night Prayer at 9:30
Tuesday – Night Prayer at 9:30.
Wednesday: Morning Prayer and Litany at 10:00am and Night Prayer at 9:30pm.
Thursday – Night Prayer at 9:30pm
Friday – Morning Prayer and Litany at 10:00am and Friday Praise at 6:30pm.
Saturday – Night Prayer at 9:30pm.
Sunday – 10:45am Short Children’s service. 11:00am Prayers and Litany. Night Prayer 9:30pm.
We hope that this will provide one way for us to join together virtually whilst we can’t join together
physically.
Prayers for this difficult time
Prayers during the coronavirus pandemic
God of all hope we call on you today.
We pray for those who are living in fear:
Fear of illness, fear for loved ones, fear of other’s reactions to them.
May your Spirit give us a sense of calmness and peace.
We pray for your church in this time of uncertainty.
For those people who are worried about attending worship.
For those needing to make decisions in order to care for other
For those who will feel more isolated by not being able to attend.
Grant us your wisdom.
Holy God, we remember that you have promised that
Nothing will separate us from your love – demonstrated to us in Jesus Christ.
Help us turn our eyes, hearts and minds to you.
Amen
Loving God,
If we are ill, strengthen us.
If we are tired, fortify our spirits.
If we are anxious, help us to consider the lillies of the field and the birds of the air.
Help us not to stockpile treasures from supermarkets in the barns of our larders.
Don’t let fear cause us to overlook the needs of others more vulnerable than ourselves.
Fix our eyes on your story and our hearts on your grace.
Help us always to hold fast to the good,
See the good in others,
And remember there is just one world, one hope,
One everlasting love, with baskets of bread for everyone.
In Jesus we make our prayer,
The one who suffered, died and was raised to new life,
In whom we trust these days and all days,
Amen.
The Revd Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference
A prayer for the world
God of love and hope,
you made the world and care for all creation,
but the world feels strange right now.
The news is full of stories about Coronavirus.
Some people are worried that they might get ill.
Others are anxious for their family and friends.
Be with them and help them to find peace.
We pray for the doctors and nurses and scientists,
and all who are working to discover the right medicines
to help those who are ill.
Thank you that even in these anxious times,
you are with us.
Help us to put our trust in you and keep us safe.
Amen.
A prayer at bedtime
Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That you, with steadfast love, would keep
Your watch around us while we sleep.
Tonight we pray especially for (names family or friends who are affected by Coronavirus) and the people of (country or place which is affected by Coronavirus).
Please give skill and wisdom to all who are caring for them.
Amen.
A prayer remembering God is with us
Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.
Personal prayers
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your disciples,
‘I am with you always’.
Be with me today, as I offer myself to you.
Hear my prayers for others and for myself,
and keep me in your care.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
from St Patrick’s Breastplate
I am giving you worship with all my life,
I am giving you obedience with all my power,
I am giving you praise with all my strength,
I am giving you honour with all my speech.
I am giving you love with all my heart,
I am giving you affection with all my sense,
I am giving you my being with all my mind,
I am giving you my soul, O most high and holy God.
Praise to the Father,
Praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit,
The Three in One.
adapted from Alexander Carmichael,
Carmina Gadelica (1900)
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Jesus Prayer
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Common Worship
Be with us, Lord, in all our prayers,
and direct our way toward the attainment of salvation,
that among the changes and chances of this mortal life,
we may always be defended by your gracious help,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Common Worship
O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
St Benedict
Before going to sleep
God our Father, by whose mercy
the world turns safely into darkness and returns again to light:
we place in your hands our unfinished tasks,
our unsolved problems, and our unfulfilled hopes,
knowing that only what you bless will prosper.
To your love and protection
we commit each other and all those we love,
knowing that you alone are our sure defender,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Church of South India
Prayers for this difficult time
A prayer for the world
God of love and hope,
you made the world and care for all creation,
but the world feels strange right now.
The news is full of stories about Coronavirus.
Some people are worried that they might get ill.
Others are anxious for their family and friends.
Be with them and help them to find peace.
We pray for the doctors and nurses and scientists,
and all who are working to discover the right medicines
to help those who are ill.
Thank you that even in these anxious times,
you are with us.
Help us to put our trust in you and keep us safe.
Amen.
A prayer at bedtime
Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That you, with steadfast love, would keep
Your watch around us while we sleep.
Tonight we pray especially for (names family or friends who are affected by Coronavirus) and the people of (country or place which is affected by Coronavirus).
Please give skill and wisdom to all who are caring for them.
Amen.
A prayer remembering God is with us
Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.
Personal prayers
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your disciples,
‘I am with you always’.
Be with me today, as I offer myself to you.
Hear my prayers for others and for myself,
and keep me in your care.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
from St Patrick’s Breastplate
I am giving you worship with all my life,
I am giving you obedience with all my power,
I am giving you praise with all my strength,
I am giving you honour with all my speech.
I am giving you love with all my heart,
I am giving you affection with all my sense,
I am giving you my being with all my mind,
I am giving you my soul, O most high and holy God.
