St Mary's, Berkeley

5000 Fish Suppers – What a picnic!

With the official end of the school term many families will be looking forward to a break from the ‘home-schooling’ and perhaps instead of heading for the airport they might be joining the Saturday queues for the M5 South, perhaps to Devon or Cornwall (of course other destinations are available!)
This week the Gospel reading comes from Matthew 14:13-21; the feeding of the 5000 and I can’t help wonder if we swapped the fishing villages of Galilee for the fishing villages of Cornwall for a moment what a picnic for 5000 hungry folk might look like in 2020? Might the offering be 5 lots of fish and chips or 5 Pasties and 2 small battered cod? Perhaps a burger in a bun.... you get the idea.
Whatever the equivalent might be, I think this miracle (and yes I do think it was a miracle which Jesus performed, rather than the crowds suddenly deciding to share their picnic with others) could be repeated today. Perhaps we won’t see pasties multiplied, but miracles occur every day in all sorts of ways.
Jesus was offered a ‘little’ and he transformed it into a lot. These are the sorts of miracles Jesus still performs today through the Holy Spirit. We might for example offer him ‘our little’ whether that be our time, our talent, musical skills, flower arranging, hospitality, meeting and greeting folk or just our willingness to have a go at things, and in return he transforms our meagre offering into something which can be shared and used and distributed to others.
At the end of that ‘first’ picnic the disciples gathered up the crumbs, as bread was considered a gift from God, not to be wasted, and filled 12 baskets. Even the tiniest crumb was not wasted and the same goes for the tiniest ‘crumbs’ we leave behind today in offering ‘our little’ in the service of God.
Tiny crumbs can be sustaining and satisfying and whet the appetite of those who hunger for the ‘Living Bread’ of Jesus in their lives.
Sherri - Reader

Worship at Berkeley
10.30am Sunday 2nd August

We look forward to welcoming you to Sunday’s service. Here are a few things for you to note.

Hand sanitiser will be provided as you come into the church.
Those attending will be asked to provide contact details in line with current guidelines.
Please sit as guided by the sides people, in order to adhere to social distancing rules.
Face masks are encouraged.
Please take your service sheets away with you.
A collection plate will be placed on the table by the door.

Old Man River

St Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome is a work of high theology, quite difficult to understand in places. Unlike his other letters, it is not addressed to particular problems but is a magnificent summary of Paul’s insight into the meaning of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Today’s reading is not difficult, and we can turn to it for an understanding of the deep meaning of faith in a loving God.
We have all been through a period of great trauma, the like of which not even the oldest of us have seen before, affecting every person in the world. 14M people have contracted the virus and over half a million have died from it. The economies of most countries have been severely damaged, with all that means for our ability to maintain living standards. We all feel the fragility of our existence and the uncertainty of all we rely on, like regular Eucharistic worship. This all seems quite shocking to us, but of course, is nothing new. We just have a very limited perspective, in time and space.
St Paul speaks to these feelings of fragility, uncertainty and fear. In today’s reading from his letter to the Roman church he lists all the everyday fears (persecution, famine, violence etc) that we can conquer, through faith. But he goes on to proclaim that no powers, nothing in the past or the future can separate us from God’s love, through Christ.
The big picture here is that none of those things matter. They seem big to us but are nothing to God. The only thing that does matter is our bond with God and only we can break that. As I write, Paul Robeson is on the radio singing: …I’m tired of living and scared of dying, but old man river, he just keeps rolling along. Despite all the trials of life and the dangers around us, God is a constant and does what God has always done, loves us and his creation. He is not indifferent to us, like the Mississippi River; he sent us a Saviour so need not fear death.
I am reminded of what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Steve Chandler – Reader

