St. Michael and All Angels Sandhurst
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April 2020 Services

For general information about the services at St Michael's please see the Services Overview page.
See also "Hymns of the Month" at the bottom of this page.


Sunday 5 April
Palm Sunday


See Holy Week page
The readings are Psalm 118:19-29, Matthew 21:1-11
​You can watch Rev John White's sermon by clicking below. or just read the text
Sorry on some systems the mp4 file below shows the video upside down; it may depend which browser (or version of browser) you are using. If its a problem try downloading and saving the file and double click to open on your local system without using a browser.
john_white_sermon2.mp4
File Size: 74622 kb
File Type: mp4
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psalm_118_verses_19_to_29_pt_2.pdf
File Size: 85 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Sunday 12 April
​Easter Sunday
victory_–_easter_sermon.pdf
File Size: 171 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Theme: Victory!
9.30 Parish Communion live-streamed at www.facebook.com/StMichaelsSandhurst
Readings: Jeremiah 31:1-6, Psalm 118:14-24, Matthew 28:1-10
11.15 Family Service live-streamed on Zoom. Click here to access.

Sunday 19 April
​2nd Sunday of Easter

order_of_service_19th_april_2020__parish_communion_.pdf
File Size: 379 kb
File Type: pdf
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a_living_hope__1_peter_1’1-12_.pdf
File Size: 221 kb
File Type: pdf
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9.30 Parish Communion live-streamed at www.facebook.com/StMichaelsSandhurst. 
Please note that you don't need to have a Facebook account to watch this.

Theme: A living hope (Part 1 of series on 1 Peter)
Readings: 1 Peter 1:1-12, Psalm 16, John 20:19-31.   The sermon is downloadable opposite.

11.15 Family Service live-streamed on Zoom. Click here to access.  No password needed, but you’ll need to make sure the Zoom app is installed on your device, and using a device with a large screen is preferable for getting the most out of the service!

Sunday 26 April
3rd Sunday of Easter
order_of_service_26th_april_2020__parish_communion_.pdf
File Size: 358 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

sermon_260420.pdf
File Size: 58 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

9.30 Parish Communion live-streamed at www.facebook.com/StMichaelsSandhurst
Please note that you don't need to have a Facebook account to watch this.
Theme: A call to holy living (Part 2 of series on 1 Peter)
Readings: 1 Peter 1:13-25, Psalm
Psalm 116:1-3,10-17, Luke 24:13-35
You can view the sermon here.

11.15 Family Service live-streamed on Zoom. Click here to access.  No password needed, but you’ll need to make sure the Zoom app is installed on your device, and using a device with a large screen is preferable for getting the most out of the service!

Hymns of the Month

This month we look at two Passiontide hymns.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
https://youtu.be/LRaFdFkOVyY
Originally an African-American Spiritual song which was first printed in 1899 but this is not when it was first sung, it pre-dates the American Civil war which ended in 1865.  The song is highly likely to have been written by African-American slaves and freedom would have been a key theme.  The cross of Jesus can also be a symbol of freedom.

The questions in this hymn are not meant to be taken literally but they are there to provoke thoughts about what would it have been like as well as helping people to remember various aspects of the Passion story.  They are intended not to be used in private but rather as a community reflection. 

My Song is Love Unknown
https://youtu.be/HMart4wXsI0
This was written in 1664 by Samuel Crossman and there are parallels with an earlier poem written by George Herbert (1593-1633). Samuel Crossman (1624-1684)  and was originally set to a tune called “Wesley” from a much earlier era however the tune we usually sing it to was composed by John Ireland in 1918 and called “Love Unknown”.

This poignant meditation of the Passion of Christ (events from Palm Sunday to Good Friday) was published just before Crossman’s ordination, in The Young Man’s Meditation (1664). This poem appeared for the first time as a hymn in the Anglican Hymn Book in 1686.  The hymn reflects on our personal relationship with Jesus and why Jesus should become man and die for us?

Samuel Crossmann was a Puritan (someone who wanted to remove any remnants of Roman Catholic Popery from the Church of England) sympathiser and he participated in the Savoy Conference of 1661 which attempted to revise the Book of Common Prayer so that it could serve both Puritans and Anglicans, this was unsuccessful In 1662 the Act of Uniformity was passed and expelled some 2,000 Anglican ministers, including Crossman. He recanted and was ordained in 1665 and went on to become Dean of Bristol Cathedral in 1683.