Parish of Hoyland Saint Andrew
  • Home
  • Services
  • Weddings/Christenings
  • History
    • Parish Hall
  • Parish News
  • Contact Us

Parish News

Latest updates on events

next

Week Commencing Sunday 11th April 2021

4/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
   “Peace be with you.”  Those are the very first words we hear Jesus speak to his disciples as he appears to them in the room where they were locked away for safety.  The greeting “peace be with you” is not really familiar in our culture, but it is used frequently by people in church services.  We wish one another peace because we know that this is God’s will for us.  Normally the greeting would be accompanied by a handshake or even a brief hug, but in these days of limited contact, we have had to make it a more socially-distanced greeting.
   The word used in the original Greek New Testament is “eirhnh” (érené), from which the name Irene comes.  Even so, Jesus being a Hebrew, would probably have used the word “Shalom”.  For the people of Israel, this is not just what we understand by peace, which is probably tranquillity or an end to war.  It has a wider meaning of wholeness or completeness and it would also be used as a greeting for “hello” and “goodbye”.  Jesus is bestowing a peace upon his disciples such as the world cannot give – a peace that would bring wholeness of spirit and bind together a scarred, divided and fearful community.
   Our peace has been disturbed over the past year or more.  As individuals and as a society we have been thrown into unfamiliar circumstances.  Some of the comforts we usually enjoy, such as social contact, sitting in a café, going to a football match, relaxed and lively worship – all these things have been suspended.  In times like this the world can seem an unfamiliar and disturbing place.  Perhaps we can feel at least a certain identification with the disciples who could no longer go about freely, whose lives were in danger and whose hope had been shattered.  It seemed that getting to know Jesus had not brought them in the end to a place of peace.
   But now they meet Jesus again and he breathes upon them the Holy Spirit, the bringer of peace and unity – the Spirit of courage - inspiring enthusiasm and a sense of belonging.  The life Jesus lived on earth was not really filled with the kind of peace that we would normally recognise.  He was frequently in conflict with the religious authorities and his life ended in dreadful violence and suffering.  His followers were scattered and afraid.  But through all of this, Jesus maintained an inner peace that could only come about through deep communion with the Father.  The peace of God really is a peace that the world cannot give.  As Rowan Williams writes in his book “The Truce of God”:
   “He is ‘at peace’ with the Father because he is aware that nothing can sever his anchorage in this root of his existence.”
   
Jesus is anchored in that relationship of true and perfect peace and wants us to share in it.  Just as no worldly events or powers could uproot Jesus from that relationship of peace, if we ourselves put down our own anchor in that place, the waves cannot overwhelm us.  We may not see Jesus in the way that Thomas and the other disciples did, but we can recognise the presence of Jesus through our worship and in our relationships.  In Holy Communion we participate in the sharing of the Body of Christ, who stands among us and speaks to our heart: “Peace be with you.”  Yes, happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
   One of my favourite prayers is the second collect for evening prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, and I would like to share it with you now:
              O GOD, from whom all holy desires,
             all good counsels, and all just works do proceed;
             Give unto thy servants that peace
             which the world cannot give;

             that our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments,
             and also that by thee, we,
             being defended from the fear of our enemies,
             may pass our time in rest and quietness;
             through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

 Jesus came and stood among his disciples and he stands among us now, saying: “Peace be with you”.

                                                       Father Richard 

            There will be no mid-week service this week.
​            The next service is on Sunday 18th April at 9.30am.
0 Comments

Easter Sunday and beyond

4/5/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
          “What we call the beginning is often the end
          and to make an end is to make a beginning.
          The end is where we start from.” (Little Gidding, T S Eliot)