Weeds in the crop

This is an encouraging time of year for farmers and gardeners: flourishing crops and the promise of a good harvest to come. For us vegetable growers, perhaps the pleasure of some early produce already gathered. But look a bit closer, and you will see trouble. And that trouble, if unchallenged, can seriously impact, if not overwhelm the crop and undo all the work and effort of the grower.
In the parable set for today from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus, perhaps looking at a weedy field, sees a striking parallel with human life and experience, and the threats to its full flourishing and fruitfulness. In the parable, the good seed that the landowner planted has become contaminated by a systematic and deliberate act of sabotage by a hostile party sowing weeds in the same ground. And now the good harvest is looking badly threatened. Let’s sort it now, the workers say. We know precisely what to do. No, wait until the right time I tell you, says the landowner. This parable of course goes straight to the heart of the human condition. In view of all the pain, cruelty, suffering and heartbreak in the world, and experienced in all our lives, where is God and why doesn’t he do something? How can we have belief when lives, as with the growing crop, become overwhelmed by the equivalents of choking weeds, destroying pests, moulds, diseases and disasters?
God’s way, his kingdom- his rule – can seem remote and theoretical, impossible even, when we are stuck among the weeds and the pests. Perhaps we need to note the calm assurance and authority of the landowner in the story. He has a clear plan and solution, even if the frustrated workers see a far more sensible course of action. But they say no more, and do what the master says. They realise he has the power and authority to make everything good. Can we likewise hold enough faith to say with Paul, in the reading from Romans: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”?
David Frith, Reader

Stony Path

The Gospel from Matthew this week is the parable of the farmer who sowed his seeds which landed in different situations with varying outcomes. As with all stories from Jesus we can use it for inspiration in our current situation.
Jesus talks about new seeds who are not properly nurtured can easily fall away. How many new people have taken this opportunity to look at church online to start thinking about a relationship with God? One of the statistics I’ve seen says that 5 million people are accessing online services where in the “normal” world only a million actually attend church services regularly.
Some of the seed landed in the rocky places where poor soil led to poor roots so the plants quickly withered. The lockdown and closing of our local churches has meant that we have felt rootless and lost in the wind. I think that has particularly been compounded for us as we have gone into a time of vacancy.
Some of you may be aware that I literally fell on the stony path whilst out for a run and could have withered but I was swept up by strangers who cared for me until the ambulance took me to GRH. My head wounds were stitched and my broken collarbone is healing slowly. An underlying health condition was the cause of my fall and I will require surgery, probably in August, to rectify it. I have been overwhelmed by the care, attention, thoughts and prayers I have received from friends, family, members of the congregation, and colleagues. I have been truly humbled by the support that I have received.
As we begin to return to church for corporate worship, it will be wonderful to reconnect and bolster each other up and encourage one another again in person. But let us also think of the new seeds who need to learn more about Jesus. Our challenge is to provide a nurturing environment to welcome the online curious into our loving, imperfect, but faithful family.
Pam Curtis - Eleven Team

Great news, we are opening up

Opening up

This weekend sees the pubs reopening and so I chuckled when I read the Gospel passage for this Sunday and found the people of the day referring to Jesus as ‘a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Matthew 11 v 19) Of course Jesus did not conform to the stereotypical views about what or who a Messiah would be. Who knew that ‘unconscious bias’ was around in those days too?
Jesus ‘calls out’ their behaviour as like children not wanting to play either ‘game’ suggested (v17). Here he refers to the fact that although they did not approve of his ways; ‘eating and drinking’ (v19) they also objected to the ways of John the Baptist, who was at the opposite scale to Jesus, definitely not eating and drinking and socialising. John preferred a diet of locusts and wild honey and chose areas of wilderness (Matthew 3: 1-4).
It strikes me as a touch of the ‘don’t shoot the messenger approach’ as Jesus is saying to them; make up your minds. First you thought John the Baptist was a false prophet and you now think I am a false prophet, perhaps you just don’t like the challenge of the message? Of course Jesus had a message which was about a different way of living and a different way of being, a message which was hard to hear then and hard to hear now. The people were making excuses for not wanting to hear the messages either from John the Baptist or from Jesus, accusing one of being crazy or having a demon and the other of being a party animal.
Did the people back then find the messages a burden I wonder? Do we find it a burden? Jesus reminds us later in this passage that his ‘yoke is easy’ and his ‘burden is light.’ It doesn’t always feel that way as we move forward slowly towards reopening our churches in a safe way, in addition to the challenges we face of being in another vacancy. Let us keep praying into both situations, so that the ‘yokes’ we are given feel ‘easy’ and the burden feels ‘light.’ Amen.
Sherri - Reader

The wages of sin?

