Thoughts for Today From the real world, sublime and challenging The voyage to the Azores and Ponta Delgada Some might think that six days of sailing across the Atlantic to the Azores would seem like a long time. After 59 days of travel this was not the case. The daily itinerary, as ever, was full of diversion and interest, entertainment and many sporting opportunities. We will try to give an insight into what the days had in store. Thursday 5<sup>th</sup> March we had woken to a news update on a virus called Covid 19. This informed our Morning Prayers at 9am, high up in the Observatory at the top of the ship on Deck 9. Over 30 of us participated, concluding our services on the “Harvest of Maturity’. From our cabin on Deck 3, Jane and I would avoid the lifts to complete the stairs as part of our daily exercise. This day included a specialist illustrated talk in the main theatre titled: ‘Sugar and Slavery’, tracing the influence of the ports of Bristol, London and Liverpool in the late 18<sup>th</sup> century - business worth over £1.2 million before the 1807 abolition. A meeting with the resident onboard Choir Mistress and our talented Balmoral Orchestra pianist from the Philipines followed. His virtuosity and calmness was full of grace and so inspiring. The afternoon ‘Build a Boat’ competition for the crew took place in the swimming pool to test seaworthiness, and was won by a couple from the Boiler Room team. The evening entertainment was provided by Magician Phil Hancock, who dramatically finished his set by disappearing into an adult size yellow balloon. In a later conversation he told me he had developed the trick for a performance at the London Palladium – extraordinary health and safety issues! As usual the Captain gave us our daily briefing at 12 noon. We were 600 miles from any land, 1000 miles from Ponta Delgada with 15,000 feet of sea below us. I joined the Table Tennis team of 12 for the daily afternoon competition. We really got to know each other very well over the10 weeks, and my left-handedness was identified early on. Saturday tended to be a final preparation day for the Sunday Services of Holy Communion, Interdenominational service and the Staff Mass below decks. We started the day with breakfast on one of the upper deck restaurants in the sunshine and gentle breeze. Jane was able to enjoy a morning session of Bridge. In the afternoon there was a party to raise money for the St Elmer’s Hospice, Ipswich close to the national headquarters of Fred Olsen. Fund raising on board during the whole trip raised over £6,000 for a Children’s orphanage in the Philipines, India and other designated U.K charities. On Sunday 8<sup>th</sup> of March I celebrated the 9am Communion with just the communion host given (without intincture) as part of the early stages of precautions due to Coronavirus. This was to prepare fellow travellers for what was to come. As always, precautions with handwashing were first priorities for crew and passengers alike anyway. 190 attended the services that day and the theme was ‘Abraham and Jesus – the gift of faith’. Crew Mass was always much appreciated, and was normally held in the afternoon between duties. Being away from home for months informed the liturgy, and the prayers shared for family and fellow crew. It was apt that we held the service in the Crew Mess where meals were shared. The television screens and pool table were stilled in reverence. Afternoon teas were served at 3.30pm every day, when the chefs shared their patisserie talents. These, and the other feeding interludes, were walked off around the deck when we enjoyed the ever-constant horizons, stunning sunsets and on the following Monday night a rare blue moon. Three laps around the deck was one mile. The fresh sea air was shared with more seabirds as we neared land. These days went by so swiftly. We were aware that this feast of a journey was coming to its final stage, so names and e mail addresses were being exchanged and good memories shared. This Sunday evening was a celebration of all things British, with the Entertainments Team on full throttle and slightly patriotic outfits. The Evening dining had all things British including Chicken Tikka Masala as well as Beef Wellington. On Tuesday 10<sup>th</sup> March we were 2,000 miles on from St Kitts and Nevis. The mileage of this trip was beyond belief. It was the eve of our arrival at the Azores and Ponta Delgada, meaning ‘Thin Cape’. It is located along volcanic islands, and in 1450 was just a small fishing village. Today, its population is 68,000 (17,000 in the city itself) covers 89 square miles and is well known for its export of tropical fruits. In the centre of the islands at Setes Citades are two side by side large lakes - water filled craters. One lake appears blue, from the reflection of the sky, and the other appears green due to the surrounding vegetation. That evening we arrived in the lovely port of Ponta Delgada, and the next morning Jane and I explored the town and its diverse market. The highlights were the large pineapples and profusion of freesias. At St.Sebastian’s Cathedral we delivered the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation to Paolo, the welcomer. Built in 1533, it is at first sight an unadorned building, but in every century it has had new phases of Portugese architecture added, which on closer inspection can be clearly seen. The sail-away Communion was at 5.15pm as we sailed for Spanish La Coruna and the final part of our voyage. During the service we asked for the blessing of God upon a South American stole, given to me as a gift during the voyage. That night the clocks went forward for another hour to herald catching up the rest of Europe. We were asking ourselves would we be allowed into Spain? Blessings, Jane and Edward