   At the Easter Vigil, Christ is proclaimed as the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.  It is Christ who is the human face of the creator God, who heals our memories, forgives our sins and raises us from death to new life.
   Today we begin our story at the end.  There is perhaps no clearer image of an ending than a tomb.  Mary of Magdala arrives to pay her respects and to spend time with her personal grief.  The life story of Jesus is at an end and the shared experiences of the disciples now seemed to be in the past.  All they were left with was their loss, their sadness and their memories.
   And yet, on that morning of the first day of the week, nothing was as expected.  Mary is confronted by a stone rolled away and a tomb that was empty.  The body of Jesus was no longer there.  She runs to tell the others, not filled with a sense of joy, but shocked and distraught.  As far as she knew, his body had been taken away.
   In the same way, Peter and the other disciple are confronted by a puzzling scene.  We are told that only Simon Peter went into the tomb and there found the grave clothes.  The cloth that had been placed around the head of Jesus was not just dumped on the ground, but we are told that it was rolled up in a place by itself.  Of itself, there is nothing about this scene that might have convinced the disciples that Jesus was risen.  Even so, John’s gospel tells us:
  “Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.  Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”
   Something about that scene stirred their memories and brought home to them what Jesus had taught them.  Somehow in that moment that same teaching seemed to fit with the stories they had heard related to them through Scripture: the story of our salvation.
   This was a turning point and a new beginning.  Throughout these days of Easter we hear stories of how various different people become aware of the presence of the risen Lord.  In every case it was unexpected and it marked a new beginning, both in their way of seeing things and in their way of living.
   So where do we begin with our own story?  It seems that in various ways we begin with an ending.  A lot of things have seemed to come to an end over this past twelve months.  All too many have died and many people are left mourning their loss.  Even without the experience of physical death, there have been other kinds of endings: jobs lost, opportunities that have had to be laid to rest and plans that have not come to fruition.  Some things may never come back and some changes may be lasting ones.
   Easter does not bring some kind of fairy-tale happy ending, but it does hold out the prospect of a new beginning.  The first disciples would carry with them their story of grief and loss, mingled with memories of their own failure and sinfulness.  But life was no longer the same.  The Lord had risen and was breathing new life into the sad stories of his disciples.  No longer were they prisoners of the past, wallowing in grief and in guilt.  Jesus was with them and was calling them to follow him into a future of hope and of lasting joy.
   This is not just a story of events long ago, because it is our story too.  Wherever there are endings, the risen life of Christ brings new beginnings.  All time belongs to him and nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In the words of T S Eliot again:
         “We shall not cease from exploration
          And at the end of all our exploring
          Will be to arrive where we started
          And to know the place for the first time.”

  The disciples began again where they started, but this time they knew and understood, they saw and they believed.  This, my brothers and sisters, is a journey of discovery on which we are called to follow in the way of Jesus.  Happy Easter!


0 Comments

Commencement of Holy Week

3/29/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Palm Sunday Sermon
​  “A murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay”: words from one of my favourite Passiontide hymns, “My song is love unknown”.  As was the custom at Passover, a prisoner was released.  It could have been Jesus, but the crowd called for Barabbas.  Ironically, the name Barabbas in Hebrew means, “Son of the Father.”  The insurrectionist was released and the real Son of the Father, Jesus, was condemned to die.
   The Passion reading we have just heard from Mark’s gospel turns all conventional wisdom on its head.  So does the Gospel passage we heard at the beginning of Mass.  The one who is acclaimed as king enters Jerusalem in humility, riding on a donkey, as the prophet Zecharia had once prophesied.
   The crowds were enthusiastic in their welcome, but we hear in the Passion reading how that same welcoming crowd ended up shouting for the blood of Jesus.  Human nature is fickle.  We see examples all the time in the news of people who once were the flavour of the month becoming objects of derision.  Jesus was spared none of that and neither did he expect to be.
   “Not to be served but to serve”, in the words of another much-loved hymn, “The servant King”.  Through Holy Week we are reminded of the humility of this King.  The washing of feet cannot take place this year on Maundy Thursday, but the reminder is there in the gospel.  On Good Friday, we see Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate and refusing to defend himself, other than to testify to the truth.
   Jesus is exalted, but on earth that exaltation would come through being lifted up on a Cross.  Through the crucifixion, which was intended to be a sign of shame, we see human dignity in its purest form.  In the distorted, mocking symbolism of the crown of thorns, we see kingship as it really is.  Through the death of Jesus, we see the power of sin and death being overturned.  The love of God conquers all things.
   This week is central to our faith.  We see the real purpose of the ministry of Jesus and the true nature of God.  Whereas the love of human beings is fickle, the love of God is constant and unconditional.  Through the outpouring of God’s love from the Cross, we can be sure that in every trial we face, God will never desert us.  This week I pray that our participation in the liturgical events of Holy Week will lead us into a deeper knowledge of God’s love and a stronger desire to reflect that same love in our lives.

