2016: Liverpool Cathedral

Welcome to Liverpool Cathedral, and to this Choral Eucharist

for the Day of Pentecost - sometimes regarded

For Christians, Pentecost marks the 50th day after Easter.

For the past seven weeks, we have celebrated with great joy

our Lord's resurrection from the dead.

Recalling his appearances to the first disciples,

we have rejoiced in his risen presence with us too.

On Ascension Day, we remembered his exaltation to his Father's

right hand, his return to the throne before which every knee

shall bow and every tongue confess that this Jesus is Lord.

And, for the past ten days, we have been waiting prayerfully

and expectantly for the anniversary we celebrate today of

the moment when he poured out the promised Holy Spirit on

the community of his followers, empowering them for the mission

he had entrusted to them, filling them with joy

and boldness in the proclamation of the gospel.

As we recall, the transformation brought about by the Spirit

in the apostles, we also seek it in our own churches and lives.

Pentecost is for every day, and we are all Pentecostals,

because we all seek to live day by day in the power

Grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

ALL: He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Let us bless the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

ALL: Let us praise and bless God for ever.

# O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ

# That takest away the sins of the world

# Thou that takest away the sins of the world

# Thou that takest away the sins of the world

# Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father

# Art most high in the glory of God the Father

Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, ignite in us your holy fire.

Strengthen your children with the gift of faith,

revive your Church with the breath of love, and renew

the face of the earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like

the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other languages,

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven

And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered,

because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

"Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia

and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages

we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."

# O Lord, how manifold are your works

# In wisdom you have made them all

# The earth is full of your creatures

# There is the sea, spread far and wide

# And there move creatures beyond number

# There go the ships, and there is that

# Leviathan which you have made to play in the deep

# All of these look to you to give them their food in due season

# When you give it them, they gather it

# You open your hand and they are filled with good

# When you hide your face they are troubled

# When you take away their breath, they die

# When you send forth your spirit, they are created

# And you renew the face of the earth

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father,

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time,

Philip, and you still do not know me?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, "Show us the Father"?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father

The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own.

But the Father who dwells in me does his works.

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

But, if you do not, then believe me because of

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also

do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works

than these, because I am going to the Father.

I will do whatever you ask in my name,

so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you

another Advocate, to be with you for ever.

This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot

receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you."

Maybe the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts been

out and always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our rock and

Redeemer. Amen. Today is Pentecost, the Christian

feast of the Holy Spirit. A day when the defeated

and frightened band of Jesus' friends was filled with the very

love and life of God and turned into an outward-facing community

that would transform the world. God's Holy Spirit is

a fountain of sending love. God's Spirit connects us,

goes between us, opens us And that is true for individuals

and communities - true for me and my family, and also true

for our community here in Liverpool. Liverpool is famous for many

things and among them is the song they sing in one

of our football clubs and, from time to time,

the song the whole city sings - As we celebrate Pentecost

here, I want to ask, what does that really mean,

not walking alone? What does it mean

for Christian people? And, in particular

at this time, to ask, what does it mean for us

as individuals and as a community Let me tell you two of my

most precious memories. An hour before my mother died,

I entered the hospital room And when she died an hour later, my

dad was with her, holding her hand. Years later, when my dad died,

I was in the room with him, They did not walk

alone on that road. The day before yesterday I was at

the funeral of my brother-in-law. He died not walking alone.

These are precious memories that not everyone can share.

Some of us were not with our loved ones when they died.

Here in Liverpool, we remember the 96 who died 27 years ago

at Hillsborough, and whose families have had to struggle for so long

But the 96 did not walk alone, because the love of their friends

and families was around them and has been around them ever since.

And the families have not walked alone through these years

and decades of struggle, because the love of our community

has been around them and is around them still.

And in the end, Christian people believe that no-one

Because Jesus said, "I will be with you always."

And today we remember that He said, "If you love me, you will

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another

Today, Pentecost, the Christian festival of the Holy Spirit,

God's gift of community in the Spirit,

He gives a strength that overcomes all fear

Today, alongside my mum and dad, and those who died at Hillsborough,

I remember another death - the death of Marie Wilson in Enniskillen

a death that, in its way, transformed the landscape of the

Troubles in Northern Ireland. This young woman died after a bomb

blast, holding the hand of her father, Gordon,

a devout Methodist Christian. Famously, Gordon Wilson

took up the story. He said, "She held my hand tightly,

and gripped me as hard as she could. She said, "Daddy,

I love you very much." He said those were her exact words

to me, and those were the last words And he said, "But I

bear no ill will. Talk will not bring her back. And

then he celebrated her. She's in heaven and

we shall meet again." And he said, "I will pray for these

men tonight and every night." And the men who killed her did not

walk alone because Gordon prayed This extraordinary strength,

this miracle of love, is what the Spirit of Jesus Christ

can give to our community. This is the way unfolded by Jesus,

who prayed for those who crucified him and who taught us

to pray for those who persecute us, and who sends the Holy Spirit

as our advocate so that we might be strengthened to do the impossible,

and formed and shaped to follow Him. Truth, and justice, and freedom

from fear and hatred, and the miracle of forgiveness

and love across the barriers He gives them today,

if only we will seek them In the face of the worst that

circumstance can throw at us, we can be unafraid,

because of the promise of Jesus that we remember this day,

Pentecost, the feast of the Holy Spirit,

the feast of community, ORGAN INSTRUMENTAL:

"YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE" ALL: We believe in God, the Father,

from whom every family We pray for God to fill

us with his Spirit. Generous God, we thank you for

the power of your Holy Spirit. We ask that we may be strengthened

to serve you better. We thank you for the wisdom

of your Holy Spirit. We ask you to make us wise

to understand your will. We thank you for the peace

of your Holy Spirit. We ask you to keep us

confident of your love. We thank you for the healing

of your Holy Spirit. We ask you to bring

reconciliation and wholeness where there is division,

sickness and sorrow. We thank you for the gifts

of your Holy Spirit. We ask you to equip us for the work

which you have given us. We thank you for the fruit

of your Holy Spirit. We ask you to reveal

in our lives the love of Jesus. We thank you for the breath

of your Holy Spirit, We ask you to keep the whole Church,

living and departed, Generous God, you sent your

Holy Spirit upon your Messiah at the River Jordan,

and upon the disciples In your mercy, fill

us with your Spirit. He has set his seal upon us and,

as a pledge of what is to come, has given the Spirit

to dwell in our hearts. The peace of the Lord

be always with you. Let us offer one another

a sign of peace. Blessed be God,

who feeds the hungry, who raises the poor,

who fills our praise. Let us give thanks

to the Lord our God. ALL: It is right to give

thanks and praise. It is indeed right,

it is our duty and our joy, always and everywhere

to give you thanks, Holy Father, almighty

and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ,

your only Son, our Lord. This day we give you thanks because

in fulfilment of your promise you pour out your Spirit upon us,

filling us with your gifts, leading us into all truth,

and uniting peoples of many tongues Your Spirit gives us

grace to call you Father, to proclaim your

gospel to all nations and to serve you as

a royal priesthood. Therefore we join our voices

with angels and archangels, and with all those in

whom your Spirit dwells, to proclaim the glory of your name,

forever praising you and singing. # Heaven and earth

are full of thy glory # Blessed is he that cometh

in the name of the Lord # Hosanna, Hosanna,

Accept our praises, heavenly Father, through your Son,

And as we follow his example and obey his command,

grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these gifts

of bread and wine may be to us his body and his blood, who,

in the same night he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks.

He broke it and gave it to his disciples,

This is my body, which is given for you.

In the same way, after supper, he took the cup

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 this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Therefore, heavenly Father, we remember his offering of himself

We proclaim his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension.

We look for the coming of your kingdom.

And, with this bread and this cup, we make the memorial

Accept through him, our great high priest,

this our sacrifice of thanks and praise.

And, as we eat and drink these holy gifts in the presence

of your divine majesty, renew us by your Spirit,

inspire us with your love and unite us in the body of your Son,

Through him, and with him, and in him, in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, with all who stand before you

in earth and heaven, we worship you, Father almighty,

# And glory and power be yours for ever and ever

When the Holy Spirit was first poured out

on the followers of Jesus, the immediate consequence

was that the praises of God were spoken, so the Scripture tells

In that Spirit, as we now join together in the words Jesus

gave to his followers, we are invited to use

the language which is most familiar to us.

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

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

ALL: Though we are many, we are one body

Christ, our passover is sacrificed for us.

ALL: Therefore, let us keep the feast.

# Because he hath annointed me to preach

# He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted

# To preach deliverance to the captives

# And recovering of sight to the blind

# To preach the acceptable year of the Lord

# To give unto them that mourn a garland for ashes

# The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness

# That they might be called trees of righteousness

# The planting of the Lord that he might be glorified

# As the earth, the earth bringeth forth her bud

# And as the garden causeth the things

# That are sown in it to spring forth

# So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

# To spring forth before all the nations as the earth

# Because he hath annointed me to preach the Gospel.#

Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter

by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation

Open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory,

May the Spirit, who hovered over the waters when the word was created,

May the Spirit, who overshadowed the Virgin

when the eternal Son came among us, make you joyful

May the Spirit, who set the Church on fire on the day of Pentecost,

bring the world alive with the love of the risen Christ.

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

come down upon you and remain with you always.

Filled with the Spirit's power, go in the light and peace of Christ.

# Ground of being, life and love, height and depth beyond description

# We, your people, make our prayer help us love

# As sisters, brothers all whose burdens we can share

# Where your name binds us together, you, Lord Christ, will surely be

# Where no selfishness can sever there your love the world may see

# Wind and flame of Pentecost fire our hearts afresh with yearning

# May your love unite our action never more to speak alone