Holy Week services at Crook

Services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

led by Ray Anglesea

An evening meal and service in the style of Tenebrae

Beginning

They gathered in an upper room to share a meal

As each name a candle is lit..................

Simon Called Peter, his bother Andrew, James and his brother John – the sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the patriot and Judas Iscariot. Other disciples of Jesus included Martha and Mary, Joanna and Susanna, and in more recent years Etty (Esther) Hillesum, Gerard Manley Hopkins, George Eliot, Oscar Romero (from Crook’s 2014 Lenten Reflections “Against the Odds”).

See that we are surrounded with such a great cloud of witnesses to faith – those who ran their races before us and have entered into their rests – we join with them now to praise your name.

For the first apostle, and for all those who have kept the light of the gospel burning down the centuries...... we give thanks

For those who went before us and passed the light onto us, especially those we remember now.........we give thanks

Come Lord Jesus and take your rightful place as host at this, your table, (a large candle is lit).

The Supper

Ending

After the meal Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn and they went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus said to them, “All of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture says, “God will kill the shepherd and the sheep of the flock with be scattered,” Matthew 26 v31.

The candles of Jesus, Peter, James and John are carried into the chapel, the remaining candles are slowly extinguished.

Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemene

Music:  Pie Jesus: Aled Jones

A Reflection: Revd Ray Anglesea

Prayers: Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom

1^st reading: The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus: John 18 v 1-12

18 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.²Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples.³So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.⁴Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’⁵They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’^* Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’^* Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.⁶When Jesus^* said to them, ‘I am he’,^* they stepped back and fell to the ground.⁷Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’^*8Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he.^* So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’⁹This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.¹¹Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’

John’s candle is extinguished

2^nd reading: Peter Denies Jesus; John 18 v 13-18

¹³First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,¹⁶but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in.¹⁷The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’¹⁸Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

James’s candle is extinguished

3^rd Reading: John 18 v25-27; Peter Denies Jesus Again

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Peter’s candle is extinguished

Sounds from the Garden

We leave the chapel in silence: the large candle symbolising Jesus is carried out of the room, still alight.

 __________________________________________________

Music and Reflections for Good Friday 

Music: Pie Jesu: Aled Jones

Introduction:

Hymn: STF 655 We cannot measure how you heal

Sleep

READING:  They came to a place called Gethsemane and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray? ”He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here and keep awake. And going a little farther he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” Jesus came and found them sleeping; and he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Watch and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. Jesus came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough. The hour has come.....” Mark 14.32- 42.

Music: Sounds from the Garden of Gethsemane

Hymn: We do not ask that heaven research (Tune STF 284 Horsley)

1. We do not ask that heaven research The causes of our need; We yearn to know that when we pray God listens and takes heed	4. And some, in body or in mind, Bear scars which mark their past And long that stigmas be removed Or truth be told at last
2. We do not ask to be exempt From grief or guilt or pain; We yearn to know that suffering Is not endured in vain 3. For some face death or fear the dark Some fret for what might be; And some, too ill to name their plight Still plead to be set free	5. Companion us, Lord Jesus Christ, To witness our distress In solidarity and love Forgive, restore and bless C: 2006 WGRG Iona Community Glasgow G2 3DH

Reflection:

Waiting

READING:   Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’²⁷Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. John 19 v 25-27

Reflection:

Hymn: STF 287 When I survey the wondrous cross

Death

READING  28 after this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’29A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.30When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19 v 28-30

Music: Going to Sleep: from The four Last Songs; Richard Strauss

             Sung by Jessye Norman

Reflection:

Hymn: STF 280 O sacred head sore wounded

READING:  Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the religious authorities asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of him shall be broken." And again another scripture says, "They shall look on him whom they have pierced." John 19:31-37

Reflection:

Music: Ave Verum Corpus W.A. Mozart: sung by Bryn Terfel

Garden

READING: After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the religious authorities, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42

Reflection:

Music: Jesus remember me: Taize The congregation leaves in silence

"Against the odds" biographies (3)

Lent reflections 
used at St Andrew's Dawson Street Crook by Ray Anglesea

Sunday April 13


Oscar Romero

Oscar Romero was born in Ciudad Barrios, a town in the mountains in the eastern part of El Salvador in 1917. When Oscar was only thirteen years old, he told his family that he wanted to be a priest. Romero went to a seminary in San Miguel, then to the capital San Salvador, and from there to Rome. He was ordained in 1942. In January 1944 was called back to San Miguel by his bishop and was soon secretary of the diocese. The people enjoyed his sermons, which were broadcast on the radio. Over the next 30 years, Romero worked in the offices of the Catholic Church in El Salvador.

In February 1977, Oscar Romero became archbishop of San Salvador. In that month a crowd of protesters were attacked by soldiers in the town square of the capital. Then, on March12, 1977, a priest and friend of Romero’s, Rutilio Grande, was murdered in Aguilares. Romero saw that the people in power in his country were violent men; wealthy families supported the brutal and cruel government. Death squads committed murder in the cities while soldiers killed as they wished in the countryside. Romero spoke out against the soldiers and the government who were attacking the poor. Romero believed that the church needed to work to change the government.