Saint Andrew On November 30<sup>th</sup> we celebrate St Andrew’s Day and I have no doubt that our brothers and sisters over the border will celebrate that day with great enthusiasm, because St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland (as well as several other countries as well). I also have no doubt that our Rector will also lift a glass to the Saint after who he is named – one of the most worthy and faithful disciples of Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus is walking by the Lake of Galilee and sees two men fishing and asks them to leave their net and follow him. These were Simon Peter and Andrew. The Gospel of Luke also mentions Andrew as Peter’s brother. In the Gospel of Mark we read the same story. The Gospel of John tells another, and in my view, a more powerful story. For here Andrew is named as being a disciple of John the Baptist and when John points out Jesus walking by and calls him the Lamb of God, Andrew immediately leaves John and goes, with another man, to join Jesus. The name Andrew means manly or strong and the disciple Andrew certainly lived up to that name. Although not mentioned in Acts, the Christian tradition is that Andrew went through Turkey and Greece preaching and was eventually martyred in Patras. The story is that he was sentenced to be crucified but did now want to be honoured by being crucified on the same shaped cross as Jesus and asked to be crucified on a cross with two beans crossing diagonally. This is known as a saltire cross and this form has been adopted on the Scottish flag as a whites diagonal cross on a blue background. St Regulus, who was a monk at Patras, received a vision and was told to gather up Andrew’s bones and hide them. Many of the relics were then taken to Constantinople. However, Regulus also had another vision to take some bones to the ends of the earth and wherever he was cast up he was to build a shrine for them. He eventually was cast up on the coast of Fife in Scotland and there built his chapel and built a shrine for Andrew’s bones. This is one of several stories about the transfer of the relics to Scotland but it is certain that in 908 AD the only Bishopric in Scotland was transferred to St Andrew’s and this rapidly became a great pilgrimage site. So St Andrew became established as the patron saint of the Scots and quite properly so. Some more relics of St Andrew came to Scotland in more modern times. In 1879 the Archbishop of Amalfi in Italy (where the bones had been brought in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople) sent to Edinburgh what was believed to be the shoulder-blade of St Andrew. This was followed by a most generous gesture made in 1969 when Pope Paul VI gave part of the skull of the saint - to Cardinal Gordon Gray, at that time Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. "Peter greets his brother Andrew," where the words of the Pope to the Archbishop. The relics of the Apostle are today displayed at St Andrew's altar in the Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary in Edinburgh. St Andrew evokes many images but the one that we should , perhaps, all hold dear is of a simple fisherman following John and then Jesus and attempting to bring back the Jewish people into a true worship of God and then after the death and resurrection of God to go on and preach the Gospel among the Gentiles and wild barbarians in very violent lands. Don Peacock
Thought for the Day - What’s in a Candle? During a recent visit to Hereford Cathedral, Catherine and I came across the shrine of St Thomas of Hereford. Just like multitudes of pilgrims for hundreds of years we took up the offer to light a candle and say a prayer for a personal and private intention. Just by the shrine were the following words. As you read them perhaps you will think of times present and past when the words have real meaning for you personally. Lighting a candle is a PRAYER. When we have gone it stays alight, continuing our prayer. Continuing our prayer of thanksgiving and intercession for those in need. Lighting a candle is a PARABLE Burning itself out it gives light to others. Christ gave himself to others. He calls us to give ourselves. Lighting a candle is a SYMBOL, Of love and hope Of light and warmth Our world needs them all For me personally, lighting a candle and saying a prayer are the door-openers that help make small and big miracles happen such as happened in St Catherine’s the other day, when a couple came into church to pray and left £250 worth of Tesco vouchers for the Food Bank. When we light a candle to guide our prayers, we acknowledge that our Saviour Jesus Christ is the Light of the World and His light shines both for us and in us. St Catherine’s Church is open every Monday from 11a.m to 1p.m, on Thursdays from 6 p.m to 7p.m and Saturdays from 10a.m to 12 noon for quiet prayer Everyone is welcome and candles are provided. God Bless Clem.
