holy week – Page 2 – reverendally.org

Dark is the night

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A hymn for Passiontide to Easter Eve 2020, as a contribution to ‘words for difficult times’.
(Tune: Eventide, aka Abide with me)

Here is a video of the hymn, with me singing and my son recording and producing it:

And the text for those using screen readers:

Dark is the night, the passing hours are long,
Lone voices whisper sorrow’s silent song,
Each faltering prayer will fear it’s made in vain,
When will we sing the world to life again?

Dark is the night; not all are blessed with sleep.
Some wake and work, and some must watch and weep:
Angels disguised, they tend a world in pain,
Off’ring the hope that there’ll be life again.

Dark is the night, the silent hours are slow,
Heav’n’s tears anoint the suffering earth below,
Blessing with dew the secret springing grain,
Pledge that the world will soon know life again.

Passiontide and Holy Week in pictures

art, clipart, easter, holy communion, holy week, lent, Other cool stuff, pictures, worship

This post is all pictures. I’ve put all of my pictures that possibly pertain to Passiontide and Holy Week here in one place so that if you’re looking for images to use in reflective material for yourself or for your dispersed congregation you can just help yourself. Sorry the digital quality isn’t great for all of them and some are a bit blurry.

Mary hugging Jesus after the resurrection when he comes downstairs from seeing the disciples in the upper room.

Mothering Sunday – art

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Here are some of the paintings I’ve done that might possibly be useful for Mothering Sunday, if you half shut your eyes. Help yourself if you like them.

It’s a hug. It could be the holy family, or the Trinity, or just a hug.

This one’s called ‘the one with the crumby dog’ and features the woman with the sick child who answered back. You go, mamma bear!

This is Mary and Joseph, just after Joseph wakes up from the dream in which the angel tells him they have to leave everything and run to Egypt.

Another Holy Innocents picture – hiding from the soldiers

If you really look you can see the four women who each played a vital part in saving the baby Moses. But you might not find them because women’s roles in salvation history aren’t always celebrated.

Mary and Elizabeth, both discovering that mothering is best done in solidarity rather than alone.

From my line drawing Stations of the Cross – Mary and John are made into a new family

Words for Holy Week

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Help yourself if you find them useful.

Easter Morning hymn
The tune is Praise my soul / Lauda anima.

Early, while the world was sleeping,
to the garden Mary came;
lost in lonely grief, still weeping
till in love you spoke her name.
Alleluia, alleluia
Nothing now can be the same.

See, the sunlight, slowly dawning
overwhelms the shades of night,
welcoming this glorious morning,
rising with the Light of Light.
Alleluia, alleluia,
Death and darkness put to flight.

Trusted as the first apostle,
Mary swiftly made her way;
bearing this, the Easter gospel
to a world in disarray.
Alleluia, alleluia,
Good news for the earth today.

Risen Jesus, come and greet us:
Speak our name, we are your own;
In your generous love you meet us:
in our lives that love is shown.
Alleluia, alleluia,
Resurrection life made known.

Eastertide hymn
This one is based on the various encounters that the disciples had with the risen Jesus. It is designed to mirror the Epiphany hymn, ‘Songs of thankfulness and praise’, attempting to capture the lectionary stories of the season, so you’d sing it to whatever tune you use for that.

Life comes to an upper room,
breaking through the fear and gloom;
walls and door-locks are no bar:
Jesus meets us where we are.
Life dispels the doubt of grief
bringing hope and new belief;
touching scars – these signs of pain
bring us back to life again.

Life comes to a broken heart,
bowed by sorrow, torn apart;
in the darkness of our tears
Jesus speaks to calm our fears.
On our journey life comes home,
in this fellowship made known;
with Christ’s body we are fed:
life revealed in broken bread.

Life comes to a sunlit shore,
sharing food with friends once more;
Fresh new callings banish guilt,
hope and faith and love rebuilt.
Jesus’ vict’ry over death
brings new life with every breath,
to the world it’s freely giv’n,
reconciling earth with heav’n.

A song of Moses and Miriam
A metrical version of the canticle usually used at the Easter Vigil
Tune: Kingsfold (the second part of the tune should be used for the doxology)

O sing aloud to God our strength
whose glory conquers all,
His mighty power has raised us up~
While horse and rider fall.
We sing in worship, for to God
All praise and thanks belong,
Our voices raise the melody
Of our salvation’s song.

This is our God, whom we exalt
Until the world shall end;
The Lord who saved our fathers will
To us his love extend.
He did not leave us in our plight
But to the rescue came,
Our strong defender in the fight,
Jehovah is his name.

His powerful hand has been our shield
And glorious is his might,
And all the hosts of evil now
are shattered at the sight.
The breath divine that gave us life
The mighty flood sets free,
And so the water’s swirling rage
Devours our enemy.

Almighty is the power of God,
His love will never end,
He has redeemed us, set us free,
and leads us by the hand.
And now he brings us to that place
Where we may dwell secure,
The holy house of God shall be
Our haven evermore.

All glory be to God on high,
The Father, Spirit, Son,
To whom we raise the melody
Of our salvation’s song.