Please join in saying the words and singing the hymn 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 Choir of Westminster Abbey.

Following the service a collection will be taken at the Great West Door. The money from today's services will be divided equally between the Cardinal Hume Centre and the work of the Abbey. The Cardinal Hume Centre, based in Westminster, supports families and young people facing poverty and homelessness by helping them to thrive.

The Chorister Experience

This afternoon we are delighted to welcome a number of boys who join the Abbey Choir at Evensong today as part of our Chorister Experience. This is a regular event, offering a taste of choristership to boys who are curious about what it is like to sing in a church choir and would like to try it for a day. In addition to participating in Evensong, the boys have spent the afternoon in various activities including singing with the Choristers, trying on choir robes, and exploring the Abbey.

For further information please visit the Abbey Choir School or contact [email protected]. We warmly welcome enquiries at any time.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

In the hour of my distress,
When temptations me oppress,
And when I my sins confess,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When I lie within my bed,
Sick in heart and sick in head,
And with doubts discomfited,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

When the house doth sigh and weep,
And the world is drowned with sleep,
Yet mine eyes the watch do keep,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me!

Words: from His Litany to the Holy Spirit Robert Herrick (c 1591–1674)
Music: Peter Hurford (1930–2019)

The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture

All remain standing. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

Composer: Richard Ayleward (1626–69)

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd : therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture : and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
He shall convert my soul : and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me : thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

All stand

Chant: George Martin (1844–1916)

All sit for the first Lesson, Habakkuk 2: 1–4

I will stand at my watch-post,
   and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
   and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
   make it plain on tablets,
   so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
   it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
   it will surely come, it will not delay.
Look at the proud!
   Their spirit is not right in them,
   but the righteous live by their faith.

Here ends the first lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

Evening Service in B flat, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)

All sit for the second Lesson, Revelation 14: 1–7

I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgement has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.'

Here ends the second lesson.

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Evening Service in B flat, Charles Villiers Stanford

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.

Let us pray.

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

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.

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

O Lord, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy people; that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. 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 Lord King Charles, Camilla the Queen Consort, William Prince of Wales, the Princess 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.

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.

Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

Love one another with a pure heart fervently, see that ye love one another: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God. For
'all flesh is as grass,
   and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth,
   and the flower thereof falleth away:
but the word of the Lord endureth for evermore.'
      Amen.

Words: 1 Peter 1: 3–5, 15, 17b, 22b–25a
Music: Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–76)

All kneel or remain seated 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

Love Divine, all loves excelling,
   joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
   all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
   pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
   enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
   let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
   never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
   serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
   glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation,
   pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation,
   perfectly restored in thee,
changed from glory into glory
   till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
   lost in wonder, love, and praise!

Words: Charles Wesley (1707–88)
Tune: Blaenwern 408i NEH, William Rowlands (1860–1937)

All remain standing as the choir and clergy depart

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

CHORISTERSHIPS AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Enquiries are welcomed at any time. If you have a son who enjoys singing, and would like further details of the world-renowned Abbey Choir and its unique choir school, please visit www.abbeychoirschool.org

Mr Mark Mitchell, Acting Headmaster, Westminster Abbey Choir School, Dean's Yard, London, SW1P 3NY, Tel 020 7222 6151 [email protected]
Mr Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, The Chapter Office, 20 Dean's Yard, London, SW1P 3PA, Tel 020 7654 4854 [email protected]

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