On Friday 12th September, St Teilo’s, Llantilio Pertholey were lucky to be joined by Archbishop Elect Cherry Vann for a consecration of the new altar in the Chapel of Remembrance. It was a very moving service of thanksgiving and reflection.
The rain cleared and birdsong emerged just at the moment of consecration. An intimate Eucharist followed in the small chapel, surrounded by candlelight.
Bishop Cherry spoke of the sacred and symbolic meaning of this altar, a physical reminder of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice for all. Her sermon can be found below.
This moving service was followed by fellowship with the Bishop over wine and cheese. Many thanks to Ma Rector’s Warden Jess Graham for her dedication in shaping such a special service.
“It’s both a privilege and a joy to be here this evening to consecrate and dedicate the altar in the Chapel of Remembrance.
The use of altars in religious worship goes back to one of the earliest stories in the bible. After the great flood which, in the biblical narrative, wiped away the whole of humanity apart from Noah and those on the ark with him, Noah built an altar on which he offered sacrifices to God in thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. Later, in the book of Genesis, we read of Jacob having a dream in which he saw the angels ascending and descending on a ladder that reached from earth to heaven. When he awoke, he said How awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.’ And he placed the stone on which his head had been lying and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil over the top of it to signify its sacredness. He called the place Beth-el – meaning the house of God. There are many stories in the Old Testament of altars being built and being used to offer sacrifices to God, sometimes of grain but often of animals. The sins of the people were symbolically transferred to the animal who would bear the burden and whose sacrifice would serve as an atonement for all the failures and shortcomings of the God’s people. In turn, the sacrifice would bring forgiveness, healing and peace.
This was taken up in the Christian tradition as the death of Jesus was understood to be the ultimate atonement, not just for the sins of God’s people but for the whole world. No longer do faithful followers have to sacrifice week by week. Instead, they recall and re-member Christ’s sacrifice – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. It’s what happens in churches up and down the land every Sunday and it’s what we will be taking part in later in our worship together.
The altar, then, in the Christian tradition, serves as a memorial to the cross; a physical symbol of that instrument of torture on which Jesus died. It is sacred and set apart, dedicated and consecrated for the purpose of re-enacting that sacrifice at every service of communion. It carries on its top, the bread and the wine of the sacrament; the body and the blood of our Saviour which is then distributed and shared amongst God’s people.
It is the most profound moment in the liturgy with everything that has gone before leading up to that moment. It’s a moment of encounter, of communion with the living God – highly personal, deeply profound and exquisitely intimate – as we kneel at his altar and take into ourselves the body and blood of Christ.
It is, for us who receive it, a moment to give thanks for all that God has done and is doing for us; a moment to ask for God’s grace that we may become more Christlike and ever more deeply attuned to God’s purpose for our lives; a moment to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, after the pattern of Jesus.
This beautiful prayer is often used as a post communion prayer in the Church of England: ‘Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Strengthen us in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen’.
Sacrifice. Memorial. Self-offering. There’s a lovely synergy here with an altar that’s placed in a Memorial Chapel, a Chapel of Remembrance, dedicated to those who have lost their lives in war. For they too made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for their country, their families, their Monarch. They too are remembered and honoured through the building and dedicating of this sacred space. They too inspire all who come here with their deeply personal stories, to be similarly selfless in the way we live our lives. As we look at the photographs and read the stories of those from this area of Wales who died as a result of war, we give thanks for them and we give thanks to God.
Through this Eucharist, this act of communion together, surrounded by saints and angels and all who have gone before us, may we find forgiveness, healing and peace and so dedicate ourselves afresh to be living sacrifices in our day for the praise and glory of the God who is love.“
Archbishop Elect Cherry Vann