Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.
There is no denying that the difficult and unprecedented times in the life of our nation are continuing, and indeed show no sign of abating.
This week I have been reminding myself of the words of Bishop Edward King (Bishop of Lincoln from 1885 to 1910) who said that for the Christian ‘hope is a duty’.
As Christians, it is incumbent upon us to continue to hold fast to hope. Not an empty or a superficial hope (‘I hope it doesn’t rain this morning’; ‘I hope that cake tastes as good as it looks’), but the kind of deep and fervent hope which comes from trusting in God and is rooted and grounded in the love which God has for us and all his people.
At a time when we are witnessing a worrying coarsening of public discourse, I would also like to suggest that where and when we can, it is our Christian duty to speak out against anything which harms or endangers another, and to speak up for values which in the past we may have taken for granted, but which now appear to be under threat.
How do we hope in these difficult times? What might help us to hope? I would like to suggest that one way in which we might do so is to keep in our minds the pursuit of three things which help sustain and support any civilised society. Those three things are truth, justice and beauty.
Pontius Pilate, when conducting the trial of Jesus, famously asked, ‘What is truth?’ There is no simple answer to that question, and in the end Pilate could not answer his own question and famously washed his hands of it. It would be easier to be told what to think, or to run to absolutes, but life is more complex than that and the key thing is to keep searching for truth in all that we say and do and hear, in ourselves and others.
Justice has been very much in the news this week. While the most obvious application of it is still in the law, all of us can apply it in our daily life to more relative concepts like fairness, reasonableness, equity, respect and dignity, acceptance of diversity. How do we see other people, and how do we behave towards them?
Finally, the search for beauty is one of the marks of a civilised society. Like hope, I’m not advocating a glib or superficial beauty, but the kind of beauty which comes from incredible artistry or finely honed skill.
Here in the cathedral, we are often privileged to hear the most exquisite music, much of which was inspired by the gruesome and awful death of Jesus. The unlikely juxtaposition of those two things gives me hope, because it makes me think that no matter how awful we can be at times – genocides, individual acts of cruelty – the human soul is actually programmed to seek out truth and to look for beauty, no matter how grim a situation.
In these challenging times, may all of us seek to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)
SAL MCDOUGALL, PRECENTOR
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Worship & Mission
Spiritual Classics Reading Group
Saturday 28 September, 10.30am
The Precentory, 12 Eastgate LN2 1QG
This is an open group in which members read a book prior to the meeting and discuss it together.
This month the book is Awareness by Anthony de Mello
Lincoln Pride
Saturday 28 September
There will be a service at 10am on Saturday 28 September in the Cathedral ahead of Lincoln Pride in the Arboretum. All welcome.
Sacred Space
Once a month on a Sunday at 6.45pm
This popular service is gentle and reflective with time to wonder and explore, encouraging everyone to use all their senses; it offers a different way to experience worship at Lincoln Cathedral.
Dates and themes for the coming months are:
October 27 – Saints and Sinners
November 24 – Kingdom
December 15 – Light in the Darkness
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Community
Lincoln Cathedral Community Association
Lincoln Cathedral Community Association Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 7 October in the Cathedral Centre 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Monday 30 September is the last day to get nomination forms for Lay Vice Chair; Deanery Synod Representatives and Committee Members back to the Executive Committee Secretary Mrs June Pallister. After the meeting Rachel Baxter – Community Engagement Officer for the YMCA will give a brief update of work going on with Nomad Trust and YMCA.
Lincoln Cathedral Community Association Harvest Supper will take place in the Chapter House on Wednesday 16th October at 7pm. Tickets are now available from Committee members, price £10.
Illustrated talk on Sir John Betjeman’
Thursday 10 October, 10.30am.
A lecture by The Rev. Clifford Knowles at the Cathedral Centre. The event is hosted by the Lincoln Cathedral Retired Staff and Volunteers Group. A perfect opportunity to meet former colleagues and make new friends. Annual membership fee £5, guests very welcome £2.
Rev’d Rachel Revely
Our Assistant Curate, Rev Rachel Revely, will be starting a placement at All Saints Bracebridge on 1 October. This will give her the opportunity to experience life in a parish church during her curacy. The placement will last for around three months and Rachel says the Cathedral community will remain in her and prayers, and she is looking forward to her return in the new year.
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Events
Organ Concert Series 2019
Friday 4 October, 7pm, Organ Extravaganza
Sunday 22 December, 5.30pm, La Nativité du Seigneur
Tristram Hunt Lecture: Prince Albert’s great Legacy
Thursday 10 October
Historian, journalist and former politician Tristram Hunt, became director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2017. The V&A is the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative arts and design, as well as sculpture, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Afternoon Concert
Saturday 12 October, 3pm
Sheffield Chorale are performing an afternoon concert in the Chapter House of Lincoln Cathedral.
They will sing John Rutter’s Requiem as the main item of the concert. They will open the concert with Stanford’s Coelos Ascendit Hodie and close with I am a small part of the World by Albrecht and Althouse. The programme is expected to run for around 45 minutes.
Lunchtime Concert
Saturday 19 October, 1pm
Students from Lincoln University will be playing under the direction of Mark Wilde and Ed Wellman. Entrance to the Concert is free but there will be a retiring collection in aid of Murdered Abroad (Registered Charity No 1111724), a charity which supports the families and friends of victims of murder and manslaughter abroad.
The Big Draw
19-27 October
Join us in the inspiration surroundings of Lincoln Cathedral for the Big Draw Festival 2019. No skills are needed, just take in the peaceful environment, ponder over the people who built and continue to conserve the magnificent building, then pick up paper and set your creative spirit free! Artist Kirsty Dring will be offering drawing tips on Monday 21st October from 10am to 12pm. The event is free of charge; normal Cathedral admission charges apply.
Handel’s Messiah
Saturday 23 November
We welcome you once again to our popular annual performance of Handel’s Messiah performed by the Choir of Lincoln Cathedral and the Lincolnshire Chamber Orchestra, conducted by our Director of Music, Aric Prentice.
Tickets will be available soon.
A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
Saturday 14 December 2pm and 7pm
Performed by the Lincoln Cathedral Choristers and harpist Louise Thomson
Join us on for two performances of this classic, festive favourite, in the stunning Cathedral Chapter House.
Prices:
2pm performance £11, £5 for children under 14
7pm performance £27 including wine, canapés and a lantern-light tour of the Cathedral.
Tickets will be on sale soon, available from www.lincolncathedral.com, by calling 01522 561658 or from the Cathedral Shop.
Wallace and Gromit In Concert; The Wrong Trousers
Saturday 4 January
Audiences will be treated to five showings of the film on a big screen in the Nave, and the 30-piece chamber orchestra will bring the soundtrack to life in spectacular fashion.
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Bible Readings
Sunday 29 September
Michael and All Angels
Sung Eucharist
Revelation 12: 7-12
Hebrews 1: 5-end
John 1: 47-end
Mattins
Daniel 12: 1-4
Acts 12: 1-11
Evensong
Daniel 10: 4-end
Revelation 5
Sunday 6 October
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
Habakkuk 1: 1-4; 2: 1-4
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
Mattins
Isaiah 49: 13-23
Luke 12: 1-12
Evensong
Nehemiah 5: 1-13
John 9
Sunday 13 October
Seveneenth Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
2 Kings 5: 1-3, 7-15c
2 Timothy 2: 8-15
Luke 17: 11-19
Mattins
Isaiah 50: 4-10
Luke 13: 22-30
Evensong
Nehemiah 6: 1-16
John 15: 12-end
