The Strife of Tongues

Modern Pentecostals, to justify their use of tongues, refer most of all to St Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. St Paul wrote this passage precisely because "tongues" had become a source of disorder in the Church of Corinth; and even while he does not forbid them, he decidedly minimizes their significance. This passage, therefore, far from encouraging any modern revival of "tongues", should on the contrary discourage it- especially when one discovers (as Pentecostals themselves admit) that there are other sources of speaking in tongues besides the Holy Spirit! As Christians we already know that speaking in tongues as a true gift of the Holy Spirit cannot appear among those outside the Church of Christ.

If we are already made suspicious by the exaggerated importance accorded to "tongues" by modern Pentecostals, we should be completely awakened about them when we examine the circumstances in which they occur.

Far from being given freely and spontaneously, without man's interference- as are the true gifts of the Holy Spirit- speaking in tongues can be caused to occur quite predictably by a regular technique of concentrated group prayer accompanied by psychologically suggestive hymns, culminating in a laying of hands, and sometimes involving such purely physical efforts as repeating a given phrase over and over again, or just making sounds with the mouth. One person admits that, like many others, after speaking in tongues, "I often did mouth nonsense syllables in an effort to start the flow of prayer-in-tongues", and such efforts, far from being discouraged, are actually advocated by Pentecostals. "Making sounds with the mouth is not speaking in tongues" but it may signify an honest act of faith, which the Holy Spirit will honour by giving that person the power to speak in another language". Another Pastor says: "The initial hurdle to speaking in tongues, it seems, is simply the realization that you must speak forth.... The first syllables and words may sound strange to your ear. They may be halting and inarticulate. You may have the thought that you are making it up. But as you continue to speak in faith... the spirit will shape for you a language of prayer and praise".

A Jesuit theologian tells how he put such advice into practice "After breakfast I felt almost physically drawn to the chapel where I sat down to pray. Following Jim's description of his own reception of the gifts of tongues, I began to say quietly to myself "la,la,la, la". To my immense consternation there ensued a rapid movement of tongue and lips accompanied by a tremendous feeling of inner devotion.

Can any sober Christian confuse these dangerous psychic games with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is clearly nothing whatever Christian, nothing spiritual here in the least. This is the realm, rather, of psychic mechanisms which can be set in operation by means of definite psychological or physical techniques, and speaking in tongues would seem to occupy a key role as a kind of trigger in this realm.  In any case, it certainly bears no resemblance whatever to the spiritual gift described in the New Testament, and if anything is much closer to shamanistic speaking in tongues as practised in primative religions, where the shaman or witch doctor has a regular technique for going into a trance and then giving a message to and from God in a tongue he has not learned.    

Collect of the Olympic Torch: Church of England



Loving God,
as this torch travels our nation,
preparing us to celebrate the skill and determination of
those competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games,
strengthen us to love you and serve our neighbour
with all the skill and determination you give us,
through Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

As this light travels our nation,
may your light, O God, shine in the hearts of all
who gather to celebrate the energy, skill and dedication of others.
Send your Holy Spirit
to light up our lives
and set our hearts on fire with love for you;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rogation Sunday

Voluntary: Voluntary number one for double organ- John Lugge (1587-1647)

Processional Hymn: "To the our God we fly"

Kyrie: Byrd: Mass for three voices

Gloria: John Merbecke (1510-1585)

Collect: God our redeemer,

            you have delivered us from the the power of darkness

            and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:

            grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,

            so by his continual presence in us

            he may raise us to eternal joy;

            through Jesus Christ our Lord,

            who lives and reigns with you,

            in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

            one God, now and for ever.

                                                   Amen.

