Night Prayer for Holy Week

Night Prayer - the Office of Compline - for Wednesday in Holy Week. With a reflection on the healing God brings by his self-giving love in Christ.

Spy Wednesday - Lament, Gospel and a poem

Wednesday in Holy Week, known also as "Spy Wednesday." Today's Gospel reading tells us why - and John Donne's wonderful poem reminds us that despair should never overcome us.

Tuesday in Holy Week - today's Gospel and reflection

Tuesday in Holy Week: betrayal by Judas, protestations of loyalty by Peter. What is our response to the call of Christ?

The prayer I read is by Joe Seramane ("You asked for my hands").

Monday in Holy Week - time for reflection

Monday in Holy Week - a poem and the Gospel for the day, with a short reflection to follow

And here are our Holy Week Services (with booking information as may be required):

Palm Sunday - our online liturgy of the Word

Palm Sunday - We resume public worship today with the 10.30am Eucharist in St. Cuthbert's. 

But we're very aware of those who won't be with us. Remembering you with this reading of the account of our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem, time for reflection and the offering of our prayers.

Celebrating Holy Week & Easter

 As I wrote last month:

The great thing about Lent is that it comes to an end; and its point is to get us to that end, to point us to Christ’s Passion, Death & Resurrection which we reach at Easter. Easter is a date that will come regardless. The Resurrection is a truth to celebrate wherever we may be. For now patience is more than ever required - but with it there is hope!    

I am so glad that we feel we are in a position to resume public worship in time for Easter. By which I mean to offer the opportunity to do so. There will continue to be those who should continue to exercise caution in what they do and do not do - and some who should follow official guidelines on shielding. So please read my reminders about all that we are doing and what is required to keep our churches as safe as possible.

Face coverings, social distancing and hygiene continue to be watchwords for us. Churches are permitted to open as gatherings for worship - and that gets to the heart of why we are open and what we can do. No gatherings for being sociable as yet, I’m afraid. But the essential meeting is with God.

Noli me tangere - “Don’t touch me,” says Jesus to Mary Magdalene after she recognises the Risen Christ in a man she first thought to be a gardener. People still wonder what Jesus is saying to her. But the words have a poignancy for us now, unable to reach out and touch people who are so dear to us. The risen Jesus, however, comes to us to touch our hearts. He makes himself present in the blessed sacrament of Holy Communion - even as we are restricted to receiving him in the form only of the bread of the Eucharist, unable to share in a common cup.

The disciples had their first meeting with the risen Jesus behind locked doors. Still we know what it is to be locked down. But Christ and the power of his Resurrection are no less real for this. Let us come to meet him in our churches if we can - and if it’s wiser to stay home, let us meet him where we are.      May you know his peace, joy & blessing.                

Martin Jackson

From the April issue of our Parish Magazine - find it all and much more online by clicking on this link

Night Prayer for Passion-tide - 24th March 2021

Night Prayer - the ancient Office of Compline.

On the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord's Birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary we also look forward to Holy Week and the place of Lazarus in the events which preceded it.

Eucharist for Passion Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Lent

Eucharist for Passion Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Lent. The Revd Martin Jackson presides and preaches on this Sunday in which we turn our attention to Christ's final journey to the Cross.

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit

Next Sunday it will be Palm Sunday – the beginning of Holy Week. But the Church of England marks the beginning of a two-week season of Passion-tide, starting with the Fifth Sunday of Lent. “The hour has come…” says Jesus. Now is the time…

And then there’s Jesus’ invitation to us to follow him. It’s not an easy path to follow; the last year of pandemic has itself been a sort of prolonged Passion-tide. As we approach Easter we seek to look once more to the hope of which the Resurrection speaks. And that might be reinforced with the promise of which Jeremiah spoke – a new Covenant between God and his people, written on our hearts.

Public worship remains suspended, but both our PCCs have now voted to resume public worship in Holy Week and in time for Easter. Details as we have so far worked them out are given in this week’s pewsheetl. It will be different from what we might hope – all the restrictions we had before the suspension of our services will still be in place (face-coverings, social distancing, a ban on ”mingling,” no congregational singing), but I hope it will be no less a celebration. The first Easter itself was characterised by much confusion with an empty tomb and disputes as to what was going on – but on it is built all our faith. So, watch this space…

The Feast of St. Cuthbert - thinking about the Dun Cow

On our Patronal Festival... Last year our celebration of St. Cuthbert was amongst the first events we were forced to cancel; and once more we've been able to gather. But the Vicar has been able to make his own pilgrimage to Cuthbert's shrine & resting p;lace.