                                                                  Father Richard
0 Comments

Holy Week Services

3/24/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Services will resume from Palm Sunday. We are not quite back to normal as they will still be socially distanced, without singing, AND numbers will have to be limited so please book via the Vicar or Churchwardens. The dates and times are as follows:-
Palm Sunday 9.30am St Andrews (St Peters will hold their own separate service).
Maundy Thursday 7.00pm Joint Service at St Peters.
Good Friday 2.00pm Joint Service at St Andrews.
Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter 7.00pm Joint Service at St Peters.
Easter Sunday 9.30am St Andrews (St Peters will hold their own separate service). 
0 Comments

Lent 5

3/22/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
​  “Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.”
   Over the past year it seems that priests and funeral directors are not the only ones to have become familiar with the theme of death and burial.  We have heard on the news on an ongoing basis about the tragic death toll from Covid.  On a less tragic, but still often upsetting level, other things have fallen on the ground and died: job prospects, the special events in people’s lives, opportunities to get together with our families and friends, holidays and much more.  So much seems to have been taken away and some of those things may never come back.
   In the gospel today we hear about some Greeks who are eager to see Jesus.  Philip and Andrew go and tell Jesus.  Unexpectedly, Jesus replies with a cryptic metaphor about a wheat grain being buried in the ground, but later producing an abundance of life.  Jesus is anticipating his own death and resurrection.  He also wants to bring home to his disciples that if anyone really wants to see Jesus, they will see him most clearly when he is raised up on the Cross.  Here we see the sacrificial love of God in all its wonder.
   The image Jesus uses to speak about death and new life is one his disciples could relate to and I think we can too.  At this beginning of springtime we begin to see all the new life emerging from what has lain buried in the earth.  “Now the green blade riseth”, in the words of that beautiful Easter hymn.  That new growth will in turn give rise to yet more life.  Archbishop St Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in El Salvador in 1980 picked up on this theme:
   “To each one of us Christ is saying: ‘If you want your life and mission to be fruitful as mine, do as I do.  Be converted into a seed that lets itself be buried.  Let yourself be killed.  Do not be afraid.  Those who shun suffering will remain alone.  No one is more alone than the selfish.  But if you give your life out of love for others, as I give mine for all, you will reap a great harvest.’”
   Romero was speaking about Jesus, but his words echo through his own self-offering in the service of the poor and especially through his death.  When Romero speaks about being killed, he doesn’t mean that everyone has to die a martyr.  This is really a message about allowing our own vanity and selfish ambition to die, together with everything that prevents us from being fully human.  This is not a message about clinging to a mortal life, but about dying to live.
   For Christians, Jesus is not a remote figure who did something strange and wonderful so that when we die, we go to heaven.  Instead he calls us to follow him and to serve him by giving of ourselves for the good of others.  Following Jesus means taking up our cross, whatever form it takes.  St Rose of Lima reminds us:
   “Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”
   It was when he was lifted up on the Cross that Jesus would draw all people to himself.  The death of Jesus was not just some tragic waste of a life or the premature end of a wonderful story.  It is the key point of his life on earth.  Through his death, God brings new life.
   Even out of some of the losses and tragedies of this year, we have seen signs of new beginnings.  There are some inspiring examples of people giving of themselves for others.  Even out of loss and sadness there are signs of new purpose and restored hope.   
   We don’t need to die on a cross in order to follow Jesus, because Jesus has already done this for us, so that we might live.   Whatever pains we have to bear, whatever sacrifices we make, whatever we lose in life, we can be sure that we do not have to bear these things in human strength alone.  When we follow Jesus, when we lay down our lives in his service, we find the grace of God enters into our lives.  Through our experience of loss and of death, we find the life that lasts into eternity.
                                                                        Father Richard


0 Comments

Stations of the Cross

3/17/2021

0 Comments

 
The Stations of the Cross are an ancient form of Christian devotion, inviting us on a virtual pilgrimage in Jesus’ footsteps, recalling and reflecting on key moments on his journey to the cross. The following are images of the carved stations displayed in our church depicting some of the major moments from Jesus being condemned to being placed in the tomb. After each reading, at each station, we usually respond with:- 
               
​                 “We adore you O Christ, and we praise you:
                 because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”


