Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

The service is sung by the Elysian Singers.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The officiant welcomes the congregation

All remain standing as the officiant introduces a general Confession

Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before God; yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul. Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice, unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying after me;

All kneel or sit

Almighty and most merciful Father; we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness, and live; and hath given power and commandment to his ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins: he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel. Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him, which we do at this present; and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure, and holy; so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

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. Amen.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

O Lord, open thou our lips
and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's name be praised.

Richard Ayleward (1626–69)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 59

Deliver me from mine enemies, O God : defend me from them that rise up against me.
O deliver me from the wicked doers : and save me from the blood-thirsty men.
For lo, they lie waiting for my soul : the mighty men are gathered against me, without any offence or fault of me, O Lord.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault : arise thou therefore to help me, and behold.
Stand up, O Lord God of hosts, thou God of Israel, to visit all the heathen : and be not merciful unto them that offend of malicious wickedness.
They go to and fro in the evening : they grin like a dog, and run about through the city.
Behold, they speak with their mouth, and swords are in their lips : for who doth hear?
But thou, O Lord, shalt have them in derision : and thou shalt laugh all the heathen to scorn.
My strength will I ascribe unto thee : for thou art the God of my refuge.
God sheweth me his goodness plenteously : and God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
Slay them not, lest my people forget it : but scatter them abroad among the people, and put them down, O Lord, our defence.
For the sin of their mouth, and for the words of their lips, they shall be taken in their pride : and why? their preaching is of cursing and lies.
Consume them in thy wrath, consume them, that they may perish : and know that it is God that ruleth in Jacob, and unto the end of the world.
And in the evening they will return : grin like a dog, and will go about the city.
They will run here and there for meat : and grudge if they be not satisfied.
As for me, I will sing of thy power, and will praise thy mercy betimes in the morning : for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing : for thou, O God, art my refuge, and my merciful God.

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.

Chant: Ivor Atkins (1869–1953)

All remain seated for the first Lesson Ecclesiasticus 38: 24–end

The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; only the one who has little business can become wise.
How can one become wise who handles the plough, and who glories in the shaft of a goad,
who drives oxen and is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about bulls?
He sets his heart on ploughing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.
So it is with every artisan and master artisan who labours by night as well as by day;
those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety;
they set their heart on painting a lifelike image, and they are careful to finish their work.
So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil, intent on his ironwork;
the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he struggles with the heat of the furnace;
the sound of the hammer deafens his ears, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object.
He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration.
So it is with is the potter sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet;
he is always deeply concerned over his products, and he produces them in quantity.
He moulds the clay with his arm and makes it pliable with his feet;
he sets his heart on finishing the glazing, and he takes care in firing the kiln.

All these rely on their hands, and all are skilful in their own work.
Without them no city can be inhabited, and wherever they live, they will not go hungry.
Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly.
They do not sit in the judge's seat, nor do they understand the decisions of the courts;
they cannot expound discipline or judgement, and they are not found among the rulers.
But they maintain the fabric of the world, and their concern is for the exercise of their trade.

How different the one who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High!

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his hand-maiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

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.

St Paul's Service, Herbert Howells (1892–1983)

All sit for the second Lesson Hebrews 8

The main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.' But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.

God finds fault with them when he says:

'The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord.
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, "Know the Lord",
for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will be merciful towards their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.'

In speaking of 'a new covenant', he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

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.

St Paul's Service, Herbert Howells

All say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany, the Lord's Prayer, and the Responses

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. 

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save The Queen.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
And make thy chosen people joyful.

O Lord, save thy people.
And bless thine inheritance.

Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

O God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; we humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Richard Ayleward

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth, Charles Prince of Wales, and all the Royal Family: Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Brotherhood of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Te lucis ante terminum
Rerum creator poscimus
Ut pro tua clementia
Sis praesul et custodia.

Procul recedant somnia
Et noctium phantasmata
Hostemque nostrum comprime
Ne polluantur corpora.

Praesta, Pater piissime
Patrique compar unice
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Regnans per omne saeculum. Amen.

Before the ending of the day,
we beseech you, O Maker of all,
that in your mercy
you would be our guide and protector.

Let dreams and nightly fantasms
be put far from us,
and restrain our Enemy
lest our bodies be defiled.

Protect us, O holy Father,
who, coequal with the Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Advocate,
reign throughout all ages. Amen.

Words: Office hymn at Compline
Music: Evening Hymn, Balfour Gardiner (1877–1950)

All kneel or sit for the Intercessions, at the end of which all say

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

All stand to sing the Hymn

Father, hear the prayer we offer:
not for ease that prayer shall be,
but for strength that we may ever
live our lives courageously.

Not for ever in green pastures
do we ask our way to be;
but the steep and rugged pathway
may we tread rejoicingly.

Not for ever by still waters
would we idly rest and stay;
but would smite the living fountains
from the rocks along our way.

Be our strength in hours of weakness,
in our wanderings be our guide;
through endeavour, failure, danger,
Father, be thou at our side.

Words: Aspiration, after Psalm 23, Love Maria Willis (1824–1908)
Music: Sussex 357 NEH, traditional English melody 

The Sermon by The Reverend David Stanton, Canon in Residence

The Blessing. All respond Amen.

All stand as the clergy depart

Organ voluntary

Paean, Herbert Howells

Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary.

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