Easter Worship from Leicester

Good morning. And happy Easter. Today is the most important day in

the church calendar, when millions of Christian believers or around the

world focus their worship on the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000

years ago. Today, we have come to Leicester Cathedral to join the

congregation here in their Easter celebrations as they welcome friends

and visitors were all over this great city. Before the service gets

underway, let's have a quick word with the Dean, David Monteith. Thank

you for having us. You had an early start today. Yes, we gathered at

6:30am. We lit the Easter fire and baptised and confirmed new

Christians. It was a joyous occasion. What can we expect to see

and hear this morning? We will have the best of our Church of England

Eucharist, a holy Communion service, with glorious music. It will have a

very Leicester feel, as young Asian dancers will be part of the service.

Will there be a chance to think and pray for people around the world?

Easter reminds us of the pain and glory of God, so we will be thinking

a lot about is very and particularly about those in South Korea today. I

am sure will appreciate the opportunity to stop and reflect. I

will let you get ready. Our is today service from Leicester Cathedral

begins as the Dean hands water from the font to the Bishop of

Leicester, for him to invite everybody to renew with their

baptismal vows. In baptism, God calls us to new

life. We die with Christ to all that destroys, and rise to live with him

forever. Therefore on this Easter morning, following our service of

baptism and confirmation at dawn, I ask you to renew your baptismal vows

in the light of Christ gloriously risen from the dead. Do you reject

evil? I reject evil. And all its many forms? And all its many forms.

And all its empty promises? And all its empty promises. God has claimed

us as his own. In Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, he has brought us out of

darkness! He has made us light to the world! Let us now declare our

faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for

our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He was buried. He was

raised to life on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Afterwards he appeared to his followers, and to all the apostles.

This we have received, and this we believe. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Peace be with you. And also with you. Alleluia! Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Welcome to Leicester Cathedral. We

come with visitors from across the diocese. For those of you sharing

this occasion at home and with Christians around the world, to

celebrate the joy of the resurrection on this Easter morning.

Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

Laudamus te, benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.

Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam: Domine Deus, Rex

coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite.

Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius

Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi. Miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata

mundi. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus.

Quoniam to solus altissimus. Quoniam tu solus Dominus.

In gloria Dei Patris. Amen. Let us pray that we may walk the

risen life of Christ in glory. God of glory, by the raising of your Son

you have broken the chains of death and hell: fill your Church with

faith and hope. For a new day has dawned, and the way to life stands

open in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you in

the unity of the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.

A reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah. At that time, says the

Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall

be my people. Thus says the Lord: The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness. When Israel sought for rest, the Lord

appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting

love. Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will

build you, and you shall be built, O Virgin Israel! Again you shall take

your tambourines, and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Again

you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters

shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit. For there shall be a day when

sentinels will call in the hill country of Ephraim: "Come, let us go

up to Zion, to the Lord our God." Hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be

to God. A reading from the Acts of the

Apostles. Peter began to speak to those assembled in the house of

Cornelius. "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in

every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable

to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching

peace by Jesus Christ - he is Lord of all. That message spread

throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John

announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and

with power: how he went about doing good and healing all who were

oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all

that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by

hanging him on a tree. But God raised him on the third day and

allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen

by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from

the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he

is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the

prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him

receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Hear the word of the

Lord. Thanks be to God. # Alleluia, Jesus risen Lord of

life. # Alleluia.

# Jesus risen Lord of life. # Alleluia.

# Alleluia. The Lord be with you. And also with

you. Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

Glory to you, O Lord. After the sabbath, as the first day of the

week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

sabbath, as the first day of the week And suddenly there was a great

earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came

and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like

lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards

shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not

be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here; for he has been raised," as he said. "Come, see the

place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been

raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;

there you will see him.' This is my message for you." So they left the

tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him,

took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to

them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there

they will see me.'" This is the Gospel of Christ.

What is the connection between your belly button and today - Easter Day?

Our belly button tells us we once had an umbilical cord. We had a

beginning. We were born! The site of the empty tomb in the Holy

Sepulchre, Jerusalem is a place of Christian pilgrimage. 90 of us from

this diocese were there last November. For over 1,000 years it

has been called in Greek, the omphalos, the navel, the belly

button of the world. This is the place where many Christians believe

that the world was born afresh. Matthew's gospel, like the book of

Genesis, starts with its own 'In the beginning'. Now on the first day of

the week at dawn, in other words, 'in the beginning', Mary Magdalene

and the other Mary think they are coming to a death - but instead

discover birth. It is like the wise men in TS Eliot's poem who say, were

we led all that way for birth or death? Our belly buttons remind us

of birth but also of mortality. Birth and death are very close, just

marked by a time gap. The writer Iris Murdoch once said that if you

really want to understand another person, ask of what they are afraid.