First Reading: Acts 10.44-48

Psalm 98

Second Reading: 1 John 5.1-6

Gradual Hymn: "O God of Bethel, by whose hand"

Alleluia Acclimation

Gospel: John 15.9-17

Sermon

The Creed, Intercessions, The Peace

Offertory Hymn: "Deck thyself, my soul with gladness"

Eucharistic Prayer

Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei: Byrd: Mass for three voices

Motet: Give almes of thy goods- Tye

Post Communion Hymn: O Jesus I have promised

Voluntary: Prelude in Fugue in C- J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Joseph Barber Lightfoot 1828 - 1889

"Since it hath pleased Thee, O Lord, that I should be called to take my part in the teaching of this College, grant that I may not assume the same lightly, or without a due sense of the importance of my trust; but, considering it a stewardship, whereof I shall have to render an account hereafter, may faithfully fulfil the same to Thy honour and glory. Grant, O Lord, that neither by word nor deed I may do aught that may weaken the faith, or slacken the practice of those committed to my charge; but rather grant to me such measure of Thy Holy Spirit, that my duties may be discharged to Thy honour and glory, and to the welfare of both the teacher and the taught. Grant this, O Lord, through Thy son, Jesus Christ, who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Amen."

"I believe from my heart that the truth which this Gospel [of St. John] more especially enshrines--the truth that Jesus Christ is the very Word incarnate, the manifestation of the Father to mankind--is the one lesson which, duly apprehended, will do more than all our feeble efforts to purify and elevate human life here by imparting to it hope and light and strength, the one study which alone can fitly prepare us for a joyful immortality hereafter."

Diamond Jubilee Prayer

The following Prayer, written at The Queen's direction by the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral
for Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, will be used in the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service
in St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday, 5 June. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have commended it for use throughout the Church of England. Other churches are also welcome to use this prayer.

God of time and eternity,
whose Son reigns as servant, not master;
we give you thanks and praise
that you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and Territories
with Elizabeth
our beloved and glorious Queen.
In this year of Jubilee,
grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace
as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God
and in devoted service to her lands and peoples,
and those of the Commonwealth,
now and all the days of her life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Grace for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

   

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, we give you thanks for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth; for her steadfast faith and for her royal service to this nation and all the peoples of the Commonwealth.

Bless the food before us and the people beside us; may the sharing of this meal strengthen our communities, and nurture the bonds between us of friendship, hope and trust.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ who reigns as servant of all.

Amen.

Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844-1889

No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,

More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.

Comforter, where, where is your comforting?

Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?

My cries have, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief-

woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing-

Then lull, then leave off. Fury has shrieked

"No lingering!

Let me be fell: force I must be brief".

O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall

Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap

May he who ne'er hung there. Nor does long our small

Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,

Wretch, under a comfort serves in whirlwind: all

Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.

Second Sunday of Lent

Sunday 4th March

10.45 a. m. Sung Eucharist

Second Sunday of Lent

Celebrant: The Provost

Sermon: The Provost Very Rev Richard Kilgour

Voluntary: Hilf Gott, dass mir's gelinge (BWV 624)-

                                                                            J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn: 238 "New every morning is the love"

Kyrie: Wills: Missa Brevis

Collect: Almighty God,

             you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,

             that they may return to the way of righteousness:

             grant to all those who are admitted

             into the fellowship of Christ's religion,

             that they may reject those things

             that are contrary to their profession,

             and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;

             through Jesus Christ our Lord,

             who lives and reigns with you,

             in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

             one God, now and for ever.

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 17vv 1-7, 15-16  "The Covenant of Circumcision"

Psalm: 22 vv 23-end

Epistle: Romans 4.13-25 "Abraham Justified by Faith"

Gradual Hymn: 64 "Be thou my guardian and my guide"

Gospel: Mark 8.31-38  "Jesus Predicts His Death"

Sermon: The Provost

The Creed, Intercessions, The Peace

Offertory Hymn: 338 omit v6 "At the name of Jesus"

Eucharistic Prayer: Form III

Sanctus, Benedictus & Agnus Dei: Wills: Missa Brevis

Motet: Nolo mortem peccatoris - Morely

Post Communion Hymn: 379 "In the Cross of Christ I glory"

Voluntary: Prelude in B minor, BWV 544 - J.S. Bach 

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi (Saint David's Day)



Almighty God,
who called your servant David
to be a faithful and wise steward of your mysteries for the people of Wales:
in your mercy, grant that,
following his purity of life and zeal for the gospel of Christ,
we may with him receive the crown of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Anglo-Saxon Prayer

May the Lord be my friend,

Who once on earth endured on the gallows-tree,

Suffered here for the sins of men.

He has redeemed us, he has given us life

And a home in Heaven. Hope was renewed

With bliss and a blessing for those

who had been through burning.