I have started sermons before by telling you about the notice board outside our local Baptist church in Watford, where I grew up. That proclaimed various messages aiming to improve and inspire the passer-by. One which I always remember was St Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans, as we read today: “For the wages of sin is death”. That always seemed a rather bleak message, and not at all likely to encourage anyone to enter the church, or to explore Christianity any further.
It is a pity it was not coupled with its essential following phrase: “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Now, there are many points that can be drawn out of this two-part message. Perhaps the notice board was too small to include the whole message, or perhaps the church elders really did want to focus on the danger of sin? For me, it shows the danger of selective quotation from the Bible and the need for some theological understanding of the message of the writer. Then, there is the contrast between the “wages” of sin and the “free gift” of God; between death and eternal life. What is the significance of “free gift” and what does “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” really mean?
Too many questions to ponder for today. I suggest the key point is that we do not, and cannot, earn the gift of eternal life. So, don’t we have to do anything? Well, when hoping for a gift we may not want to be out when the postman (or DfD lady) rings the bell. It is clarified in today’s gospel: “…he who receives me receives him who sent me.” There we have it; if we receive Jesus into our lives, follow him and model our life on his, then we shall know God in our life, eternally. That is the free gift.
As we prepare to return to worship in our churches again, we should reflect on how we can enable that to happen for even more people, inside and outside the church building.
Steve Chandler, Reader

A New Future?

You thought things were bad? You ain't seen nothing yet. This might be your reaction after reading all four Bible passages set for this Sunday. In our risk-averse modern culture with all its advantages, we perhaps tend to look on the bright side of life, as the song says. I never promised you a rose garden, as another song says, is the reality check of these readings however. They are profoundly unsettling, offensive possibly, because they challenge our natural assumptions and expectations of peace, order and tranquillity, the calm and pleasant life.
The events of the last few weeks likewise seem to be challenging all our assumptions and expectations of what we hold dear. This can be profoundly painful for us and so many others in so many ways: personally and emotionally, socially, economically.
The times they are a-changing, and no one can be unconcerned or untouched by the reach or consequences of that change. The context of the reading from Jeremiah ch. 20 is imminent siege and attack by a powerful foreign army. Jeremiah’s lone prophetic voice proclaiming God’s way out of the crisis is being ignored and scorned. We might not face disaster at the hands of brutal aggressors, but the fear and anguish of an unknown future remain powerfully over us. But can we, do we listen; are we attempting to listen to God’s voice? Note that despite his anguish at the plight of his beloved city, Jeremiah knows: “The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior.” Do we know this in our own lives?
And how can we explore this, proclaim this as we consider our local context and the re-opening of churches to a changed and different future? Within a chapter of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus assures us: “Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” How are we going to come to him, how can we make our churches “portals of connection”* to encounter him and bring his presence and word to anguished and burdened lives?
David Frith, Reader
*Angela Tilby, Radio 4, 17th June

Mission....impossible?

‘Your mission, should you choose to accept it’....... is the famous phrase in the 1960’s T.V. series and the films beginning in the 1990’s. In the second film we see the main character being given his ‘mission’ from the top of a mountain or rock he has just spectacularly climbed. Matthew (28:16-20) finds the disciples also being given a mission from a mountain and the journey they have ‘climbed’ has been spectacular too; following Jesus in his ministry, witnessing his death and his glorious resurrection, to now be given an equally ‘impossible’ mission. Jesus says ‘...go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit...’(v19).
Here we go then, we have some ‘Trinity’ language. The Trinity can seem like another ‘impossible mission’ because you need to get your head around the fact that there are three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinctive characters, although united, and yet one God. If that doesn’t blow your mind then nothing will!
Jesus is at the centre of this one too, the Trinity helps us to recognise the words we use in the creed each week when we stand to affirm our faith. Jesus both divine and human, showing us a God of mission and love. Jesus promising the disciples ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’(v20).
We know from the passages last week that the first Pentecost saw the giving of the Holy Spirit. As one of the persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit was there to help the disciples in their mission then, and he is here to help us in our mission now. The times we live in might well have changed (we have experienced much change ourselves over the last few months) but the mission hasn’t really changed at all. We are still required to ‘make disciples’ and how we do that can be in ways as creative and diverse as the Holy Spirit empowers us to be. With God nothing is impossible. We know what our mission is......do we choose to accept it? Sherri Taylor – Reader.

