Weekly comment from the Clergy

Palm Sunday
 

23rd March 2024 

In my years in this parish I've only known one wet Palm Sunday. There have been a few when we've successfully dodged the showers but for the most part the sun has shone. Likewise, on Good Friday. There was one year when the Procession of the Cross became something of a dash in the rain, and it might well be the same again this year, but for the most part we have enjoyed fine conditions. The weather no doubt did not play on the minds of those involved in The Passion itself. The climate of the Eastern Mediterranean is more reliable than that of the Atlantic Seaboard but, rain or shine, what happened would have happened. The yearly cycle of time by which the cosmos functions allows us to revisit past events, birthdays, anniversaries etc. We can never fully recreate the original occasion but the more immersed we are in the story of it, the more rewards it is likely to yield. This is certainly the case with the Passion of Jesus. On my first Good Friday in this parish (2001) I remember wondering if anyone would come forward to kiss the foot of the cross in devotion during the liturgy. I closed my eyes, sang the chants, and a little later looked up to see a number of people gathered there, and a woman kneeling and quietly weeping. It was a very powerful moment in which distance and time were dispelled. We were there, albeit briefly, at the foot of The Cross.

The passion, death and resurrection are the primal events of faith, and Holy Week is an opportunity like no other to become immersed in them. Without this experience Easter is at best a sunny bank holiday and at worst a sickly confection! The true celebration is a slow burner, gradually releasing its riches as, by the grace of God, we are fed by the immensity of the entire story, Passion and Resurrection. I commend the services of Holy Week to you beginning tomorrow with those of Palm Sunday when, in the space of one liturgy we are both adoring crowd and jeering mob. There is much to reflect upon there, not least the fickleness of human nature, and the evening service of Tenebrae is an opportunity to reflect more deeply on these events in word, music and silence.

A full listing of services is included in the Pew Sheet attached to this mailing. Please note that Easter Day, being the last Sunday of March, sees the beginning of British Summer Time. The Easter Liturgy at All Saints' will be at 7am. There will also be a celebratory breakfast in the Church Hall from 9am. The Easter Eucharist will then begin with the Ceremony of Light and Liturgy of the Word in the Hall at 9.45 before we process into the Church itself for the renewal of baptismal vows and Communion. I look forward to sharing the joy of this occasion with many.

May you have a blessed and rewarding Holy Week.
Charles Booth

If you would like a weekly email of the Clergy comment and pew sheet, please complete the request form by clicking HERE

 

 

Powered by Church Edit