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CHOIR: Crossing the Bar

Words: Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Music: Rani Arbo (b.1968)

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PRECENTOR:

Good morning. Welcome to Portsmouth Cathedral on Sea Sunday.听 I鈥檓 Jo, Canon Precentor, here. 听We鈥檙e situated only 50 metres or so from the Solent so Portsmouth Cathedral is known as the Cathedral of the Sea. 听

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We鈥檙e very close to the many seafaring communities celebrated and supported by Sea Sunday each year. We have links with the Royal Navy and with the local fishing fleet, with lifeboats and lifeguards and the passenger ferries which cross to the Isle of Wight, to the Channel Islands and to France and Spain from here, and container ships which sail around the world. 听So we always have in mind those whose lives are linked closely to the sea.

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In a moment Our Dean, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, is going to lead a prayer which we say here every day.

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DEAN:

Creator and Father of all,

we pray for those who go down to the sea in ships

and serve upon the waters of the world.

Bless them and all who minister to their needs,

that they may put their trust in you

and find in you a strong anchor for their hopes

and so be filled with your peace;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.听

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ALL: Amen.听

CHOIR/ORGAN/ALL: HYMN: Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us

PRECENTOR:

Our links in Portsmouth with the 鈥楴avy Royal鈥� as it was first called go back to King Richard 1 who assembled the fleet destined to take part in the First Crusade in 1191.听 It is said that every British monarch since has visited here, walking down the High Street just outside the cathedral in recognition of the presence of the Royal Navy in our local waters. 听

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Even today, when sailing is not the only way to travel from our shores, this country like many others relies on shipping to bring in freight and goods.

Over 90% of all goods and fuel are transported by sea, which means that seafarers are essential key-workers who help us all. They make up an international community of sailors from different countries, many far from their homes and families for months at a time. We think of them, and the 听deep reserves of patience and faith they need as the choir sings the 46th Psalm.

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CHOIR/ORGAN: Psalm 46 (chant)

God is our hope and strength: a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved:

and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea.

Though the waters thereof rage and swell:

and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.

The rivers of the flood thereof shall make glad the city of God:

the holy place of the tabernacle of the most Highest.

God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed:

God shall help her, and that right early.

The heathen make much ado, and the kingdoms are moved:

but God hath shewed his voice, and the earth shall melt away.

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge.

O come hither, and behold the works of the Lord:

what destruction he hath brought upon the earth.

He maketh wars to cease in all the world:

he breaketh the bow, and knappeth the spear in sunder,

and burneth the chariots in the fire.

Be still then, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen,

and I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen.

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PRECENTOR:

Verses from Psalm 46, the setting based on a hymn tune by Martin Luther.

There are many places in the Bible which speak of the wonder and beauty of the sea, but also of its dangers and unpredictability. The prophet Jonah was caught up in a storm, thrown overboard by the crew, and then swallowed by what the Bible calls 鈥榓 great fish鈥� - probably meant as a whale. We hear his prayer to God in his isolation and abandonment now in Jonah Chapter 2 beginning at verse 1, read for us by the CEO of the Fishermen鈥檚 Mission, Marc.

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READING:

Jonah prayed to the听Lord听his God from the belly of the fish,听saying,
鈥業 called to the听Lord听out of my distress,听and he answered me;
听 out of the belly of Sheol I cried,听and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep,听into the heart of the seas,
听and the flood surrounded me;
听all your waves and your billows passed over me.
Then I said, 鈥淚 am driven away from your sight;
听how听shall I look again upon your holy temple?鈥�
The waters closed in over me;听the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my听head
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land听whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O听Lord听my God.
As my life was ebbing away,听I remembered the听Lord;
and my prayer came to you,听into your holy temple.
Those who worship vain idols听forsake their true loyalty.
But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the听Lord!鈥�
Then the听Lord听spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.