Covid recovery
We are living in extraordinary times. Everyone has been confined to their homes for two months; the economy has almost stopped dead and the government are supporting a third of the workforce. Bishops are calling for a government advisor to be sacked. During such times it is easy to get over excited, or despondent.
The day of Pentecost was also an extraordinary time. The kingdom of God had visibly and permanently arrived, with extraordinary spiritual gifts: tongues of fire, a mighty wind and prophecy. To the astounded Jews in Jerusalem, Peter, once a tongue-tied fisherman, now transformed into an orator, tells them that all this comes from the Jesus whom they crucified. It worked! We hear that 3000 were baptized in one day. This was the start of the growth of our Church.
It might seem, in our extraordinary times, that we are looking at the end of our Church. After at least three months of closure of the buildings, can we ever recover? Particularly in a vacancy and with no St Peter to lead us. Yes, it will be hard. But, however it may sometimes feel, we are not on our own. In his pastoral letter, Bishop Robert has assured us of his help and prayers. Even more importantly, the Holy Spirit has been given to all of us baptized Christians. The church has not died nationally or internationally; it is our job to resurrect it locally, both within and outside the building.
I feel that recovery and growth of our Benefice will be very much down to us. We cannot afford to wait for a new incumbent to sort it all out for us; we need to provide the leadership for at least the next year. Many people have been attracted to virtual services, via Zoom, YouTube, etc and we have a great opportunity to attract some of these into the life of the church. Perhaps a post-lockdown Alpha? Even with the wind of the Holy Spirit behind us we may not sign up 3000 in one day, but there is all to play for!
Steve Chandler, Reader

Enquire Within
It may have slipped your notice, but the church calendar season we have passed through recently is Rogationtide. Er, what? you might respond. Rogation Sunday was traditionally the time when people, predominantly in rural areas, would walk around the parish (“beating the bounds” as they did so) to inspect and pray God’s blessing on the crops. The old word “Rogation” goes back to a Latin word that means “to ask”, since people knew, from intimate experience in a pre-NHS era, the fragility of life and their dependence on God’s mercy and provision. So they would ask his blessing at this season on what was very much their lifeline: their crops.
In recent weeks we too have been reminded and daily become acutely aware of human fragility and fallibility. But do we turn naturally to rogation to give us courage and inner health: not just to avoid infection but to tap into something deeper, more meaningful, more enriching of our heart and soul than ease, comfort and prosperity? Not just life, but “life in all its fullness” (John 10: 10).
So if you’re feeling a bit de-energised, deflated and frustrated at this new normal, here’s a suggestion as to how you might “beat the bounds” and examine how and what is growing well or flagging in your spiritual life. Just as the crops need good root systems, nourishment and monitoring for threats that might weaken or kill them, so our spiritual life needs active inputs to flourish. So perhaps look up and read the readings set for this Sunday (above), and include Ezekiel 36: 24-28. You will find a theme of promised action, restoration, strength, renewal, literal “inspiration”. God is going to act. Perhaps not by our ideal timetable, but next Sunday, Pentecost, shows God did make good on his promise. Unheard of life in all its fullness is poured out, energising, invigorating, transforming. So keep on asking, and you will receive. The Lord’s Prayer, like Psalm 68, reminds us it is God who has the ultimate power. Can we trust that by looking to him, asking him, his good will will be done on earth?
David Frith, Reader

