St
Barnabas Anglican Church, Warrington,
New Zealand
Pastoral Letter in time of Covid Δ
2021 29 Aug Trinity 13
Basil Ireland died on Monday. He lived to see, but not enjoy, the birthday
he had been so looking forward to. May
he rest in peace and rise in glory.
By a series of unplanned events, I was able to be
there. I was in the hospital for work
and should have finished about 1pm, but although everything was on schedule at
12, two things happened at once to delay it and it was 3 before I was packing
up to go. So I was still in the hospital
when I got a message from Rosalie to say her dad was dying, and could I
go? I went up to the ward and the nurses
didn’t hesitate in letting me in. I sat
with Basil and we said the prayers for the dying. Sadly, Basil passed away before Carolyn got
there.
The restrictions of lockdown are incredibly hard for
families at this time. They are
separated from their loved ones, unable to grieve properly, unable to be
together as family, and unable to arrange the funeral we all wish to give
Basil. My heart breaks for them.
Basil was one of the
most remarkable people any of us will ever meet. He has kept the grounds of St Barnabas since
1968, the year I went to high school. It
is a length and depth of service to Christ that seems to belong to a previous
age. No one else I have met has worked
so long and so hard at their mission.
Basil’s life was his mission. His
Christian service wasn’t just about grounds and buildings. I went to a number of meetings outside of St.
Barnabas with Basil and while it would be fair to say, generally speaking, that
I only understood a little of what Basil said, at these meetings he was always
clear. Our work is about the love of
Christ, nothing else is as important. In
faith and works Basil was the most solid person you will ever meet. Once I was walking behind him, when he
stopped suddenly and walked into him.
I’m not sure he noticed. As solid
in life as in Faith.
I’ve been searching for a photo of Basil. He appears in lots: always in the background, except when there
was work being done. In photos, as in
life.
Blessings and prayers for Hilary, Rosalie, Carolyn, Claire,
Kieran and Casey and the greater Ireland family.
Readings:
Song of Sol 2:8-13
Ps 45:1-2, 6-9
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15,21-23
7 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ² they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with
defiled hands, that is, without washing
them. ³ (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not
eat unless they thoroughly wash their
hands, thus observing the tradition of
the elders; ⁴ and they do not eat anything
from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe,
the washing of cups, pots, and bronze
kettles.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and the
scribes asked him, “Why do your
disciples not lived according to the tradition
of the elders, but eat with defiled
hands?” ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as
it is written, ‘This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; ⁷ in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold
to human tradition.”
¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and
understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside
a person that by going in can defile,
but the things that come out are what
defile.”
²¹ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication,
theft, murder, ²² adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.
²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a
person.”
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Grace and peace to you from God.
I’ve been told the Lectionary is always appropriate to
the occasion. In these times of
heightened hygiene, this is certainly topical but I wouldn’t want any of you to
think that less than 20 seconds of hand washing is needed. I find if I say the Lord’s Prayer slowly,
that’s about right. Sadly, so much of
the list in verse 22 is also appropriate to our times.
With us all separated, and in the limbo of lockdown, I am
unsure how we can best mark Basil’s passing, and our great loss.
I hope these prayers will help, until we gather, and
until we can celebrate Basil’s life together.
Jesus said,
'I am the resurrection and the life; even in death, anyone who believes in me,
will live.'
John
11:25
God is with us;
God's love unites us,
God's purpose steadies us,
God's Spirit comforts us.
Blessed be God forever.
Merciful and compassionate God, we bring you our
grief in the loss of Basil and ask for courage to bear it. We bring you our thanks for all you give us in
those we love; and we bring you our prayers for peace of heart in the knowledge
of your mercy and love, in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Father of
all,
We pray to
you for those we love but see no longer,
We thank you for
the peace and light you bestow upon them;
In your loving
wisdom and almighty power
Continue to work
in them
The good purpose
of your perfect will,
Through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Song of Simeon Nunc
Dimittis
Lord now you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation:
which you have prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations:
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Psalm
27
1 The Lord
is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? ¤
The Lord is the strength of my
life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?
2 When the
wicked, even my enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, ¤
they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a
host encamp against me,
my heart shall not be afraid, ¤
and though there rise up war
against me,
yet will I put my trust in him.
4 One thing
have I asked of the Lord
and that alone I seek: ¤
that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord
all the days of my life,
5 To behold
the fair beauty of the Lord ¤
and to seek his will in his temple.
6 For in the
day of trouble
he shall hide me in his shelter;
¤
in the secret place of his
dwelling shall he hide me
and set me high upon a rock.
7 And now
shall he lift up my head ¤
above my enemies round about me;
8 Therefore
will I offer in his dwelling an oblation
with great gladness; ¤
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
9 Hear my
voice, O Lord, when I call; ¤
have mercy upon me and answer me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Romans 8:31b-39
If God is for
us, who is against us? ³² He who did not
withhold his own Son, but gave him up
for all of us, will he not with him also
give us everything else ? ³³ Who will bring
any charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? It is Christ
Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed
intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate
us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all
day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We commend Basil to God, as he
journeys beyond our sight. God of all
consolation, in your unending love and mercy you turn the darkness of death
into the dawn of new life.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by dying for us,
conquered death,
and by rising again, restored life.
May we not be afraid of death but desire to be with
Christ, and after our life on earth, to be with those we love, where every tear
is wiped away and all things are made new. We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Gathering all our prayers into one, as our Saviour
has taught us, we pray
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as
in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin
against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Now to the One who can keep us from falling and set
us in the presence of the divine glory, jubilant and above reproach, to the
only God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, might and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all time, now and for evermore.
Amen.
God’s blessing to you all, and to all in need at this
time.
Jeremy
Rev Dr JJ Nicoll, 0274 361 481
Priest-in-Charge
St Barnabas, Warrington, NZ