0 Comments

Mothering Sunday

3/14/2021

0 Comments

 
​
​
Mothering Sunday - For all Mothers everywhere (furry ones included!)
Picture
     We are now just beyond the midpoint of Lent.  The traditional practice of the Church at this stage is to have a “refreshment Sunday” or, to give it its Latin name, Laetare Sunday.  Laetare is the exhortation to rejoice, which we hear in the entrance antiphon to Mass on the fourth Sunday of Lent, in the words drawn from Isaiah 66:10 – “Rejoice, Jerusalem”.  Just as the people of Israel were called to rejoice in the consolation and hope that God alone could give, so we too have an invitation to do the same.  Perhaps we feel something of the joyful hope of returning from a long experience of exile.  After a long, hard, COVID winter we approach the light and hope not only of spring but of Easter, with its message that death will not prevail and that the love of God is renewed in our lives. 
   Our exile has also been one from our church at this time.  Mothering Sunday is popularly known as “Mother’s Day”, but it was traditionally the time when people would visit their mother church.  The COVID situation has prevented that from happening for the second year running.  We look forward to being in church once again, God willing, from Palm Sunday onwards.
   In liturgical terms, Laetare Sunday can be marked by rose-coloured altar frontals and vestments, which again symbolise Lenten joy.  It is also customary to relax the Lenten rule around this time – maybe having a nice slice of cake or a G & T -  reminding ourselves that Lent is not supposed to be a season of gloom but of spiritual growth.  I pray you may find your spirits lifted on this Mothering Sunday as we give thanks to God and look to the future in joyful hope.
                                                                Father Richard


0 Comments

Lent 3 Extracts

3/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

​Extracts from the Streamed Service
last Sunday (Lent 3)
“Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.”
  Those cryptic words of Jesus were spoken in the aftermath of an astonishing scene.  The anger we see in Jesus in this extract from John’s gospel seems at odds with the image we have of a gentle and meek character.  We might describe it as righteous anger.  Very rarely is anger truly righteous, but here it was directed at people who were making the house of God into a place of exploitation.  This doesn’t mean that Jesus would object to fundraising events in our churches, or raffles or tombola.  In the Jerusalem Temple it was not a question of fundraising, but of profiteering and extracting unjust sums of money from the people who came in faith to the Temple.  The sanctity of the Temple had been defiled by market values.
   When a special, holy place is destroyed or badly damaged it causes great sadness.  Such places are symbols that point beyond themselves, such as the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, damaged by fire almost two years ago.  When churches, mosques or temples are attacked or vandalised we feel sad and angry because, although they are inanimate structures, they embody the faith of a community and are deeply meaningful.  They can, of course, be rebuilt, often in a beautiful way, but it tends to take years and huge amounts of money.
   We know from the things he says in the gospels that Jesus knew the Temple would not last.  He may well also have known that it would be rebuilt, although none of this would be in his lifetime on earth.  So the Temple authorities were confounded when Jesus said: “Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.”  The gospel writer helps us out by telling us that the sanctuary he was speaking about was his own body.  We know that Jesus would be put to death and raised on the third day.  But no one in the Temple on that day could have had any idea at all of what Jesus was speaking about.
   If certain buildings, like the Jerusalem Temple, are special because of the faith to which they bear witness, then how much more special are the people who confess that faith?  In another place in John’s gospel Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman and tells her that the time would come when the worship of God would not be confined to this or that mountain on which temples had been built.  People would worship “in spirit and in truth”.  In Jesus we see how the human person becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit.  By the grace of God, this gift of the Spirit is poured out into the lives of all who believe in him.
   Just as Jesus cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem, he gives us the means by which the Temple, which is our own body, can be cleansed of all that is at enmity with God.  The Holy Spirit dwelling in hearts made pure, brings to life the commandments of God that we hear of in the book of Exodus.   No longer are these laws just written on a page, but they are inscribed on our hearts and are brought to life as we live as followers of Jesus.
   Psalm 18, reminds us that the law of the Lord is not something to enslave us, but a law that gladdens the heart and revives the soul.  The love of Christ chases out the darkness within us, so that we can be fashioned into that living temple which is the dwelling place of God in human life. 
   As we approach Passiontide we come to focus more closely on the Cross.  This instrument of death and shame was revealed as the place where sin was overcome and the power of death destroyed.  No matter how unworthy we might be, God wants us to share in the forgiveness of sins and in newness of life.
  The thing that made Jesus passionate and angry was the way in which people of faith were being prevented from drawing close to the God who is Father of us all.  In the kingdom of God, the values of the market should always be subordinate to our true relationship with God and with one another.  God does not judge us by our success or our economic value.  He calls each of us to be temples of the Holy Spirit.  So let us pray that our hearts may be cleansed, and let us prepare to welcome that gift. 
0 Comments

