Please join in saying the words and singing the hymns 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 St Margaret's Church during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

Order of Service

All stand as the clergy enter

The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture

All remain standing to say 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.

All sing the Hymn

When morning gilds the skies,
my heart awaking cries,
   May Jesus Christ be praised:
alike at work and prayer
to Jesus I repair;
   May Jesus Christ be praised.

The night becomes as day,
when from the heart we say,
   May Jesus Christ be praised:
the powers of darkness fear,
when this sweet chant they hear,
   May Jesus Christ be praised.

In heaven's eternal bliss
the loveliest strain is this,
   May Jesus Christ be praised:
let air, and sea, and sky
from depth to height reply,
   May Jesus Christ be praised.

Be this, while life is mine,
my canticle divine,
   May Jesus Christ be praised:
be this th'eternal song
through all the ages on,
   May Jesus Christ be praised.

Words: Beim frühen Morgenlicht from Katholisches Gesangbuch Würzburg, c 1744, translated by Edward Caswall (1814–78)
Tune: Laudes Domini 473ii NEH, Joseph Barnby (1838–96)

All sit to say Venite exultemus Domino

O come, let us sing unto the Lord :
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving :
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God :
and a great King above all gods.
In his hands are all the corners of the earth :
and the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it :
and his hands prepared the dry land.
O come, let us worship and fall down :
and kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is the Lord our God :
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

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.


All remain seated to say Psalm 89: 1–19

My song shall be alway of the loving-kindness of the Lord :
with my mouth will I ever be shewing thy truth from one generation to another.
For I have said, Mercy shall be set up for ever :
thy truth shalt thou stablish in the heavens.
I have made a covenant with my chosen :
I have sworn unto David my servant;
thy seed will I stablish for ever :
and set up thy throne from one generation to another.
O Lord, the very heavens shall praise thy wondrous works :
and thy truth in the congregation of the saints.
For who is he among the clouds :
that shall be compared unto the Lord?
And what is he among the gods :
that shall be like unto the Lord?
God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints :
and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.
O Lord God of Hosts, who is like unto thee :
thy truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side.
Thou rulest the raging of the sea :
thou stillest the waves thereof when they arise.
Thou hast subdued Egypt, and destroyed it :
thou hast scattered thine enemies abroad with thy mighty arm.
The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine :
thou hast laid the foundation of the round world, and all that therein is.
Thou hast made the north and the south :
Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
Thou hast a mighty arm :
strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
Righteousness and equity are the habitation of thy seat :
mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Blessed is the people, O Lord, that can rejoice in thee :
they shall walk in the light of thy countenance.
Their delight shall be daily in thy name :
and in thy righteousness shall they make their boast.
For thou art the glory of their strength :
and in thy loving-kindness thou shalt lift up our horns.
For the Lord is our defence :
the Holy One of Israel is our King.

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.

All remain seated for the first Lesson, Song of Solomon 8: 5–7

Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
   leaning upon her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labour with you;
   there she who bore you was in labour.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
   as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
   passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
   a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
   neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
   all the wealth of one's house,
   it would be utterly scorned.

All stand to say Te Deum laudamus

We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee Cherubin and Seraphin continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
the Father, of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable, true, and only Son,
also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ;
thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints, in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage.
Govern them and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee, and we worship thy Name ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.

All sit for the second Lesson, 2 Peter 3: 8–13

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

All stand to say Benedictus

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel :
for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
and hath raised up a mighty salvation for us :
in the house of his servant David;
as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets :
which have been since the world began;
that we should be saved from our enemies :
and from the hands of all that hate us;
to perform the mercy promised to our forefathers :
and to remember his holy covenant;
to perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham :
that he would give us;
that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies :
might serve him without fear;
in holiness and righteousness before him :
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the highest :
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
to give knowledge of salvation unto his people :
for the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God :
whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death :
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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.

All face east to 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 to say 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 says the Collects; of the day, for Peace, for Grace:

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, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

Further prayers may be said, after 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, during which a collection will be taken. The money from today's services will be divided equally between the work of the Abbey and the charities it supports. UK residents may also donate £5 or £10 to the work of the Abbey by texting respectively ABBEY5 or ABBEY10 to 70025

Ye servants of the Lord
   each for your Master wait,
observant of his heavenly word,
   and watchful at his gate.

Let all your lamps be bright,
   and trim the golden flame;
gird up your loins as in his sight,
   for aweful is his name.

Watch! 'tis your Lord's command,
   and while we speak, he's near;
mark the first signal of his hand,
   and ready all appear.

O happy servant he,
   in such a posture found!
He shall his Lord with rapture see,
   and be with honour crowned.

Christ shall the banquet spread
   with his own royal hand,
and raise that faithful servant's head
   amidst the angelic band.

Words: The Active Christian Philip Doddridge (1702–51) after Luke 7: 35–38
Tune: Narenza 18 NEH, from Johann Leisentritt's Catholicum Hymnologium Germanicum 1584, adapted by William Havergal (1793–1870)

All remain standing for the Blessing

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