Praise to the Father,
Praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit,
The Three in One.
adapted from Alexander Carmichael,
Carmina Gadelica (1900)
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Jesus Prayer
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Common Worship
Be with us, Lord, in all our prayers,
and direct our way toward the attainment of salvation,
that among the changes and chances of this mortal life,
we may always be defended by your gracious help,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Common Worship
O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
St Benedict
Before going to sleep
God our Father, by whose mercy
the world turns safely into darkness and returns again to light:
we place in your hands our unfinished tasks,
our unsolved problems, and our unfulfilled hopes,
knowing that only what you bless will prosper.
To your love and protection
we commit each other and all those we love,
knowing that you alone are our sure defender,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Church of South India
Prayers in a time of coronavirus
Love never fails
Even in the darkest moments, love gives hope.
Love compels us to fight against coronavirus alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty.
Love compels us to stand together in prayer with our neighbours near and far.
Love compels us to give and act as one.
Now, it is clear that our futures are bound together more tightly than ever before.
As we pray in our individual homes – around the nation and around the world – we are united as one family.
So, let us pause and find a moment of peace, as we lift up our hearts together in prayer
Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession
For the health workers tending the seriously ill
for the scientists working on a vaccination
for the researchers analysing data and identifying trends
for the media outlets working to communicate reality
for the supermarket workers, hygiene and sanitation providers
for the good news stories of recoveries and effective planning
for the singing from balconies by locked-down communities
for the recognition that isolation doesn’t need to mean loneliness
for the notes through letterboxes offering help and support
for the internet and telephones and technology that connects
for the awakened appreciation of what is truly important
Thanks be to God.
For those who are unwell and concerned for loved ones
for those who were already very anxious
for those immune suppressed or compromised
for those vulnerable because of underlying conditions
for those in the ‘most at risk to coronavirus’ categories
for those watching their entire income stream dry up
for those who have no choice but to go out to work
for those who are afraid to be at home
for those who are more lonely than they’ve ever been
for those who are bereaved and grieving.
God be their healer, comfort and protection,
be their strength, shield and provision
be their security, safety and close companion
And raise up your Church
to be your well-washed hands and faithful feet
to be present to the pain
to respond with love in action
if even from a safe distance.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
From Christian Aid website
2:00pm – Liturgy for Good Friday
United Benefice of Altham and Clayton-le-Moors
Liturgy of Good Friday
After the initial welcome silence is kept
Collect
Eternal God,
in the cross of Jesus
we see the cost of our sin
and the depth of your love:
in humble hope and fear
may we place at his feet
all that we have and all that we are,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
First Reading
Isaiah 52:13-53:end
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him[c]—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God.
Second Reading
Hebrews 10:16-25
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
Hymn
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Passion Gospel
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”[a]
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Silence followed by words of reflection
We focus on the cross
This is the wood of the cross,
on which hung the Saviour of the world.
All: Come, let us worship.
You are worthy, O Lamb, for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and nation;
you have made them to be a kingdom and priests
serving our God.
All: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
and made us a kingdom of priests
to stand and serve before our God;
All to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honour, glory and might,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn
My song is love unknown
My Saviour’s love to me
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be
O who am I
That for my sake
My Lord should take
Frail flesh and die.
He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow
But men made strange and none
The longed-for Christ would know
But O my Friend
My Friend indeed
Who at my need
His life did spend.
Sometimes they strew His way
And His sweet praises sing
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King
Then Crucify
Is all their breath
And for His death
They thirst and cry.
They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away
A murderer they save
The Prince of Life they slay
Yet cheerful He
To suffering goes
That He His foes
From thence might free.
In life no house no home
My Lord on earth might have
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave
What may I say
Heaven was His home
But mine the tomb
Wherein He lay.
Here might I stay and sing
No story so divine
Never was love dear King
Never was grief like Thine
This is my Friend
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend
Prayers of intercession
The response to the biddings is
Lord hear us
All Lord, graciously hear us
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father...
Hymn
Jesus Lover of my soul
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While the nearer waters roll
While the tempest still is high
Hide me O my Saviour hide
Till the storm of life is past
Safe into the haven guide
Oh receive my soul at last
Other refuge have I none
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee
Leave ah leave me not alone
Still support and comfort me
All my trust on Thee is stayed
All my help from Thee I bring
Cover my defenceless head
With the shadow of Thy wing
Plenteous grace with Thee is found
Grace to cover all my sin
Let the healing streams abound
Make and keep me pure within
Thou of life the Fountain art
Freely let me take of Thee
Spring Thou up within my heart
Rise to all eternity
Final prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
set your passion, cross and death
between your judgement and our souls,
now and in the hour of our death.
Grant mercy and grace to the living,
rest to the departed,
to your Church peace and concord
and to us sinners forgiveness,
and everlasting life and glory,
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit
you are alive and reign,
God, now and for ever.
All: Amen.
Copyright
Common Worship is (c) Copyright Archbishops Council of the Church of England.
How deep the Father’s love by Stewart Townsend is (c) Copyright 1995 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music and is reproduced under CCL licence 206171