Lighting a candle at 7pm every Sunday – Letter from Bishop Paul

ByPaul

This comes with blessings and prayers on this, the first Sunday without gatherings for worship in many centuries. Thank you for all you have done in this past week to prepare for this, and thank you too for keeping the discipline of no public worship across the Church. An image that is helping me is that of a tapestry of prayer and care, reaching to and from our homes, as the Church expresses its life in a new way.

This evening the Archbishops have asked us all to place a candle in the window at 7pm, as a sign of our hope in our Lord Jesus, the Light of the World. Our friends in the fire service have been in touch to recommend that this candle should be electronic, or perhaps the image of a candle on your phone – in any event, do encourage people to do this safely and, if they do use a naked candle-flame, not to leave their candle unattended.

Bishop Bev has produced a brief act of worship to resource this, together with an introductory video, on behalf of Churches Together in Merseyside and Region. More details are on the Diocesan website: https://liverpool.anglican.org/A-Day-of-Prayer-and-Action, or you can access the videos and text directly from the links below. If you have developed a network of communication within your community, please share these links with your people.

Bishop Bev’s introductory video is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=132&v=2LctxrOa08o&feature=emb_logo

The text of the short act of worship here: https://liverpool.anglican.org/userfiles/files/A%20LIGHTED%20CANDLE%20Coronavirus.pdf

And Bishop Bev’s video of the act of worship is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnu9RND9GZE&feature=emb_logo 

This comes with blessings and love from me, from Bishop Bev and from your Archdeacons. A further regular update will follow tomorrow. Meanwhile may the tender and strong care of Jesus surround you on this Mothering Sunday, Jesus who wept over Jerusalem and said: “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings…” (Luke 13:34).

In the unfailing love of our blessed Lord,

+Paul

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