Despite living longer, despite the advances of medicine, despite

hospice care, our fears about death have not disappeared. Forthcoming

proposed legislation about Assisted Suicide, in my view, is yet another

attempt to control this uncontrollable fear. I am very

conscious this Easter morning of those who are confused and angry,

families who are in grief and communities in great shock. Let me

speak of facing fear in my own life - as I recall looking at my younger

sister, lying in her coffin. A life cut short. An absence. An aching

grief. Did I just see pallid death or was there life and birth even

there? Then I saw how fear is still at work in me. I should have

realised, growing up in Northern Ireland during the 70s and 80s, that

violence breeds fear. Having recognised fear, I am discovering I

can live beyond it. God's grace is much more. There seems to be a

fearless space already cleared as if someone has prepared it for me. My

belly button will decay when I die. Like Richard III's remains found

yards from where I stand, I too will return to the earth. Like him I am

also marked with a baptismal cross, a scar of new birth and that will

not decay. John's gospel tells us that water and blood flowed from

Jesus's side - evidence of death? But where else does water and blood

flow? Of course it's birth! This morning at 6:30am our bishop

baptised 11 people. St Paul says that baptism is a burial into

Christ's death. Our candidates were drenched, like the waters of the

deepest ocean. For Christians, the chaos and fear of death has to first

be embraced. The Marys go to the tomb to face the cold, the slab, the

shroud. Instead they met light and life. In stark contrast, the guards

were unable to perceive this new thing and are gripped by fear. St

Matthew says they became like dead men. The Marys discover a birth out

of death. But the guards also make an Easter discovery. They find that

what they took for life is death. They choose to live as frightened

people. To both the fearful and the hopeful, the risen Jesus says - Do

not be afraid. Here in Leicester, I have seen that

it is possible to move beyond fear to a life reborn, a new humanity.

Emily is a Pioneer Youth Minister who runs a Youth Church in our

diocese. She grew up without a faith. There was a bible in her home

on the second shelf down, where all the fiction was kept. When her dad

suffered and died from cancer, fear came to the surface and was met by

love as she found herself unexpectedly going to church. She

became hungry to know more and read and studied and questioned. Two

years later she was baptised and confirmed. Two years on, she works

with young people, many of whom lack self-esteem, carry great burdens for

their age and know how debilitating fear can be. Emily says discovering

all this was a little embarrassing and very inconvenient but it has

been a rebirth. The world is no longer bleak. It is bleak for some.

Derogatory headlines about the poor don't help, as demand for food banks

accelerates. Christ was poor and his Easter people know that God's new

humanity is most especially for those in need. We've been here many

times before. In 1753 Charles Wesley founder of Methodism said, "So

wickedly, devilishly false, is that common objection, they are poor,

only because they are idle." Yet like then, the majority of children

in poverty come from hard working households. They are not idle. They

simply don't have enough money. Adjacent to the cathedral, at

churches in the city centre, and across this diocese, those who have

been freed from fear, reach out in generosity to feed their neighbours

and counter fear- mongering with the light of truth. Easter shows that

fear is not the last word. Through our baptism we meet sisters and

brothers of every hue. Unlike the stories which speak of the church in

terms of schism and dissent, instead I find community. When it comes to

living with difference, whether that is race, culture, gender or

sexuality, local churches and cathedrals are actually good at

living with diversity. We are still learning but we keep discovering a

deeper solidarity which overcomes fear. When the English Defence

League decided to come to Leicester, we came together in this cathedral

recognising that fearful vitriol aimed at one community was vitriol

aimed at us all. Every person finds welcome here as, in Christ, we

discover that difference need not mean fear. I know fear. The world

knows fear. At times the church can be fearful too. Yet our ultimate

fear, death, is defeated through the persistence of Christ's love now,

revealed in the Resurrection. Shaped by this God, a new humanity is born

whose song is Alleluia! Do not be afraid!

# O sons and daughters let us sing. # The King of heav'n the glorious

King. # O'er death today rose triumphing:

Alleluia. # That Easter morn at break of day.

# The faithful women went their way. # To seek the tomb where Jesus lay:

Alleluia. # An angel clad in white they see.

# Who sat and spake unto the three. # "Your Lord doth go to Galilee."

Alleluia. # That night th'apostles met in

fear. # Amidst them came their Lord most

dear. # And said, 'my peace be on all

here.' Alleluia. # On this most holy day of days.

# To God your hearts and voices raise.

# In laud and jubilee and praise: Alleluia.

In joy and hope we pray. Lord our Light and our Salvation: Hear our

prayer. That our risen Saviour may fill us with the joy of his glorious

and life-giving resurrection, and that we may find strength in the

good news of Easter. Lord our Light and our Salvation: Hear our prayer.

