Today was the last time this term that we met together as a college for Morning Prayer. And it was a Morning Prayer that many of us will remember, I suspect. It was a peripatetic service, starting in the bright sun and keen wind on the new front steps. Led by the Principal, the Opening Prayer prayed for all coming into the college and going out over the steps. We also prayed for the skill and well-being of those who made the steps. And sang. Then round to the new bike sheds behind the Chapel. Here we heard the Word of God in the shape of Psalm 136, adapted for the occasion, including some memorable lines. After giving thanks to God for all sorts of things in the words of the psalmist, we gave thanks for God (responsorily by half verse for the technically minded reader):
‘Who cares for all our needs
for his mercy endures for ever
and provides means to travel the city,
for his mercy…
Two-wheeled contraptions for us to ride.
for his mercy…
Bicycles for lower CO2 emissions in the air.
for his mercy…
And bikesheds to keep them dry at night,
for his mercy…
Perspex and metal to please the eye,
for his mercy…
Special lights to keep the riff-raff away,
for his mercy…
Next to the Chapel to remind us to pray
for his mercy....’
The service continued with a Prayer for grace – when cycling, adapted from one of Cranmer’s prayers. Thankfully for those who had forgotten that Morning Prayer was outside, we moved into the Chapel and continued more conventionally in the warm.
It had its moments and I had to check that it wasn’t actually 1 April. Helpfully I was reminded by a tutor that we are all fools for Christ even if it was still March. But it was a good service. We remembered Thomas Cranmer and all that he did for the Church. And, in the tradition of Cranmer, the liturgy showed that you can be creative within the framework and be relevant to today’s needs. I think that Cranmer was smiling this morning.
What we didn’t know when we were round the back of the bikesheds was that one of our ordinands had come off his bike on the way to college…
‘Who cares for all our needs
for his mercy endures for ever
and provides means to travel the city,
for his mercy…
Two-wheeled contraptions for us to ride.
for his mercy…
Bicycles for lower CO2 emissions in the air.
for his mercy…
And bikesheds to keep them dry at night,
for his mercy…
Perspex and metal to please the eye,
for his mercy…
Special lights to keep the riff-raff away,
for his mercy…
Next to the Chapel to remind us to pray
for his mercy....’
The service continued with a Prayer for grace – when cycling, adapted from one of Cranmer’s prayers. Thankfully for those who had forgotten that Morning Prayer was outside, we moved into the Chapel and continued more conventionally in the warm.
It had its moments and I had to check that it wasn’t actually 1 April. Helpfully I was reminded by a tutor that we are all fools for Christ even if it was still March. But it was a good service. We remembered Thomas Cranmer and all that he did for the Church. And, in the tradition of Cranmer, the liturgy showed that you can be creative within the framework and be relevant to today’s needs. I think that Cranmer was smiling this morning.
What we didn’t know when we were round the back of the bikesheds was that one of our ordinands had come off his bike on the way to college…
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