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Bexley Team News
St Barnabas, Joydens Wood
St James, North Cray
St John the Evangelist, Bexley
St Mary the Virgin, Bexley
4th April 2021 Issue 55 Easter Day
Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
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Team Zoom 10.00 am Good Friday
services 10.00 am Easter Day
St Mary’s 10.30 am Good Friday service of the word
10.00 am Easter Day Holy Communion
St James 11.00 am to 1.00 pm Good Friday Individual prayer
9.30 am Easter Day Holy Communion
St Barnabas 11.00 am to 1.00 pm Good Friday Individual prayer
10.45 am Easter Communion on Easter Day.
St. John’s Good Friday A pre-recorded devotion from the outdoor cross www.facebook.com/stjohnsbexley
Easter Day: Livestreamed Dawn Eucharist: 5.30am: www.facebook.com/stjohnsbexley
(All livestreamed services remain available to watch at a later time!), thereafter St John's will be open for individual prayer throughout Easter Day. Self-service Service resources will be available to assist your devotions.
Where church buildings are open they will have been thoroughly cleaned. As usual, face-masks MUST be warn (unless medically exempt) hand sanitiser will be used and social distancing of 2 Metres MUST be observed at all times. Do not attend if you or a member of your household is shielding or vulnerable. The church doors will open for ventilation, so dress accordingly.
This Holy Week we invite you to place a small cross at the foot of the large cross in each of the church grounds. You can do this in remembrance of something or someone you have lost over the past year, or you can place it in thankfulness of the love that God has for us all. You can bring your own cross (or use one of the ones provided) You might like to place a flower as well.
There will be music on this link www.stjamesnorthcray.org.uk/welcome/music/ to take us from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. The music team from St James North Cray with then have a couple of Sundays off after Easter weekend, so won’t be putting anything else on the site until 25 April. We hope you find the music helpful and inspiring.
Team Zoom Services and Worship material
Holy Saturday 3rd April No Saturday Nightwatch Zoom Service today
Easter Day 4th April at 10.00 am Sunday Zoom Service
A Service of bible readings and prayer. See the final sheet of the BTNews for the songs and any liturgy.
Invitations to the above Zoom services are being emailed. If you haven’t received the link, or are having problems, please contact any member of the Team Clergy. Dial in option is available.
Easter Day 4th April Bexley Team Children’s Church
Here are the links for Children's Church this week Good Friday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dol261Mlw-4
Easter Day (please note that this will go live on Sunday morning)
The Diocese of Rochester are producing material for children during lockdown.
All of the Ministry@Homesheets can be found on the main Diocese website under
(under 18s) or click here. Diocese of Rochester | Family Worship in the Home (anglican.org)
Bible Readings Isaiah 25 v6-9 Acts 10 v34-43 Mark 16 v1-8
The Collect: Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity.
The Additional Collect: 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.
Rev’d Edward writes-
There’s an argument to say that the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday doesn’t really exist: It’s a nothing-time. A time when the Son of Man has been crucified, and the Son of God has yet to be risen: Indeed how can anything exist in such a time? How can a day without Christ’s presence in the world be any sort of day at all?
The question what did Jesus do on Saturday? has been a subject of fascination to theologians for years, and has become something of a hobby for myself too: The entirely apocryphal Acts of Pilate tells a story of Death and the Devil having their conversation abruptly interrupted by the King Of Glory smashing in the doors of Hell and rescuing the damned (an image which is depicted in the Orthodox Icon of the Anastasis); The Apostles’ Creed includes the confession ‘He descended into Hell’ (some translations say ‘to the dead’); The first Epistle of Peter describes how Our Lord ‘went and preached to the spirits in prison’ who had drowned in the Flood in the days of Noah; The 20th Century mystic Adrienne Von Speyr experienced visions of Christ descending into Hell, ‘walking through sin’ and taking on ‘the obedience of a corpse’; and then there are those graphic medieval ‘Harrowing of Hell’ images where Christ leads the damned out of the jaws of a monstrous demon (You can see one of these in the picture of carvings in the chancel of St James, North Cray).
The trope of the descent to the realm of the dead also comes up in other global mythologies: Orpheus in Greek legends is probably the best known, but the Descent of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna into the Netherworld, also displays striking parallels as she strips herself of her godly raiment in preparation for her journey.
