God of compassion,
Be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
In their anxiety, be their hope;
In their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross,
but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
This Sunday is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. We will celebrate that God did not leave us comfortless following the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, but has sent his Holy Spirit to be our advocate and guide. May God pour out his Holy Spirit on us today and always.
Please ensure that you download the church magazine for June from this website.
Service resources that do not require a computer
The Dudley Benefice service can be access by telephone for anyone who does not have access to a computer. The telephone number is 0203 481 5240. Calls are 7p per minute from a landline. You will need ID and a password to log in, these you can access from Rev Hugh Burton. If you know someone who would benefit from this service, please pass this information on.
This telephone line is open 24 hours per day for music, prayer, and reflections, as well as full services.
8:10 AM – Sunday Worship (Elim Pentecostal service from City Church Cardiff): BBC Radio 4
10 AM – A Celebration for Pentecost (Live from Gorton Monastery): BBC 1
10:30 AM – Dudley Benefice service (Rev Hugh Burton): Telephone (0203 481 5240)
11AM – Sunday Worship (Bishop of Hereford): BBC 1
11:30 AM – Sunday Morning Stories (Rev Kate Bottley): BBC 1
1:15 PM – Songs of Praise (Rev Kate Bottley): BBC 1
3PM – Choral Evensong (St. David’s Cathedral): BBC Radio 3
Service resources that require a computer
9AM – Church of England Thy Kingdom Come Pentecost Service (YouTube): https://youtu.be/UvNuebjkSM4
10:30 AM – Holy Communion Service (Dudley Benefice): Zoom (to get access to this service, you will need to e-mail Rev Hugh Burton (rectorofdudley@gmail.com))
10:45 AM – Mass (Shrewsbury Cathedral): via the cathedral webcam (http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/webcam)
11:30 AM – Solemn Mass (Bishop of Fulham): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BishopOfFulham)
Other Resources
Society videos available at 8 AM on Sunday 31st May 2020 and 8 AM on Friday 5th June 2020 this week: The Society Facebook Page
6PM Daily – Shrine Prayers: Live via the Shrine website: https://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/worship/shrine-prayers-live-stream/
We are delighted to report that the June 2020 issue of the church newsletter is now available. Click on this link or on the cover picture above.
Our celebrations this Sunday will depend on whether we are following the Roman Rite or Common Worship. The Roman Rite kept Ascension Day on Thursday, so The Seventh Sunday after Easter will be observed. However Common Worship will celebrate Sunday after Ascension Day, and will keep to the theme of the Ascension. Whichever Rite we are following, please ensure that you join in with a service.
Service Resources that do not require a Computer
This telephone line is open 24 hours per day for music, prayer, and reflections, as well as full services.
8:10 AM – Sunday Worship (Catherine Fox & Bishop of Sheffield Pete Wilcox): BBC Radio 4
11:45 AM – Sunday Worship (The Very Rev Kathy Jones): BBC 1
1:15 PM – Songs of Praise (Katherine Jenkins): BBC 1
3PM – Choral Evensong (Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford): BBC Radio 3
Services that require a computer
9AM – Church of England Service: YouTube (https://youtu.be/9OUN667eZJU)
10:30 AM – Service of the Word (Dudley Benefice): Zoom (to get access to this service, you will need to e-mail Rev Hugh Burton (rectorofdudley@gmail.com))
10:30 AM – Sung Mass (with Spiritual Communion (Fr Iain Templeton)): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Church/St-Andrews-Birchills-108982647183429/)
10:45 AM – Mass (Shrewsbury Cathedral): via the cathedral webcam (http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/webcam)
11:30 AM – Sung Mass (Bishop of Fulham): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BishopOfFulham)
Other Resources
Photo Credit: George Reynolds
The Society will be issuing a second series of short videos to aid devotion and prayer at home during this lockdown. The videos are on four different themes and will be made available at the following times via The Society Facebook Page:
1. Our Lady to be released at 7pm on Sunday 24 May, prior to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (Anglican) National Pilgrimage at Home on Monday 25 May.
2. Pentecost to be released at 8am on Sunday 31 May.
3. Praying for the Dead to be released at 8am on Friday 5 June.
4. Corpus Christi to be released at 7pm on Wednesday 10 June.
The videos were recorded in accordance with the restrictions which were in place at that time.
The videos are being jointly promoted by The Society and The Church Union
More details here: https://www.sswsh.com/fullposts.php?id=292
For everyone who is praying for five people they know to come to Christ as part of Thy Kingdom Come, The Society has published a booklet to assist us to pray at home: Download booklet.
12 PM Every Friday – #PrayTheRosary
5PM Every Saturday – Rosary (Fr Iain Templeton): Live on Facebook
6PM Daily – Shrine Prayers: Live via the Shrine website: https://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/worship/shrine-prayers-live-stream/
2020 National Pilgrimage
Due to the Covid-19 Lock-Down, we will not be able to make our pilgrimage to Walsingham this year. However the shrine have made a video for us to watch at home. It can be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/420638937?fbclid=IwAR3oYPGPl_V_Lp6LUtXKZVkOleaqP2nftyzzxyCk-yNhWG_buVYl6VO4FXs
The Bishop of Ebbsfleet has published a booklet for us to use for the nine days of prayer between Ascension Day and Pentecost. It is entitled Waiting for the Father’s Promise, and should be prayed every day at 12 noon.
You can access the booklet here:
This Thursday is the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ. The following Ascension Day services are available:
Wednesday 20th May 2020
7:30 PM – Sung Mass (with Spiritual Communion (Fr Iain Templeton)): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Church/St-Andrews-Birchills-108982647183429/)
Thursday 21st May 2020
10:00 AM – Low Mass (with Spiritual Communion (Fr Iain Templeton)): Live on Facebook
12:15 PM – Mass (Shrewsbury Cathedral): Live on cathedral webcam (http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/webcam)
12:30 PM – Sung Mass (Bishop of Fulham): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BishopOfFulham)
Novena
From Friday 21st May 2020 there will be nine days of prayer, which will take us up to Pentecost. The Bishop of Ebbsfleet has produced a booklet for the Novena to distribute to the congregation.