Lead by the Spirit

This month, had we not been in lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we would have received a visit from Nicci Maxwell, our CMS Mission partner. Nicci works in a small medical centre in Kisoro, Uganda, delivering paediatric and neonatal care to the community. She also trains, mentors and supports the local healthcare workers. Kisoro is a very poor area, struggling with the challenges of AIDS, malaria, and refugees from DR Congo and Rwanda, so this area of medicine is very much needed. It’s been two years since Nicci headed out to Africa and was due to be back on home leave, when she would have taken the opportunity to update us on her vital work.
What drives someone of faith to uproot from family and friends, from the comfort of 1st world civilisation and the prospect of an NHS pension? You have only to read Nicci’s blog, or one of her link letters to know that in her case, it’s clear that the Holy Spirit drives her very being, as she uses her medical skills to show the love of God to the people of Kisoro.
In our Gospel reading this week Jesus prepares to leave his disciples and promises to send the Holy Spirit to be with them in his place. As Jesus’ followers today, the Spirit continues to give us God’s love in our hearts. And we too are called to live out our faith in action as we are led by the Spirit who dwells within us. This need not be in such a dramatic way as casting everything aside to travel to a remote and impoverished area in a third world country. We are God’s people wherever we are and our actions and our attitude towards others have the capacity to reflect God’s love into any situation we find ourselves in, as we are seeing in the many examples of care and kindness within our community in these unprecedented times.
To watch a short video about Nicci’s work and mission in Uganda, click on the following link:
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ate6DghlkrYlhoQnrwzUBx3S8fsMPw?e=93QIUB
Debbie Page

We’ll meet again!

This weekend sees the 75th anniversary of VE Day and TV programmes have featured ‘Dame Vera Lynn’ and the war time rallying song of ‘We’ll meet again’. In our current situation of ‘lockdown’ the words have taken on a new meaning and I couldn’t help but think of this song when reading the Bible passage from John 14. We hear Jesus explaining to his disciples that he is going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for them, but they are not to worry, because, and I am paraphrasing, ‘We’ll meet again!’.
Good old Thomas asks what perhaps the others are all thinking ‘don’t know where...’ and doesn’t quite ask the ‘don’t know when’ but Christians ever since have being asking that question for him.
The response Jesus gives to Thomas would have been every bit as ‘mind-blowing’ for the disciples then as it might be for us today; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. God revealed through Jesus meant that their ‘teacher’ wasn’t just going to show them or tell them the way, or just point out the truth of how to live a good life in order to lead them to God, but he was and is the actual route; ‘The Way’. He was and is ‘truth in a body’ ‘The Truth’. He was and is the ultimate life giver; The Life, lived for us, and then ended for us, a sacrificial gift of love so that we can get back to the relationship with God we are made for.
In a busy world, it is so easy to find ‘other ways’ to fill that ‘Jesus-shaped’ gap we have in our lives, easy to find ‘other or different truths’ in a world of fake news. It is easy for us sometimes to ‘cover our ears’ from the truth of Jesus, as the people did in the Acts passage. In this slightly less busy world I find myself in, I am trying to remind myself not to get distracted by other ‘ways’ and ‘truths’ but to keep turning to the ultimate ‘life’ by ‘meeting with God in prayer’.
As we wait to ‘meet again’ with each other in the benefice, let us ‘meet again and again’ with God praying in the name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sherri Taylor – reader.

The importance of Place

How do you feel about being locked out of our church, for the first time in 800 years? Some people feel that this can be a positive experience, taking us back to the earliest days of the Christian Church that we hear about in today’s reading from Acts, where the Apostles were “breaking bread in private houses”. They were Christian gatherings in houses, whereas we cannot gather, but the principle that Christian worship started in people’s homes and can take place there today, is correct. Our word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” meaning a gathering of Christian people. The Church is a body of Christian people, not a building. And yet…

It is not wrong to long deeply for worship to resume in our parish church. The idea of a sacred space is important. Even though we no longer believe that God lives just in churches, most of us do feel that there is an especially clear channel for our prayers when we are in a church. Part of this is a feeling for the continuity of prayer and worship in the same place, over many centuries, by our ancestors. But also important, in what makes our church buildings a special place, is that they are sacramental signs of Christ’s presence in our communities. It makes the fact of our worship visible to the community and accessible to everyone. Indeed, it may be that one reason for setting aside special non-residential places for worship, as the young church grew, was to overcome the exclusivity of home worship. Place is important.