A reflection on St. Cuthbert and the Dun Cow - and how Durham Cathedral came to be built where it is.

Night Prayer for the Feast of St. Patrick

The Revd Martin Jackson leads Night Prayer - the Office of Compline - on the evening of the Feast of St. Patrick.

With special thanks for this great saint, for his faith, vision and endurance - and with prayers for all who continue his work of mission.

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has God forgotten to be gracious? 

Appreciating the beauty we may take for granted in a meditative walk along the river - with words from a Psalm and the enduring inspiration of St. Patrick.

Parish Eucharist for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Mothering Sunday)

Eucharist for 14th March, the 4th Sunday of Lent and Mothering Sunday - live-streamed from St. John's Church, Castleside with prayers for the people of both our parishes, a wider online community of prayer and those whom we particularly hold in our love this day.

Night Prayer for Lent - the Office of Compline

Night Prayer, the Office of Compline, for Wednesday 10 March - or you can use it any evening in Lent.

The additional readings are from the Journals of Thomas Merton (March 3, 1953) and the poetry of R.S.Thomas (The Bright Field).

The water of life: our need for refreshment

The water of life: thoughts, reflections and a time for stillness - from Blackhill Park.

Eucharist for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, 7th March 2021

Eucharist for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, 7th March 2021 - celebrated for the parishes of St. Cuthbert, Benfieldside and St. John the Evangelist, Castleside, and for all who join us in an online community of prayer. 

Today we use the Order for Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer. Whether or not you know its beautiful traditional language, let your hearts be open and make the prayer your own.

Night Prayer the Office of Compline shared by the Vicar

Night Prayer: the Office of Compline shared by the Revd. Martin Jackson - with a poem by Robert Herrick on the nature of a true Lent

One year on - but there will still be Holy Week

 I’ve been looking at the March 2020 issue of this Parish Magazine. We’d had to put in extra pages to cover all the things we were planning from celebrations of Mothering Sunday and St. Cuthbert’s Day, Messy Church and Mothers’ Union, plans for coffee mornings, lots of Annual Reports in preparation for Annual Meetings, and a wonderful rhythm of meeting, prayer and worship as we continued our way through Lent to Holy Week and Easter. Then abruptly with the first pandemic Lockdown it all had to stop. I celebrated the Eucharist alone on Mothering Sunday - and after that even clergy were told we couldn’t go into church to pray…

A year on, three Lockdowns and 125,000 deaths later, we’re again in the season of Lent. There are hopes of a return to some sort of normality. With the rollout of the vaccines and the publication of the Government’s “Roadmap” not only are people talking again of meeting with loved ones and even of going on holiday, but my phone is ringing as people look at the possibility of baptizing their children or marrying a partner.   For now I have to advise caution. Do go ahead with your hopes and planning - but see what is really important in them, perhaps what will need to be done with fewer people - recognise the central truths these sacraments proclaim.

As I write, we have suspended public services of worship - and the Bishop of Durham has written this morning to extend his dispensation allowing this up to 12^th April. That’s after Easter. I’m hopeful that we might be “back in church” before then - but that will require a decision on the part of our Church Councils based on careful risk assessment. Watch this space!

Lent has so often been thought of as a season of “giving things up.” The fact is we’ve all had to give up so much during the last year. The great thing about Lent is that it comes to an end; and its point is to get us to that end, to point us to Christ’s Passion, Death & Resurrection which we reach at Easter. Easter is a date that will come regardless. The Resurrection is a truth to celebrate wherever we may be. For now patience is more than ever required - but with it there is hope!                

Martin Jackson

These words are from the March issue of our Parish Magazine - click here to find our online edition

Messy Church - Neave shows us how...

It's now a year since we had to cancel in-person Messy Church activities. 

But we haven't given up on what we can share for our younger participants. Follow this link for ideas on what you can be doing at home. Neave has already been at work, as you'll see from the picture.