THE WORD I have always been interested in power - probably because I have never had any of it. I find it interesting to read my newspaper and try to understand where power is in different situations. Sometimes it is very obvious, perhaps the American military, or the wealth of the extremely rich, or perhaps the inventor or discoverer of something new and of great benefit to humankind, or perhaps the opposite. However, sometimes the power is the newspaper itself. This is especially so nowadays, not so much in newspapers, as in social media, where anyone can expound wild theories about any subject or any person with impunity. When I was a child a popular party game was Chinese Whispers, where a sentence was passed from one person to the next in a whisper. They then had to pass it on to the next person and so on, until the person at the end of the line was asked to state it out loud. The original sentence was then read out and it rarely bore any similarity to the final version. This is how facts get distorted, and at the time of the early Church when very few people were able to read or write, there was great opportunity for falsehoods and exaggerations to arise. The New Testament that we read today evolved after much debate in the three centuries following the life of Jesus. In the first century after Christ the written word was of less importance than the sayings of Jesus that were remembered in the oral tradition by the Apostles and those who had known Jesus. The writers of the Gospels, The Acts of the Apostles, The Epistles and the Revelation did not write their contribution as part of a “New Testament”, but were inspired by the Spirit to put pen to parchment to spread the good news about Jesus Christ and evangelise the future Church. The early Church had to scrutinise a great many writings that were circulating in the second and third centuries to ensure the fundamental doctrine of Christianity was correct in their understanding. These documents became the canon, or the New Testament, we see today. How well they did, that we will never know until we meet Christ, but to Christians they give us the words of faith, hope and love that change lives. Words can be very powerful and sometimes a speech can resonate for centuries. I am sure that most of us can remember the “I have a dream” speech of Martin Luther King, or “The few”,or the “Fight them on the beaches” speeches by Winston Churchill. We then have the words of the great writers such as Shakespeare, Dickens, etc. who’s quotations still form a great part of our language today. Having a “way with words” is a gift which is greatly valued, although sometimes when I see the language of texting or even emails I do worry about how our vocabulary will develop over the next generations. The language of younger generations, different ethnic groups and classes seems to be diverging from what was taught to be the Queen’s English with BBC pronunciation when I was at school. Having said that, perhaps the strictness of the formal rules of language restricted many people (including myself) from daring to experiment and play with the multitude of words that overwhelm us in our lifetime. I was always amazed at school when I saw a friend reading his dictionary, when I was much more interested in playing football. I turned out to be a useless footballer and he became a play-write and Hollywood scriptwriter. Perhaps I should have “swallowed my dictionary” as they say. As Christians we talk of living by the word of God, and the beginning of St John’s Gospel starts with the sentence, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. St. John wants us to understand that the whole story of Jesus and our salvation is seen in the words that have come to us through God since the beginning of creation. St. John knew the power of words - that power still exists today. In his “Battle of Britain” speech, Churchill said “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation”. As Christians we now have another great battle - against secularisation and indifference. Churchill also said “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war”. Speak up for your faith as best you can with the word of God. Fr. Terry