We can also use the resources for Thy Kingdom Come during this period (www.thykingdomcome.global/prayer-resources). At St. Edmund’s we may wish to listen to the Journey with Mary Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/journey-with-mary/id1376646206)
HM Government made changes to the Covid-19 lock down last week. The advice now is: Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives; for further information please see here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Under the new government guidance, churches may be open again in July. However once churches are open again, we may not be able to use service books, hymn books, or Holy Water. You can read a statement from the Bishop of London here: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/statement-latest-government-guidance-coronavirus
Services that do not require a computer
This telephone line is open 24 hours per day for music, prayer, and reflections, as well as full services.
8:10 AM – Sunday Worship (Rev Dr Alison Jack & Fr Dermot Preston): BBC Radio 4
10: 45 AM – Sunday Worship (Very Rev Dr Rowland Jones): BBC 1
11:15 AM – Sunday Morning Stories (Rev Kate Bottley): BBC 1
1:15 PM – Songs of Praise (Aled Jones): BBC 1
3:00 PM – Choral Evensong (2011 London Festival of Contemporary Church Music): BBC Radio 3
Services that require a computer
10:30 AM – Morning Worship (Dudley Benefice): Zoom (to get access to this service, you will need to e-mail Rev Hugh Burton (rectorofdudley@gmail.com)
10:30 AM – Sung Mass (with Spiritual Communion (Fr Iain Templeton)): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Church/St-Andrews-Birchills-108982647183429/)
10:45 AM – Mass (Shrewsbury Cathedral): via the cathedral webcam (http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/webcam)
11:30 AM – Sung Mass (Bishop of Fulham): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BishopOfFulham)
Other Resources
Thursday 21st May is Ascension Day. Between Ascension Day and Pentecost we celebrate Thy Kingdom Come. You can find more resources here: www.thykingdomcome.global/prayer-resources
12 PM Every Friday – #PrayTheRosary
5PM Every Saturday – Rosary (Fr Iain Templeton): Live on Facebook
6PM Daily – Shrine Prayers: Live via the Shrine website: https://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/worship/shrine-prayers-live-stream/
A message from The Society:
Pope Francis has called on people of all religions to come together on Thursday 14 May for a Day of Prayer, Fasting and Works of Charity to implore God to help humanity come together to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic.
We encourage you all to join in with this, and we hope that this resource will help you to enter into this day:
The Covid-19 lock-down has been extended for another three weeks. The Prime Minister will make an announcement on Sunday afternoon as to how the country is to move forward, however it is extremely unlikely that public church worship will be happening again in the near future. With this in mind, the Society, and the Church Union have published the following two booklets:
Saints of the Month
Although we are praying and worshipping in our homes, we never pray alone. We pray with the Church around the world and our prayers are joined with those of the company of heaven. In this booklet there are a selection of biographies of saints and holy people whose feast days occur this month, as well as prayers you might find helpful. The booklet can be downloaded here: https://www.churchunion.co.uk/uploads/Saints_of_the_Month_-_May_FINAL.pdf
Wisdom from the Cloister
Another excellent free resource from The Society and The Church Union this time in conjunction with RooT. It explores what has the Religious Life got to teach us during this time of Pandemic. Available here: https://www.sswsh.com/RooT/uploads/WisdomformtheCloister.pdf
Some Good News
The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda is delighted to learn of the appointments of Fr Will Hazlewood SSC to be the next Bishop of Lewes and of the Revd Ruth Bushyager to be the next Bishop of Horsham. This is especially welcome news as it is five and a half years since the last announcement of a traditional Catholic priest to be appointed to a Church of England bishopric; at that time it was the appointment of Fr Philip North to be the Bishop of Burnley.
The Rt Revd Tony Robinson, Chairman of The Society’s Council of Bishops, commented: “I am thrilled for Will and Ruth and wish them every success and happiness in their new roles. It is wonderful to see the Church of England’s Five Guiding Principles being lived out in this way. We have been acutely conscious of the lapse in time since the last appointment of a traditional Catholic priest to the episcopate and so Will’s appointment is both welcome and timely. We do of course hold Will and Ruth in our prayers, along with their families, and indeed the entire Diocese of Chichester under Bishop Martin.”
Services Resources for this Sunday Not Requiring a Computer
This telephone line is open 24 hours per day for music, prayer, and reflections, as well as full services.
8:10 AM – Sunday Worship (Dr Rowan Williams): BBC Radio 4
10:45 AM – Sunday Worship (Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin): BBC 1
1:15 PM – Songs of Praise (Katherine Jenkins): BBC 1
3:00 PM – Choral Evensong (Tewkesbury Abbey): BBC Radio 3
Service Resources that Require a Computer
9 AM – Church of England On-Line Service: https://youtu.be/TUAriWLhyKE
10:30 AM – Sung Mass (with Spiritual Communion (Fr Iain Templeton): Live on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Church/St-Andrews-Birchills-108982647183429/)
Other Resources
12 PM Every Friday – #PrayTheRosary
5PM Every Saturday – Rosary (Fr Iain Templeton): Live on Facebook
6PM Daily – Shrine Prayers: Live via the Shrine website: https://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/worship/shrine-prayers-live-stream/
News from Jon:
To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, the splendid bell at St Edmunds will be rung at 7pm on Friday 8th May 2020.
(This will be in compliance with lock-down regulations).
St Edmund's Church, Dudley 