So, we quite properly look forward to a time when we can worship, together again, in St Mary’s, All Saints’, and St Michael’s. As we look forward, we also need to consider how we can make our worship more visible and accessible to everyone, as that is the reason for our church buildings.

Steve Chandler, Reader

Back to normal?
Where do we go from here? What happens next? When can we get back to normal? In some shape or form I imagine we are all asking these and many other questions about our current crisis. A familiar reality has become dislocated, sadly severely so in some cases, and we can feel disorientated, uncertain as to how to move forward. This is also the background to the Gospel reading (Luke 24. 13-35) where two dejected disciples of Jesus are practising social distancing by walking back to their home in the village of Emmaus. Like the disciples still in Jerusalem, they are in lockdown to fear and uncertainty.
But going back to their old ways and modes of thinking and living is not going to be an option for them. Should it be for us? Back to normal, the familiar, what we know and are used to is, not unnaturally, what we and the disciples yearn for.
But God’s unimaginably better future comes to the surface and is revealed in and through adversity, not security. Have we not all caught glimpses of this in the examples of so many heroes, from NHS and other workers to people, in some cases severely disabled, working to support, love and care for others?
Supremely, in the Gospel, God in Jesus comes alongside, unnoticed, unrecognised, gently pointing out the bigger picture. Jesus, the unknown stranger on the road “opens the Scriptures” to the disciples. They realise later how this stranger has been expanding and lifting their vision from their inward-looking and dejected self-absorbed state to something joyous. It is life-giving and inspiring, a sort of inward experience of resurrection to new life and hope. “Were not our hearts burning within us?” they ask. This gentle process of nurturing is an essential prelude to the moment of final revelation at supper when they realise (“their eyes were opened”) that Jesus is alive, as they had heard rumoured. Can we also be open to, seek and imagine something richer, deeper, more life-giving than back to normal in the times ahead? David Frith.

A Prayer for John

We pray for our vicar John as he comes to the end of his ministry here in Berkeley, and give thanks for all he has done to help us in our path of understanding, we pray that when he departs he will take with him the knowledge that we in the Berkeley benefice have shared a wonderful year together and grown stronger in our faith through his teaching.

May God's blessing follow you as you find new journeys to travel.
May you walk safely along the pathways of your dreams.
May his gentle hand guide the decisions you will make and the passions that you follow.
May your heart and life always reflect his love and truth,
And may hope be a light within you that you carry into each new day.

FINAL THOUGHT FROM THE VICAR

As I take my leave of you, I would like to share a word of thanks and offer you one final challenge!
The thanks goes to the vast majority of you who have been so supportive. I know that my time as your Vicar has not been universally welcomed and that there are those who wish I had done things differently. However, the overwhelming feeling has been one of support and encouragement, perhaps summed up in the kind person who left two bags of ‘goodies’ on the Vicarage doorstep to enable Andrew and I to celebrate Easter in some style. We would very much like to know who you are so that we can thank you in person!
As to the challenge - when reading the service of Morning Prayer today, I was particularly struck by the words of Paul which talked about the ‘unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’ as an analogy to share and celebrate the real joy of Easter.
Many of the ‘issues’ that I have encountered in my twelve months with you seem to have centred around people not being entirely truthful regarding the recent history of the benefice. This leads to ‘muttering’ and an undercurrent of negativity which destroys the very ‘kingdom values’ for which Christ died and rose again and which we are meant to embody in this particular season.
I would therefore urge you, as the benefice once more returns to vacancy, to take this opportunity in a spirit of charity and genuine openness to speak to each other truthfully about the hurts and misunderstandings that have arisen between you. Only then can you truly discern a sustainable way forward and avoid history repeating itself.
My prayers will be with you as you start on this quest and I ask for yours in return as I discern the next stage of my earthly pilgrimage.
Yours in Christ,
John

Good Friday 2020

Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances we are unable to gather in our ‘normal’ ways for Good Friday.
However, if you would like to use the readings and reflections below, please do. They come from Barbara & Steve Fellowes who are Readers in the Forest Edge Benefice, for which many thanks.

