Eastertide: glimpses of eternity…
I find Eastertide at once both a time for rejoicing and a time for deep thought. In the fact of the Risen Christ we may well find that many of our purely human thoughts and perceptions are challenged – some of the things we see in the Risen Christ take us beyond our own experience.
Of course, in large part this is because we are not Christ – we cannot be Christ and cannot experience life as he did. Nonetheless in the accounts of the post-Easter encounters that Jesus’ disciples had with him we see something of a glimpse of what our experience might be if it were not constrained by the very human limitations of time and place. As I mentioned in my sermon last week, the very fact that in the time between Good Friday and Easter Day we understand that Christ broke the boundaries of heaven and earth means that in the Risen Christ we see something of the image of humanity transformed by an encounter with the eternal nature of a God who is pure beauty, truth and love.
Reading a book recently, I was struck by a very secular view that our life begins with our birth and very definitely ends with our death – a view that takes us in one line from birth to death, with the inconsequential nature of our life in between something of a stark and desperate sidenote. However, the Christian understanding that beyond our earthly death we are released from the bonds of time and place mean that this is not the end. In absolute terms, we find in the Christian faith opening the possibility that we will be touched by that same eternity that is found in the presence of God, and made known to us in the Risen Christ.
This is not just some promise for the future – a form of heavenly insurance policy for the time when this life is over – but a real and transforming reality now. As we pray each day, we seek heaven here on earth – and it is in the image of the risen Christ that we see an opening into the possibility of what this means for us. If we can catch a glimpse of the glory of God in Christ, we can allow that to change our perceptions – to move beyond the purely human conception of life and the world and to see the possibility of God’s glory in the beauty and love that we find around us. And as we recognise this different perspective we will be changed so that the beauty and wonder of creation transformed in not some future dream, but becomes for us a present reality.
NICK BROWN, PRECENTOR
Worship & Mission
Weekly service schedule
The service sheet for the coming fortnight can be viewed on the cathedral website (click link to visit)
Sacred Space
Sacred Space will be taking place at 7pm on the following Sundays in 2023:
21 May – Spirit and flame
16 July – The beauty of creation
10 September – New beginnings
19 November – The darkness of waiting
Sacred Space is a gentle, reflective service with time to wonder, the opportunity to use all your senses to explore faith and the chance to experience the unique and serene atmosphere of the Cathedral as the day draws to a close.
Stillpoint
This is a time of guided silent prayer to be still and aware of the presence of God. All are welcome to join us.
Please note the new time for Stillpoint. We meet in the Ringers Chapel from 8.45am – 9.15am on the following Mondays:
15 May
12 June
10 July
Ascension Day
Thursday 18 May
7am – Morning Eucharist for Ascension Day, followed by a simple breakfast
5.30pm – Solemn Evensong
7.30pm Sung Eucharist (Cathedral Consort)
Pentecost
Sunday 28 May
10am – Sung Eucharist for the Feast of Pentecost
Community
News from the Diocese of Lincoln
The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked Bishop David Court, the Bishop of Grimsby, to take on the role of Acting Bishop of Lincoln from Monday 1st May 2023. As always understood, Bishop Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely, has returned full time to his ministry in Ely after a warmly received and highly effective 16 months as Acting Bishop. The process of appointing the new substantive Bishop of Lincoln is still underway. Please follow the link below for pastoral letter from our bishops to the congregations, ministers and officers of the diocese.
https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=58f369eb-0c62-4dc5-a364-6132576b0426
Please pray for Bishop David as he takes on this important role and for all who lead and minister in the diocese.
Paula Hill
Paula’s funeral, will take place at 12noon on 10 May at St Wilfred’s Church, Metheringham.The family expect church to be very busy but all are very welcome. They would also like everyone to know that Paula was a fan of colour! Donations to a chosen charity will be collected at the funeral. As always, we keep Paula, Christopher and her family in our thoughts and prayers.
St Teilo Organ
Visitors to Lincoln Cathedral will see, and hear, a new addition in St Hugh’s Choir as part of the Byrd 400 celebrations taking place this year. The St Teilo Organ is a modern reproduction of a Tudor organ of the type that would have been familiar to William Byrd during his time as Master of the Choristers at Lincoln Cathedral, and it is on display in the Cathedral until September 2023. You can find out more about the organ at https://lincolncathedral.com/st-teilo-organ-comes-to-lincoln-cathedral/
LCCA invite you to celebrate Pentecost Sunday
Sunday 28 May 2023 Festal Evensong for Pentecost (Whit Sunday) at 3.45pm followed by Cake in the Cloisters. Tickets £5 – available after Sunday morning Eucharists or email lcca@lincolncathedral.com. All proceeds to the Lincolnshire Warm Packs project. Please inform us in advance of any dietary restrictions.
Lincoln Cathedral Annual Report and Accounts for 2022
The Cathedral’s annual report and accounts for 2022 have now been published and you can find them on the Cathedral website at – https://lincolncathedral.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/FINAL-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-for-the-Year-Ended-31-March-2022.pdf
If you would like a paper copy, please contact chapteroffice@lincolncathedral.com.
Events
Fleetwood Mac by Candlelight
16 June, 7.00pm
Featuring a cast of West End Singers and a live band, join us for a ‘landslide’ concert, jam packed with Fleetwood Mac hits as you have never heard them before.
Bowie by Candlelight
17 June, 7.00pm
An incredible night of Bowie anthems including ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Starman’, ‘Life on Mars’, ‘Rebel Rebel’ and more, performed at the beautiful Lincoln Cathedral by Candlelight.
Byrd 400
30 June – 4 July
A five-day festival with daily choral services sung by the Cathedral Choir will focus on Byrd’s liturgical music
Lincoln Jazz Festival
14 July – 16 July
A weekend festival of Jazz and Gospel music featuring leading musicians from the UK and overseas.
For more details of forthcoming events and to book your tickets, go to our website at www.lincolncathedral.com/forthcoming-events
Bible Readings
Sunday 30 April
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Eucharist
Acts 2. 42-end
1 Peter 2. 19-end
John 10. 1-10
Evening Prayer
Ezra 3.1-13
Ephesians 2. 11-end
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Sunday 7 May
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Eucharist
Acts 7. 55-end
1 Peter 2. 2-10
John 14, 1-14
Evening Prayer
Zechariah 4. 1-10
Revelation 21. 1-14
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Sunday 14 May
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Eucharist
Acts 17. 22-31
1 Peter 3. 13-end
John 14. 15-21
Evening Prayer
Zechariah 8. 1-13
Revelation21.22–22.5
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