The Son was successful in that expedition,

Mighty in victory, when with a mass,

A great crowd of souls, came to God's Kingdom

The Almighty Ruler, to joy among the angels

And all the saints, who in heaven already

Lived in glory, then the Lord,

Almighty God, came home to his own land.

Anonymous, Anglo-Saxon, from "The Dream of the Rood", translated by Rachel Boulding

Ash Wednesday Eucharist, Blessing & Imposition of Ashes

Sung Eucharist at 18:30 p. m.

Celebrant: Rev'd Moria Paterson

The Cathedral Choir

Voluntary: Aus der Tiefe rufe ich (BWV 745) - J.S. Bach (1650-1785)

Processional Hymn: 74 "O For a heart to praise my God"

Celebrant: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith

ALL: we confess to you 

          and to our fellow members 

          in the Body of Christ

          that we have sinned

          in thought, word and deed,

          and in what we have failed to do.

          We are truly sorry.

          Forgive us our sins, and deliver us,

          from the power of evil,

          for the sake of your Son who died for us

          Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

Blessing of the Ashes

Celebrant: God our Father,

                   you create us from the dust of the earth:

                   grant that these ashes

                   may be for us a sign of our penitence

                   and a symbol of our mortality;

                   for it is by grace alone

                   that we receive eternal life

                   in Jesus Christ our Saviour. AMEN

As a sign of the spirit of penitence

with which we shall keep this season

of preparation for Easter

I invite you to receive on your head in ash

the sign of the cross

the symbol of our salvation.

Those who wish to receive the imposition of ashes on their foreheads now kneel or stand at the altar rail.

The Imposition of Ashes

At the imposition the Priest says to each person:

Remember that you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.

After all have received the ashes, the Priest gives the absolution as follows:  

God, who is power and love

forgive you and free you from your sins,

heal and strengthen you by His Spirit,

and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.

ALL:                                                           AMEN

Kyrie: Oldroyd: Missa Ave Jesu

Collet: Almighty and everlasting God,

            you hate nothing that you have made

            and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:

            create and make in us new and contrite hearts

            that we, worthily lamenting our sins

            and acknowledging our wretchedness,

            may receive from you,

            the God of all mercy,

            perfect remission and forgiveness;

            through Jesus Christ our Lord,

            who lives and rains with you,

            in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

            One God, now and forever. AMEN

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 58.1-12 "True Fasting"

Gradual Hymn: 382 "Jesu, grant me this, I pray"

Creed, Intercessions and The Peace

Offertory Hymn: 383 ti omit v3 "Jesu, Lover of my soul"

Sanctus, Benedictus and Angus Dei - Oldroyd: Mass of the Quiet Hour

Motet: Psalm 51, Miserere mei, Deus - Allegri

Post Communion Hymn: 64 "Be thou my guardian and my guide"

Voluntary: Aus tiefer Noth Schrei' ich zu dir (BWV 687) - J.S. Bach (1650-1785)

Praying for Syria

I do not profess to have an in-depth knowledge of the conflict in Syria, if truth be told it was only brought to my attention this week, when during a long trip across the Irish Sea, I had to endure two hours of Sky News. I am glad however, that I paid attention to the news, for my heart was greatly moved by the images that I saw on the news report. It was shocking to say the least, we who are comfortable tend not to be worried by the conflicts in foreign lands, but I am reminded of a saying that my grandmother would often exclaim, in relation to bad things happening to other people, "There but by the grace of God go I", and how right she was. For it is very easy for us, in our comfortable houses, our relatively peaceful society, to become complaisant about such things.

When I beheld a group of Syrian Women, and their children, on the news, hiding in a basement, terrified for their lives, whilst above them, Syrian government troops shelled the city of Homs, my heart was grieved, for the violence and destruction, inflicted on innocent people. Therefore, I could do the only thing within my power to do, to pray for a resolution to the Syrian crisis, to pray for the women, the children, the sick, the dying, the casualties, the orphaned, and for all those people, that somehow have become caught in a bloody vicious war, that was not of their own creation.


If you to feel compelled to pray, I suggest that you incorporate a prayer for Syria in your morning and evening prayers, perhaps when you come to praying for the peace of the world.