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PRECENTOR:

Many ships鈥� crews are deeply grateful to seafaring charities for help when at sea or in foreign ports. One of the charities especially remembered on Sea Sunday is the Mission to Seafarers which operates in 200 ports round the world, supporting the men and women working at sea with practical, emotional and spiritual support. 听

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One of those supported by the Mission to Seafarers is Captain Mark Hart.听 He spent 15 years at sea working up from Deck Cadet to Captain.

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Recorded speech: The Mission to Seafarers

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Words: Psalm 107.22-30

Music: Grayston Ives

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PRECENTOR:

Even those of us who have never been at sea appreciate the imagery of storms, of being rocked and buffeted by life events, of having to struggle with the unexpected and unpredictable. We even talk about being 鈥榓ll at sea鈥�, of facing waves of trouble, or feeling swamped. The trials and dangers of seafarers speak to all of this. 听听We listen now to a vivid account of how Jesus and his disciples were caught up in a sudden storm. It鈥檚 from Mark鈥檚 Gospel Chapter 4 beginning at verse 35, and it鈥檚 read by Liesel, the daughter of a Royal Navy family here in Portsmouth.

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READING:

When evening had come,

Jesus said to the disciples, 鈥楲et us go across to the other side.鈥櫶�

And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat,

just as he was. Other boats were with him.听

A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat,

so that the boat was already being swamped.听

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion;

and they woke him up and said to him,

鈥楾eacher, do you not care that we are perishing?鈥櫶�

He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 鈥楶eace! Be still!鈥�

Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.听

He said to them, 鈥榃hy are you afraid? Have you still no faith?鈥櫶�

And they were filled with great awe and said to one another,

鈥榃ho then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?鈥�

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CHOIR/ORGAN/ALL: HYMN: Lord the wind and sea obey thee,听听Words: Percy Dearmer,听Tune: QUEM PASTORES

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PRECENTOR:

This morning we welcome the Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, Andrew Hillier, as our preacher.

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SERMON

Sitting on a beach and listening to the ebb and flow of the waves washing over the shore is to hear our planet 鈥榖reathe鈥� in and out.

In the United Kingdom we have always understood the importance of the sea. Since earliest times, we have been a seafaring nation, using our seas and oceans to trade and explore our world. We understand today, probably more than ever before how the oceans and seas are vital to the life of our planet, containing 97% of our water, half of our oxygen, and absorbing much of the carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

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Over half of our global population live in coastal zones, and over 140 million tons of food comes from the oceans to add to our diets. Here in the UK, so much of our economic activity depends on the oceans and 95% of trade reaches our shores via the sea.听

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Sunday by Sunday, and on all great moments of ceremony, as the Royal Navy navigates the oceans, we sing the Naval Hymn 鈥淓ternal Father, strong to save鈥�.

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We鈥檒l sing the hymn later in our service today. It was written in 1860 by the poet William Whiting. Whiting had grown up in Kensington and had been educated at Clapham and Winchester College. Like so many of us who have grown up in this island nation, Whiting would have been familiar with the sea having played in its waves and run along its beaches as a child.

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At the age of 35, Whiting took passage on a ship that encountered a violent storm. The crew struggled to maintain control of the ship as they fought the great power of the wind and the waves. The experience must have been a terrifying ordeal, especially for the passengers unused to life at sea, but thankfully the storm abated, and the damaged ship made it safely back to port.

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Whiting was perhaps unsurprisingly much changed by this experience, growing in his respect for the oceans nearly as much as he respected the God who made them.听

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Later, as Master of Winchester College Choristers School, Whiting was approached by a young student about to embark upon a voyage to the United States. The student confided that he felt an overwhelming fear of the voyage ahead. Whiting spoke to the student of his own seagoing experience and deliverance from the storm with the assurance that he would write something for the student to 鈥榓nchor his faith鈥� before he set sail. What followed, inspired by the words of Psalm 107, that we heard sung by the Cathedral Choir earlier, was a poem entitled 鈥淓ternal Father, strong to save鈥�.听

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Whiting鈥檚 experience of a storm at sea would be familiar to any who have ventured upon the waters since our maritime travels began. In the first chapter of Genesis water is said to have pre-existed creation. God created light, then made the firmament separating the upper and lower waters which were gathered into seas and leaving room for the dry land. From the watery chaos, distinctions were made, and order began. From the waters all life came 鈥� the seas the womb of all living things. A little later in Genesis, the story of Noah spoke of a great flood. More than rain, 鈥淎ll the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened.鈥� God reversed his acts of creation, and chaos returned to the earth as in the beginning.