We are all part of the rhythm of life, we are born, we give birth, we live in relationships, we search for meaning, we make choices, we face endings. We suffer the loss of those we love.
First reading: Jesus is condemned to death
Mark 15: 1-5 & 12-15
Early in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “So you say.”
The chief priests were accusing Jesus of many things, so Pilate questioned him again, “Aren't you going to answer? Listen to all their accusations!”
Again Jesus refused to say a word, and Pilate was amazed.
Pilate spoke to the crowd, “What, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”
They shouted back, “Crucify him!”. “But what crime has he committed?” Pilate asked. They shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.

Reflection:
Pilate asked what crime Jesus had committed. It was a good question. Jesus had annoyed the religious leaders, of that there was no doubt. He had been critical of social and religious structures. He had healed the villagers, he had told stories to the crowds; he was probably a threat to public law and order; but was that enough to condemn him, to end his life?
But he would not defend himself – the storyteller was silent now and the crowd was noisy, and Pilate handed him over to be crucified.

Prayer:
For those on trial this week and for those appointed to judge them:
God in your mercy - Hear our prayer.
Second reading: Jesus takes up the cross
Mark 15:16-20
The soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company. They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown out of thorny branches, and put it on his head. Then they began to salute him: “Long live the King of the Jews!”  They beat him over the head with a stick, spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed down to him. When they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Reflection:
Soldiers
Taking the chance for a bit of fun.
They had a heavy day ahead of them.
Soon they would have to put on their public face –
Disciplined, controlled, efficient.
But for now a bit of a lark with the lads
With no risk of recrimination,
Dead men tell no tales, and Jesus was going to his death.

Prayer
For those appointed to keep public order, and for those tempted to abuse their power:
God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Third reading: Jesus falls the first time
Isaiah 53:1
“Who would have believed what we now report?
    Who could have seen the Lord's hand in this?

Reflection:
Jesus was exhausted.
He was in pain.
He was going to his death,
The Cross was heavy and he fell.
He was flesh and blood like us,
He was struggling.

Prayer:
For those who are tired or in pain
God in your Mercy, Hear our prayer.

Fourth Reading: Mark 15:21
Simon helps Jesus to carry his cross
On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
Reflection:
Simon from Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus.
What a tale you had to tell your children!
You helped Jesus.
You gave him your strength, there on the streets of Jerusalem.
Willing or unwilling
You, Simon, have become part of his story, and he part of yours,
For you helped him, and he needed you.
What would we give to be Simon?
Prayer:
For a willingness to serve you, in friends and in strangers
God in your mercy, Hear our prayer,

Fifth Reading: Jesus falls the second time
He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly;
    he never said a word.
Like a lamb about to be slaughtered,
like a sheep about to be sheared,
    he never said a word.

Reflection:
I am finding it hard to watch you, Jesus.
To see you struggling,
To see you on the ground.
Into your silence I want to shout:
‘Why do they keep on hurting you?
What have you done wrong?’

Prayer:
For those who today will struggle and fall.
God in your mercy Hear our prayer.

Sixth Reading: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Luke 23:27-28
A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Women of Jerusalem! Don't cry for me, but for yourselves and your children.

Reflection:
Weep for the mothers and children of Jerusalem.
For Israeli and Palestinian
For Jew and Moslem and Christian,
For the strangers in their midst,
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
Pray that her people can live together in peace.
Pray that all people may live together in peace.