On Good Friday Christ dies, forsaken by the Father. On Easter Sunday He rises Victorious over death and damnation – it would seem that on Saturday that forsakenness was taken to its infernal limit so that the Victory might be absolute.
I recently came across a poem, written by a former warden of the theological college I attended, that brings together the theme of Christ’s Descent with one of my other Holy-Week interests: The Judas Tree:
The Ballad of the Judas Tree
In Hell there grew a Judas Tree
Where Judas hanged and died
Because he could not bear to see
His master crucified
Our Lord descended into Hell
And found his Judas there
For ever hanging on the tree
Grown from his own despair.
So Jesus cut his Judas down
And took him in his arms
‘It was for this I came’ he said
‘And not to do you harm,
My Father gave me twelve good men
And all of them I kept
Though one betrayed and one denied
Some fled and others slept.
In three days’ time I must return
To make the others glad
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had.
My tree will grow in place of yours
Its roots lie here as well
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell.
So when we all condemn him
As of every traitor worst
Remember that of all his men
Our Lord forgave him first.
Ruth Etchell, 2007
Bexley Team Forest Church
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We are delighted to say that we will be starting a brand new team service on Sunday
18th April at 3.00 pm. Forest Church, which will be held each month (on the third
Sunday) at St James's Church North Cray, is open to adults and children alike and will
enable us to explore God's amazing creation through an outdoor service with activities
for all ages. Our first service will be themed on us using our senses to explore our
surroundings. Children - make sure you bring an adult with you, and we're looking
forward to seeing you there. Rev Matt
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Gent’s Pub Lunch at the Horse and Zoom.For an invitation to the next of these 12.15 pm on 7th April please contact Andrew Melling atamelling700@btinternet.com
Clive will be leading a holiday to Austria and Oberammergau including the Passion Play 22-29 June 2022. If you would like a hard or e-copy of the holiday/pilgrimage brochure please let Clive know.
FINANCIAL GIVING TO THE TEAM CHURCHES
For St Barnabas Any contributions can be dropped off at the Treasurer’s house or at the Vicarage. Or you can give by BACS transfer. In all cases, if you are a taxpayer please “Gift Aid” your giving. If you have any questions regarding this please contact, David Peters on 01322 529796 or by email davidpeters45@hotmail.co.uk
For St James, North Cray Contributions can be dropped off at 91 The Grove, or made by BACS transfer, contact Suzy Higgs on 07799072548
For St John's You can give to the continuing upkeep and ministry of St John's via our Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/stjohntheevangelist-bexley
For St Mary’s If you ordinarily make your financial contributions in church but, in the present circumstances, wish to contribute by cheque then please make your cheque payable to St Mary’s Bexley PCC and send it c/o C. Lee 11 Holmesdale Road, Bexleyheath, DA7 4TJ. Your continued support is very much appreciated.
Each week the musicians at St James North Cray offer links to a selection of songs and music for us to enjoy. These can be found on our website www.stjamesnorthcray.org.uk/welcome/music/
St John’s Sermons are posted each Sunday at fatheredwardbarlow.wordpress.comSocial Media - engage with us via Facebook (/stjohnsbexley), Twitter (@stjohnsbexley) and Instagram (@stjohnsbexley)
THE BEXLEY TEAM CLERGY
Team Rector: Rev’d Ren Harding renharding@hotmail.co.uk 01322 528923 07836644782
Associate Priest: Rev’d Sue Twynam susantwynam@btconnect.com 01322 559501 07952 468127
Team Vicar: Rev’d Edward Barlow fr.edwardbarlow@gmail.com 01322 521786
Team Vicar: Rev’d Clive Wood revclivewood@gmail.com 01322 270942 07982 392809
Team Curate: Rev’d Matt Hodder matthodder10@gmail.com 07889873125
Songs for Zoom Worship – Easter Day at 10.00 am.
Jesus Christ is ris’n today, alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, alleluia!
who did once, upon the cross, alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss, alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, alleluia!
unto Christ, our heav’nly King, alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save, alleluia!
But the pains that he endured, alleluia!
our salvation have procured, alleluia!
now above the sky he’s King, alleluia!
where the angels ever sing, alleluia!
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won;
angels in bright rainment rolled the sone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son,
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death has won
Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.
Let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son,
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death has won
No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of Life!
Life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife.
Make us more than conqu’rors through thy deathless love.
Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son,
endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death has won