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These days, seafarers are aided with all sorts of clever devices that enable us to predict the tides and the weather, but still storms cannot always be avoided. 听In that wonderfully familiar text, we have just heard from St. Mark鈥檚 Gospel, we are told once again of how Jesus calmed the storm.听 The disciples took Jesus out in the boat that night 鈥渏ust as he was鈥�. Accepting Jesus 鈥渏ust as he was鈥� presented the disciples with their greatest challenge 鈥� and perhaps it remains the greatest challenge for us today. The picture painted by Mark Chapter 4 is so humbly simple: there is Jesus, bobbing about in a smelly little fishing boat, with rustic wooden boards, and some rather tatty sails. It was from this rather unpromising position that Jesus taught parables that probably very few understood. There is nothing fancy here 鈥� no great stage, lectern, or pulpit. Instead, from a little boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus spoke of mustard seeds, and birds and trees; and people must have departed home having listened to these things scratching their heads and wondering what it was all about. The challenge of Jesus 鈥渏ust as he was鈥� was to see God in someone otherwise so ordinary. The challenge was and remains to believe in the Kingdom of God despite living in a world so filled with storms. And yet it鈥檚 our faith that so long as Jesus is in the boat with us, whether or not any storms are quelled, we will not be finally or eternally swamped.听听

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Today we pray for all those who go to sea. In this great sea-faring city, in this the Cathedral of the Sea- we remember too that we are all bound to the sea, we rely upon it, for prosperity and for security and we pause to recall those who risk all for us upon the mighty waters.

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O Trinity of love and power,

Our brethren shield in danger's hour;

From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

Protect them whereso'er they go:

And ever let there rise to thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

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PRECENTOR:听

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The prayers are led by Alex, Launch Authority at听 听 听 听 听 Portsmouth Lifeboat station, and James,听 听 听 听 听 听 Chaplain to the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust.听 听

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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 As we pray together now,

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 we remember seafarers the world over

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 and those who sail from our shores;

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 all whose work is to keep others safe at sea.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 and all caught up in the storms of life.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We pray for those we love and care for,

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听asking Christ to calm their fears as he calmed the听 听 听 听 sea.

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CHOIR: The Man who calmed the sea

Stuart Townend & Gary Sadler Copyright,听漏 2011 Thankyou Music,听arr. S. Y. Gunga

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ALEX:听听听听听听听听听听听听 Almighty and eternal God,

we pray for the peace of the world

and for those who work for peace,

We hold before you all members of the Royal Navy

in their peace-keeping role across the world.

We pray for those standing into danger this day,

remembering their family and friends

and all who long for their safe return.

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JAMES:听听听听听听听听听 Almighty and eternal God,
from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted,
either by death or life:
hear our prayers as we remember

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听听all who have lost their lives at sea

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 in conflict, accident or in the service of others.

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 Fulfil in them the purpose of your love;
and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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ALL:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.听 Amen.

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CHOIR/ORGAN/ALL: HYMN: Eternal Father, strong to save

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PRECENTOR:

Bishop Jonathan, the Bishop of Portsmouth, concludes our Sunday Worship with the blessing.

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BISHOP: Blessing

May God guide you on your voyage through life,

keep you safe through every storm

and bring you at last to the safe haven of his love;

and the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

be with you all

and remain with you always.

ALL: Amen.

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ORGAN: VOLUNTARY: Fanfare de听Maris听- Philip Moore

(composed especially for Portsmouth Cathedral鈥檚 new organ trumpets in 2018)