Start:Stop - Re-clothing God?

A facemask on a carving on the refurbished Shrine of Amphibalus in St Alban's Abbey

This week the church celebrates Alban, the first recorded British martyr, who famously sheltered a priest fleeing persecution by the Roman authorities, helping him to evade capture by swapping cloaks. When the Romans found it was Alban beneath the priest’s cloak, he was sentenced to death. 

Little is known about the priest that Alban sheltered, whose life is also celebrated by the church this week. Even his name remains a mystery.  As a result of a medieval mistake, he became known as Amphibalus (a Latin word for 'cloak').

The restoration of a shrine to Amphibalus in St Alban’s Abbey was completed during the lockdown, on which one carving has been reclothed - in a face mask! A small reminder of how we re-clothe stories using familiar images from our own day. 

Sermon - Every seed will flourish

 

Imre Szakács, Mustard Seed, 2009 

Sermon preached during the Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook at 12.45pm on Thursday 17th June 2021 based on the text of Mark 4.26-34 and 2 Corinthians 5.6-10, 14-17

Good News in 100 words
The kingdom Jesus proclaims is described in two consecutive parables as being like a seed. The kingdom is a place where every seed flourishes. We often think that our growth and development – and that of others – is contingent on human agency; our efforts. The good news is that God has provided all we need to flourish. We can celebrate this by working to break down the barriers we have put in the way of doing so.

Further Prayers for Morning Prayer - Wednesday 16th June 2021

Job Rebuked by his Friends, William Blake, 1793

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 16th June 2021, based on readings from Psalm 79, Job 22 and Romans 10.1-10.

More Music and Poems for Corpus Christi

Francis Newton Souza, The Last Supper, 1990

It was a great joy to lead Choral Classics at St Stephen Walbrook on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which you can watch at this link. Preparing for Choral Classics involved finding out a lot about music and poems related to Corpus Christi. This post contains some of the information I didn’t have enough time to share in the service! 

BOOK REVIEW: The Canterbury Book of New Parish Prayers & Lighten our Darkness : Discovering and celebrating Choral Evensong

This week I have acquired two excellent and useful books which I highly recommend - the Canterbury Book of New Parish Prayers by Max Kramer and Lighten our Darkness - Discovering and celebrating Choral Evensong by Simon Reynolds.

Prayers of Intercession - One Family

Emmanuel Garibay - Emmaus,  2000

Prayers written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook at 12.45pm on Thursday 9th June 2021 (Year B, First after Trinity) based on readings from 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1 and Mark 3.20-end

We gather as brothers and sisters in Christ; so let us pray to God our Father, giving thanks for the light of His Son, the guidance of His Spirit and the promise of everlasting life. 

Prayers of Intercession - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi procession by Amadeu de Souza-Cardoso (1913)

Prayers written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook at 12.45pm on Thursday 3rd June 2021, the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Choral Classics - Corpus Christi

It was a great pleasure to introduce Choral Classics at St Stephen Walbrook today, live in church on Thursday 3rd June 2021 and broadcast online on Monday 7th June 2021. My script is below. You can watch the recording below (the video will not appear in ‘mobile view’ – please click “view web version” at the bottom of the home page if reading on a tablet or phone) or watch on YouTube at this link.