Prayer:
For those who live in places of conflict and danger;
For peacemakers and peacekeepers in every land
God in your mercy. Hear our prayer

Seventh Reading: Jesus falls for the third time
Isaiah 53: 4-5
He endured the suffering that should have been ours,
the pain that we should have borne.
All the while we thought that his suffering
was punishment sent by God.
But because of our sins he was wounded,
beaten because of the evil we did.
We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
made whole by the blows he received.
Reflection:
I am not sure if I can watch this much longer.
In his pain I see my pain,
In his falling I feel myself falling,
In his cross…… in his cross
I am included.
He carried it for me –
For me, and my enemies, and my Friends.
Prayer:
For those deserted by friends,
For those who are alone and venerable:
God in your mercy, Hear our prayer

Eighth Reading: Jesus is stripped of his clothes
Mark 15:22-24
They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull.”  There they tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not drink it.  Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing.
Reflection:
Stripped now –
Of clothing
Of disciples
Of friends
Alone,
Naked and venerable,
With nothing to protect you from the pain to come.

Prayer:
For all those deserted by friends,
For those left alone and vulnerable:
God in your mercy, Hear our prayer

Ninth Reading: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Luke 23: 35,49
The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!”
When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow. All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.
Reflection:
We look on from a distance:
A distance of time and pace and culture,
A distance of a Friday morning in Gloucestershire in Lent
And for us it hurts to watch Jesus dying,
Even at a distance.
It hurts to know that we are being rescued
It hurts to know how much we are valued and loved.

Prayer:
For the depth of your love for us, we thank you
God in your mercy, Hear our prayer

Final Reading: Jesus dies on the cross
Luke 23:44-46
It was now about noon, and the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three in the afternoon, And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father in your hands I place my spirit.’
He said this and died.
Reflection:
In your hands he placed himself:
All that he was,
All that he had ever been,
All his beauty,
All his obedience
All his loving

In Gods hands he placed himself
He was returning to his father,
He was going home.

Prayer:
For all those who have died today,
For all who love them and will miss them
God in your mercy, Hear our prayer

The Lords prayer.

Blessing
May God go with us today
Christ Jesus walk alongside us as we journey
And the Holy Spirit be a cloud of grace.
And the blessing of the father the son and the holy spirit be with us
And all whom we love and care for.
This day and always Amen

Supporting you:
St Mary’s is bringing together a small team to help support the local community and those that need to self-isolate. If you need support with everyday tasks like essential shopping, prescription collection, posting mail or just someone to talk to please get in contact with Jan Belton: 01453 810 752.

There is also a food box at the back of the church, please contribute or take if needed.

ST MARY’S CHURCH BERKELEY - Coronavirus Update

We are living through challenging times and this church, along with many others, is doing all it can to reassure and help those of all faiths and none as we face whatever lies ahead. With that in mind, please note the following:

The church is currently closed for all public acts of worship, with the exception of weddings and funerals which can be undertaken with very strict social - distancing regulations. However, the building will be open every day for you to come and have some quiet time, to pray or simply to reflect. This is obviously what people have been doing for many centuries in this place of worship and that should give us some comfort in these extraordinary times. HOWEVER - I would recommend that you wear gloves and wash your hands after visiting, thus avoiding the touching of any hard surfaces.
Please be assured that I, as your Vicar, will be praying for you all every day in my acts of Morning and Evening Prayer. In addition, I shall be remembering you all in the Eucharist which I shall celebrate twice weekly on your behalf.
If you have anything in particular about which you would like me to pray, please contact me via email - revjohn61@gmail.com or phone the Vicarage - 01453 810294.
The Church of England is currently increasing the number of online resources for prayer and reflection, as well as undertaking the ‘live streaming’ of services, at an exponential rate! Please make use of these resources if you are able.
Church members are doing all that they can to support the most vulnerable members of our community at this anxious time. This will include telephone contact, as well as more practical help.

A prayer for all those affected by coronavirus
Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy.
Sustain and support the anxious,
be with those who care for the sick,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may find comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revd. John McHale
Vicar of the Berkeley Benefice