Lent and beyond

2/28/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

​Below are some words from Father Richard on the Transfiguration...
It is hoped to start live Services again from Palm Sunday, 28th March 2021 at 9.30am if all goes according to plan. This will then lead us into Easter. Please check web-site for further details regarding all the Holy Week services nearer the time.
The Transfiguration (Second Sunday of Lent)
Genesis 22; Psalm 115; Romans 8; Mark 9

   Yesterday I was looking at some photos taken almost two years ago of a holiday after Easter.  I was on top of mount Snowdon.  I have to admit I didn’t walk it, but took the train.  The atmosphere and the views were amazing and it felt quite different from down below – colder and with the sun glinting on the patches of remaining snow.   Mountains are wonderful places from which to survey far and wide, but also places not to be taken lightly.
   In the book of Exodus, a mountain was where Moses received the law on behalf of the people of Israel.  The people were warned off touching the mountain and only Moses could ascend to encounter the living God.  The prophet Elijah, as told in the First book of Kings, also climbed a mountain where he had a powerful experience of the presence of God.
   Today we hear how Jesus invited three of his disciples to climb the mountain with him.  There we are told that Jesus was transfigured and that his clothing shone with an unearthly brightness.  Not only that, but Moses was with him and Elijah too, both of whom lived centuries before but who in their own lifetime had encountered the glory of God on a mountain.  Jesus was seen to converse with the one who received the Law and the one who was a great prophet.  In Jesus the Law and prophecy were to be fulfilled.
   No wonder the disciples could not understand and no wonder that Peter, normally so confident, was overcome by fear and began to babble.  In this dazzling revelation Jesus was seen clearly, not in the old familiar way, but in the glory of the one who was the Messiah, the Son in whom the Father was well pleased.  In dazzling light and in the overshadowing cloud, the disciples experienced a revelation of the glory of God in the presence of Jesus.
   The experience seemed to last only for a short time until they saw Jesus once again in a familiar way.  They did not understand what he meant when he told them to tell nobody of their experience until he had risen from the dead.  Climbing back down from the mountain, they would begin a journey that they could not yet comprehend.  The glory of God would once again be revealed through the humanity of Jesus, but this time that glory would shine through the Cross.
   From a mountain we can glimpse a wider landscape.  The journey the disciples were to walk with Jesus would be one which could only be understood within the landscape of God’s plan of salvation.  Luke’s gospel tells us that what Jesus had spoken of with Moses and Elijah had been his departure or exodus.  The exodus journey on which Moses had led the people of Israel had been a departure from slavery in Egypt – a journey that led to the Promised Land.  With Jesus, the departure or exodus would be a liberation from the slavery of sin and the power of death.  It would lead into the fulness of life, now and always.
   Jesus invited his disciples and he invites us also to walk that way with him.  It is not a promise of an easy journey.  At times it will be tough, but along the way we can keep before us the promise of leaving behind us all that keeps us captive and all that keeps us imprisoned by fear.  As we take up our cross and follow Jesus we make a journey towards the fulfilment of God’s promises and into newness of life.
   Our experiences at this time may be ones of hope, mingled with the anxiety and weariness that can still remain.  Jesus gave his weary and frightened disciples a glimpse of the glory of God and they descended the mountain with a higher perspective.  They had heard the voice of the Father from the cloud: “This is my son, the Beloved, listen to him.”  Only by continuing to listen to Jesus and by allowing his words to take hold of their hearts, could the disciples be strengthened to face what lay ahead.  They still got things wrong, but came to see that the Lord they followed was always with them.
   We have the same Lord Jesus Christ with us and we meet him in word and sacrament and through the life of the Church.  Through faith we can even have those occasional glimpses of glory.  Jesus is God’s beloved Son, but we can know that we too are welcomed as sons and daughters with whom, despite our faults, the Father is well pleased.  So even when we cannot see clearly the way ahead or feel that we walk through a deep valley, let’s continue to trust in the Lord who leads us.  As we take up our share in his Cross, let’s remember that Jesus also invites us to share in his Resurrection glory.
 
0 Comments

Christmas Service

12/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
There will be a special service on Christmas Eve at 4.00pm. Numbers are limited due to covid so should be pre-booked with Father Richard by the end of Monday 21st December at the latest.

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Saint Andrew

    I am a rather old Saint.

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly