Living in the Light
This Chapter Letter goes to print on 21 June, the longest day of the year.
You may have seen on the BBC website recently an article about the island of Sommarøy, an island off the coast of northern Norway and home to around 300 people. At this time of year, Sommarøy enjoys 69 days of continuous light, so the islanders are campaigning to be declared the world’s first time-free zone, with the ability to choose to work or play at any time of the day or night.
What must it be like to live constantly in the light? I once visited Iceland in the summer. It was never dark, and the quality of light seemed to me to be the same whether the clock told me it was two in the morning or two in the afternoon. Even though I was there for less than a week, knowing that it would never be dark definitely changed my perception of what was possible. I could walk along the shore at midnight, or sit outside in the middle of the night and enjoy the vivid blues and greens of the stunning mountain scenery.
Unlike the people of Iceland or Sommarøy, you and I don’t live constantly in the light. Yet, as people of Christ, we are called to follow the one who is the Light of the World. In John’s gospel, Jesus says to us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Sometimes, the injunction to ‘never walk in darkness’ can feel more like aspiration than reality. We all know that life can get dark – at times, very dark – and that it can be difficult to hold on to our sense of being one to whom the light of life has been given. Yet John’s gospel also tells us that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) However dark life can seem at times, we have that assurance that the light of God’s love is still shining, however dimly we might perceive it. As the psalmist says, may we trust in the one who our light and our salvation. The Lord is the strong-hold of my life: of whom then shall I be afraid? (Ps.27:1)
For more about the story of Sommarøy, visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48677237
SAL MCDOUGALL, PRECENTOR
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Worship & Mission
Stillpoint
Saturday 22 June, 9am-9.45am
You are invited to 45 minutes of guided silent prayer in the Ringers’ Chapel of Lincoln Cathedral. No experience of contemplative prayer needed. All are welcome.
Spiritual Classics Reading Group
Saturday 6 July, 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 The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Á Kempis
Lectio Divina Bible reflection Group
Saturday 6 July, 4pm-5pm
The Precentory,12 Eastgate, LN2 1QG
We meet to read, ponder and pray through the Sunday readings for Eucharist of the following day. All are welcome.
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Community
‘The Silk Road’
Thursday 11th July, 10.30am
27 Minster Yard.
A talk by John Robinson, 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.
The Campbell Marras
We had an amazing and warm welcome from all at Monks Road Methodist Church and would like to say a huge thank you to all who supported our Coffee Morning for the Campbell Marra’s; there are too many to mention individually.
The event raised the fantastic amount of £446.39, for Verger One’s chosen charity, The British Heart Foundation.
The name of the verger bear was cardio and the size of John’s heart was 220, correctly guessed by Pauline Campbell (It really could have been no – one else!!) Thank you again for all your love, kindness and being part of Verger One’s crazy but happy year to come, we hope you will all be part of future events with many more laughs to come.
Anyone on Facebook who would like to join our group is more than welcome; search for ‘The Campbell Marras’.
Road Closures
Eastgate has now re-opened following the drainage works that have been taking place over the last couple of weeks.
Minster Yard is now closed to traffic until December. There will be no access to vehicles, but throughout the works there will be pedestrian access to the West Front of the Cathedral and the Galilee and Judgement doors.
Any arrangements for disabled access should be pre-arranged with Stuart Peace from Birch. You can email him on Stuart.Peace@williambirch.co.uk.
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Events
Organ Concert Series 2019
Saturday 20 July, 7pm, Hilary Punnett
Saturday 21 September, 7pm, Charles Harrison
Friday 4 October, 7pm, Organ Extravaganza
Sunday 22 December, 5.30pm, La Nativité du Seigneur
Come and Sing
Saturday 22 June, 10am
Join other singers and learn Carl Orff’s famous choral work Carmina Burana from scratch. This all-day event is for enthusiastic singers of all ages and abilities. Led by Director of Music, Aric Prentice, you will learn one of the most recognised pieces of choral music from film and TV.
The event will begin at 10am, finishing with a performance for family and friends at 3pm. Registration is required. Please contact the Assistant Organist on 01522 504398 or assistantorganist@lincolncathedral.com.
RSPB
You can join RSPB Lincolnshire each weekend throughout June and July to try and catch a glimpse of the Peregrine Falcons nesting on the central tower of the Cathedral. The chicks are now fledging and will be making their first flights. The RSPB tent is located on the East Green, near to the Tennyson Statue and the team have loads of information and telescopes for you to use. It is free of charge, but donations to the RSPB are gratefully received.
Magna Carta Lecture
Thursday 27 June, 7pm
Rights and Freedom Today by Shami Chakrabarti has now sold out.
Lunchtime Concert
Bellevue Presbyterian Church Choir
Thursday 11 July, 1pm-2pm
The Bellevue Presbyterian Church Choir visits Lincoln Cathedral from Washington, USA as part of a summer tour of the UK.
The choir of 50 will perform a range of Sacred music from Mendlessohn’s Kyrie and Heilig to Biery’s O Sacrum Convivium. To find out more about the choir, please visit www.belpres.org
Oliver! Tickets
There are still tickets available for the production of Oliver! If you are struggling to find enough seats for your group online at lincolncathedral.com, please call 01522 561658 and we can look for suitable spaces.
The show takes place in the Cathedral from Monday 5 to Friday 16 August 2019 (excluding Sunday 11 August).
Tickets
Tickets for all events are available on the Cathedral website – lincolncathedral.com
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Bible Readings
Sunday 23 June
First Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
Isaiah 65: 1-9
Galatians 3:23-end
Luke 8: 26-39
Mattins
Deuteronomy 11: 1-15
Acts 27: 1-12
Evensong
Ecclesiasticus 38: 24-34
Ephesians 4: 11-16
Sunday 30 June
Second Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
1 Kings 19: 15-16, 19-end
Galatians 5: 1, 13-25
Luke 9: 51-end
Mattins
Deuteronomy 15: 1-11
Acts 27: [13-32] 33-end
Evensong
Genesis 27: 1-40
Mark 6: 1-6
Sunday 7 July
Third Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
Isaiah 66: 10-14
Galatians 6: 7-16
Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20
Mattins
Deuteronomy 24: 10-end
Acts 28: 1-16
Evensong
Genesis 29: 1-20
Mark 6: 7-29