Archbishop Romero used his sermons to call for peace. Crowds of poor people came to listen to Romero in person, and others crowded around their radios to hear him. His message to the victims of violence was that Jesus was suffering in them. His message to the murderers was that they were crucifying Jesus when they killed others, and that even though they killed people, God still loved them. Romero knew his life was in danger. He said that his blood would be the seed for liberty for his people. On March 24, 1980 Oscar Romero was suddenly shot dead while celebrating mass in the chapel of the cancer hospital where he lived and worked. His death was like a seed, that grew and grew in the hearts of the poor people in El Salvador.

Today the memory of Oscar Romero is treasured by the people of El Salvador, and by countless Christians across the world. Romero stands as an example of faith and trust in Jesus. His story inspires many people to share Jesus’ love by caring for hurting people.

In 1997, Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God, and a cause for beatification and canonization. Romero is honoured by other Christian Denominations; Archbishop Romero is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London a testament to his widespread respect of Christians throughout the world. 

"Against the odds" biographies (2)

Lent reflections 
used at St Andrew's Dawson Street Crook by Ray Anglesea

Sunday March 30

Gerard Manley Hopkins 

Our fourth candidate in our Lenten series “Against the Odds” is the priest-poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins became a Catholic in his early twenties and then sought ordination as a priest within the austere and restrictive life of the Jesuit Order. Alas the brilliant student who had left Oxford with a first-class honours degree failed his final theology exam. This failure almost certainly meant that, though ordained in 1877, Hopkins would not progress in the order. In 1877 he wrote God’s Grandeur, an array of sonnets including The Starlight Night. He finished The Windhover only a few months before his ordination. In October 1877, not long after he completed “The Sea and the Skylark” and only a month after he had been ordained as a priest, Hopkins took up a variety of priestly duties as minister and teacher at Mount St. Mary’s College, Chesterfield, later curacies in Mount Street, London, St. Aloysius’s Church, Oxford, then moving to Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Whilst ministering in Oxford, he became a founding member of Oxford University Newman Society. In 1884 he became professor of Greek and Latin at University College, Dublin.

From his youth he loved the natural world, keenly observing what he saw and expressing this in poetry and drawing. His poetry is quirky and original, reflecting his sense of humour, capacity for wonder and love of language. None of Hopkins’ poetry was published in his lifetime. His major poem the wreck The Wreck of the Deutschland was turned down by the Jesuit periodical he hoped might publish it because of its unorthodox style and complexity. Nevertheless he continued to see his poetry, like his priesthood, as a servant of the sacramental nature of reality, hiding yet revealing the presence of Christ in all things created.

From time to time he suffered from depression and much of his poetry was written in times of immense personal struggle and homosexual desires. Several problems conspired to depress Hopkins's spirits and restrict his poetic inspiration during the last five years of his life. His work load was extremely heavy. He disliked living in Dublin, away from England and friends. His general health deteriorated as his eyesight began to fail. He felt confined and dejected. As a devout Jesuit, he found himself in an artistic dilemma. To subdue any egotism which would violate the humility required by his religious position, he decided never to publish his poems. But Hopkins realized that any true poet requires an audience for criticism and encouragement. This conflict between his religious obligations and his poetic talent caused him to feel that he had failed them both.

Yet God is no less incarnate in these pained words than in his exuberant poetry of earlier days. He died of typhoid at the age of 44. His poetry was later published by his long-time friend and correspondent, Robert Bridges. 

Sunday April  6

George Eliot

Our 5^th candidate in our Lenten series, “Against the Odds,” is the novelist George Eliot. George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, whose novels (we read at school?) include Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, Adam Bede, Daniel Deronda and Silas Marner. Mary Anne, or as she later styled herself Marian was born in rural Warwickshire, a setting she returned to many times in her novels. Her personal life was the subject of gossip. She lived with a married man, George Lewis for many years and after his death went on to marry John Cross, 20 years her junior – not easy ground in Victorian England. Her religious journey was equally controversial. Brought up as a middle-of-the-road Anglican, Marian was influenced by her teacher towards moving to a more demanding evangelical expression of Christianity, akin to that followed by Silas Marner before his expulsion from his church. She was at her most autobiographical in Looking Backwards, part of her final printed work Impressions of Theophrastus Such. By the time of Daniel Deronda, Eliot's sales were falling off, and she faded from public view to some degree. This was not helped by the biography written by her husband after her death, which portrayed a wonderful, almost saintly woman totally at odds with the scandalous life people knew she had led.

During her career as a writer, Marian’s reading led her to embrace the findings of a new age of scientific exploration that by their nature challenged the authority of the ecclesiastical establishment. She began to move away from mainstream Christianity, going on to translate Das Leben Jesu by David Strauss, an influential work that cast doubt on the divinity of Christ. Yet at the heart of much of her writing is the personal spiritual journey of ordinary people: their enduring quest to live generously and with integrity, in a way that contributed to the wellbeing of humanity. This search was a constant within Marian’s life, with all its different expressions. In rejecting what she saw as the narrowness of some religious thinking she continued to express her vision of the spiritual dimension of all human existence.

In the 20th century she was championed by a new breed of critics, most notably by Virginia Wolf who called Middlemarch "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people." Twentieth-century literary critic Harold Bloom placed Eliot among “the greatest Western writers of all time.”

She died on 22 December 1880. Eliot was not buried in Westminster Abbey because of her denial of the Christian faith and her "irregular" though monogamous life with Lewes. She was interred in Highgate Cemetery (East), London in the area reserved for religious dissenters or agnostics, Karl Marx's memorial is nearby. In 1980, on the centenary of her death, a memorial stone was established for her in the Poet’s Corner, Abbey.