That he may provide for those who lack food, work, or shelter and help

us to do his will. We pray for our city, to continue to be a safe and

hospitable place for all. Lord our Light and our Salvation: Hear our

prayer. That he may reveal the light of his

presence to the sick, the weak and the dying. And especially at this

time, to those who have lost their loved ones in the ferry disaster of

the coast of South Korea. We pray that God may have mercy upon the

people of Syria, of all the Middle East and every place of war and

conflict. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Lord our Light and our

Salvation: Hear our prayer. We give thanks for those who have

gone before us and pray for trust and faith that Jesus Christ is the

pioneer of our salvation. Bring us with all the departed to glory

through his death and resurrection, and surround with your saints and

angels those who have died trusting your promises. Lord our Light and

our Salvation: Hear our prayer. # Hai dunia ka raja yesu hai dunia

ka. # Hai dunia ka raja yesu sath hai

tere vo. # Na ab tu ro ki yesu tujhe pyar

karta. # O-oh.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Vo sabse hai pyar karta aj khushiya manao logo.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Vo sabse hai pyar karta aj khushiya manao logo.

# Apni jan suli per deke apni ja. # Apni jan suli per deke pyar kiya

sabko. # Na ab tu ro ki yesu tujhse pyar

karta. # O-oh.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Vo sabse hai pyar karta aj khushiya manao logo.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Oh Yesu mujhe pyar karta. # O-oh.

# Vo sabse hai pyar karta aj khushiya manao logo.

Merciful Father. Accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Please stand. The risen Christ, the

Light of the World, came and stood among his disciples and said, "Peace

be with you." Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.

The peace of the Lord be always with you and also with you. Let us offer

one another a sign of peace. Be present, be present, Lord Jesus

Christ, our risen high priest, and make yourself known in the breaking

of the bread. Amen. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your

hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our

God. It is right to give Let us give thanks to the Lord our

praise. It is indeed right, our Let us give thanks to the Lord our

and our joy, always and everywhere Let us give thanks to the Lord our

to give you thanks, almighty and eternal Father. And in these days of

Easter to celebrate with joyful eternal Father. And in these days of

hearts the memory of your wonderful works. For by the mystery of his

passion Jesus Christ, your risen Son, has conquered the powers of

death and hell and restored in Son, has conquered the powers of

and women the image of your glory. He has placed them once more in

paradise and opened to them the gate of life eternal.

And so, in the joy of this Passover, earth and heaven resound with

gladness, while angels and earth and heaven resound with

archangels and the powers of all creation sing forever the hymn of

your glory: Sanctus. Sanctus., Sanctus, Dominus

Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria

tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in

excelsis. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in

excelsis. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in

excelsis. Lord, you are holy indeed, the

source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit,

and according to your by the power of your Holy Spirit,

these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord

Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread

Jesus Christ; who, in the same night gave you thanks; he broke it and

Jesus Christ; who, in the same night gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in

remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup and

gave you thanks. He gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this

is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins. Do which is shed for you and for many

this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Jesus Christ is

Lord: Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.

You are the Saviour of the world. And so, Father, calling to mind his

death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of

the whole world: rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious

the whole world: rejoicing in his ascension, and looking for his

coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption. As we

offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring

before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us

before you this bread and this cup worthy to stand in your presence and

before you this bread and this cup serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on

your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share

your people and gather into one in bread and one cup, so that we, in

the company of the blessed Virgin Mary, St Martin, the apostles and

all the saints, may praise and glorify you forever, through Jesus

all the saints, may praise and the Holy Spirit, all honour and

glory be yours, almighty Father, forever and ever. Amen.

Rejoicing in God's new creation, as our Saviour taught us, so we pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. Though we are many,

we are one body, because we all share in one bread. Alleluia.

Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the

feast. Alleluia. # Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata

mundi, miserere nobis. # Miserere nobis.

# Agnus Dei. # Qui tollis peccata mundi.

# Miserere nobis. # Miserere nobis.

# Agnus Dei. # Qui tollis peccata mundi.

Lord Jesus Christ, you have put your life into our hands. Now we put our

lives in yours. Send us out in your name to love and serve you in your

world. Amen. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Who has made heaven and earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now

and for ever. Amen. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and has defeated

the powers of death. He turns our sorrow into dancing and through the

water of his baptism we have new life. Alleluia! Christ is risen. He

is risen indeed. Alleluia! God the Father, by whose love Christ

was raised from the dead, open to you who believe the gates of

everlasting life. Amen. God the Son, who in bursting the grave has won a

glorious victory, give you joy as you share the Easter faith. Amen.

God the Holy Spirit, whom the risen Lord breathed into his disciples,

empower you and fill you with Christ's peace. Amen. And the

blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. And this Easter Day.

Amen. He is not here. He is risen. Go in the peace of Christ.

Alleluia, Alleluia. Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Allelulia.

As everyone leaves to go out into the world, that brings to the end

our Easter Day service at Leicester Cathedral. We hope you have enjoyed

the service and sharing in the celebration. Wherever you are,

whatever your plans are to a -- today, have a great day and a very

happy Easter.