Anglican bishop calls for re-imagining of Palm Sunday

ANGLICAN Bishop Charles Berkeley, has called on the faithful to re-imagine Palm Sunday and its true meaning as he officiated at a Mass on the grounds of the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The congregation gathered under tents to worship and collect blessed Palm leaves rather than inside the Cathedral which is not being used since it requires reconstruction work after being badly damaged by an earthquake some years ago.

During his sermon, Berkeley said it was a time for the church to re-imagine the way Palm Sunday is celebrated and, it may be time for the church to re-imagine how things are done.

“Re-imagine Palm Sunday, or no Palm Sunday in the story of the Passion of Christ. Would we still have the salvation that God had offered us in Christ? Do we have to have Palm Sunday to have God’s salvation in Christ? Would our story of salvation be any less if we had the palms and the procession?

“We are sitting here now in the car park. If restoration of our church was complete we would not have been sitting here. But can’t we be out here sometimes? Can’t we be in Woodford Square on some Sundays?

"What would it be like if we didn’t use palms, but instead we had envelopes with money for the poor, and when we have our procession, we had our donations with us, walking for the poor?"

What about if instead of palms, he continued, we had pieces of white cloth and we waved them to call for a stop to violence, and black people killing each other?

“When we re-imagine, we open our hearts and minds to the possibilities that exist,” he said.

In other words, Berkeley said, I am saying can our Palm Sunday be different? Can we re-imagine it and make a statement?

Making comparisons to King Herod and Caesar in Jesus's time and Russian President Putin, US President Biden and local political parties, Berkeley put it to the congregation that the church has endured through troubled times before and will do so again.

“It is in a conflicted world that Jesus came. It is in a conflicted world that Jesus resolved to go to Jerusalem… (which was) the city that killed prophets and stoned those who were sent to it with messages from God.”

He said Palm Sunday should remind all that Jesus took the big decision to go to a place where he would suffer dire consequences, but still did it to give us all an example to follow.

He called on the congregation to do whatever they can, no matter how small an act, to guide people to the right path.

“It may be a grandchild or a neighbour,” he said. “However you might be able to, set some principles in place...you can help to change the world.”

ANGLICAN BISHOP CHARLES BERKELEY challenged the church to re-imagine Palm Sunday, and the church itself during the Palm Sunday service.

The service was held on the grounds of the Trinity Cathedral as the church itself was in dire need of repairs costing millions. The congregation gathered under tents and conducted the palm sharing followed by a procession around the grounds.

During his sermon Berkeley said it was a time for the church to re-imagine the way Palm Sunday is celebrated and it may be time for the church to re-imagine how things are done.

“Re-imagine Palm Sunday, or no Palm Sunday in the story of the passion of Christ. Would we still have the salvation that God had offered us in Christ? Do we have to have Palm Sunday to have God’s salvation in Christ? Would our story of salvation be any less if we had the Palms and the procession?

“We are sitting here now in the car park. If restoration of our church was complete we would not have been sitting here. But can’t we be out here sometimes? Can’t we be in Woodford Square on some Sundays? What would it be like if we didn’t use Palms, but instead we had envelopes with money for the poor, and when we have our procession we had our donations with us, walking for the poor? What about if instead of palms we had pieces of white cloth and we waved white cloths to call for a stop to the violence, and black people killing each other.

“When we re-imagine we open our hearts and minds to the possibilities that exist,” he said. “In other words I am saying can our Palm Sunday be different? Can we re-imagine it and make a statement?”

Making comparisons to King Herod and Caesar in Jesus’ time and Russian President Putin, US President Biden and local political parties, Berkely put it to the congregation that the church has endured through troubled times before and will again.

“It is in a conflicted world that Jesus came. It is in a conflicted world that Jesus resolved to go to Jerusalem… (which was) the city that kills prophets and stones those who are sent to it with messages from God.”

He said that Palm Sunday should remind us that Jesus took the big decision to go to a place where he would suffer dire consequences, but still did it to give an example to follow. He called on the congregation to do whatever little they can to guide people on the right path.

“It may be a grandchild or a neighbour,” he said. “However you might be able to set some principals in place, you can help to change the world.”