Please join in saying the words and singing the hymns printed in bold type.

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The service is sung by the Healey Willan Singers.

Setting: Mass of the Quiet Hour, George Oldroyd (1886–1951)

During the offertory hymn a collection will be taken. The money from today's services will be divided equally between Peek Vision and the work of the Abbey. Peek Vision is a social enterprise that powers eye health providers working in low- and middle-income countries to optimise their services and strengthen health systems.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter. The choir sings the Lent Prose

Refrain Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us : for we have sinned against thee.

God, we implore thee, in thy glory seated : bow down and hearken to thy weeping children : pity and pardon all our grievous trespasses.

Sins oft committed now we lay before thee : with true contrition, now no more we veil them : grant us, Redeemer, loving absolution.

Innocent, captive, taken unresisting : falsely accused, and for us sinners sentenced : save us, we pray thee, Jesu our Redeemer.

plainsong

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

All remain standing. The president introduces the Prayers of Penitence, after which all say

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.

The president gives the Absolution

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The choir sings Kyrie eleison

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

All remain standing for the Collect

Let us pray.

Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

All sit for the Reading from the Old Testament, Ezekiel 37: 1–14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, 'Mortal, can these bones live?' I answered, 'O Lord God, you know.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.'

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, 'Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely." Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.'

The choir sings Psalm 130

Out of the depths have I cried to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice;
   let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss,
   O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you shall be feared.
I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him;
   in his word is my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord, more than the night watch for the morning,
   more than the night watch for the morning.

O Israel, wait for the Lord,
   for with the Lord there is mercy;
with him is plenteous redemption
   and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

The Epistle, Romans 8: 6–11

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

All stand for the Procession of the Gospel. The choir sings

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

and all repeat

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name.

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

The reader announces the Gospel, John 11: 1–45

A certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill.' But when Jesus heard it, he said, 'This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.' The disciples said to him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?' Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.' After saying this, he told them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.' The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.' Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.' Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.'

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said to him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.'

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.' And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, 'Where have you laid him?' They said to him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!' But some of them said, 'Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?'

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.' Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, 'Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.' Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, 'Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.' When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.'

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Sermon by The Reverend David Stanton, Sub-Dean and Canon Treasurer

All stand to say the Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

All remain standing for the Prayers of Intercession. At the end of each petition there is said

The intercession ends

Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The president introduces the Peace

Once we were far off, but now in union with Christ Jesus we have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood, for he is our peace.

All may greet one another with the words Peace be with you. Please be sensitive to those who might not wish to shake hands

All remain standing to sing the Hymn during the Preparation of the Altar. The collection will be taken. Alternatively, cash and contactless donations may be given as you leave via the Great West Door

O love, how deep, how broad, how high!
how passing thought and fantasy
that God, the Son of God, should take
our mortal form for mortals' sake.

He sent no angel to our race
of higher or of lower place,
but wore the robe of human frame,
and he himself to this world came.

For us baptized, for us he bore
his holy fast, and hungered sore;
for us temptations sharp he knew;
for us the tempter overthrew.

For us to wicked men betrayed,
scourged, mocked, in crown of thorns arrayed;
for us he bore the cross's death;
for us at length gave up his breath.

For us he rose from death again,
for us he went on high to reign,
for us he sent his Spirit here
to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born to thee,
all glory, as is ever meet,
to Father and to Paraclete.
   Amen.

Words: from Apparuit benignitas Germany, 15th century, translated by Benjamin Webb (1819–85)
Tune: Eisenach 425 NEH, Johann Schein (1586–1630)

All remain standing for the Eucharistic Prayer. The president says

It is indeed right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For as the time of his passion and resurrection draws near the whole world is called to acknowledge his hidden majesty. The power of the life-giving cross reveals the judgement that has come upon the world and the triumph of Christ crucified. He is the victim who dies no more, the Lamb once slain, who lives for ever, our advocate in heaven to plead our cause, exalting us there to join with angels and archangels, for ever praising you and saying:

The choir sings Sanctus

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: glory be to thee, O Lord most high.

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The president continues the Eucharistic Prayer

Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ;

who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

The president concludes the Eucharistic Prayer

And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption. As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.

Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of [N and] all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

All remain standing. The president introduces the Lord's Prayer

Lord Jesus, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray, each in our own language,

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 remain standing for the Breaking of the Bread

The congregation is invited to sit as the president and other ministers begin the distribution of Holy Communion. Those wishing to receive come forward as directed by the Stewards. If you receive communion in your own church you are welcome to do so here. Gluten-free wafers are available

Holy Communion is offered in both kinds (bread and wine). Wine is offered to drink only; please refrain from dipping bread in the chalice. If you prefer to receive in one kind (bread alone) then you may do so. Those who do not wish to receive communion are invited to come for a blessing. Please bow your head to indicate to the priest that you are asking for a blessing. The minister says to each communicant

The body of Christ. Amen.

The blood of Christ. Amen.

During the giving of communion, the choir sings Agnus Dei and the Motet

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world; grant us thy peace.

Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands
That holy things have taken;
Let ears that now have heard thy songs
To clamour never waken.

Lord, may the songs which 'Holy' sang
Keep free from all deceiving;
The eyes which saw thy love be bright,
Thy blessed hope perceiving.

The feet that tread thy holy courts
From light do thou not banish;
The bodies by thy body fed
With thy new life replenish.

Words: ascribed to Ephrem the Syrian (c 306–73) translated by Charles Humphreys (1840–1921) and Percy Dearmer (1867–1936) Canon of Westminster 1931–36
Music: Christoph Peter (1626–69), arranged by Healey Willan (1880–1968)

All stand to sing the Hymn

The royal banners forward go,
   the cross shines forth in mystic glow,
where he in flesh, our flesh who made,
   our sentence bore, our ransom paid.

Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
   life's torrent rushing from his side,
to wash us in that precious flood,
   where mingled water flowed, and blood.

Fulfilled is all that David told
   in true prophetic song of old,
the universal Lord is he,
   who reigns and triumphs from the tree.

O tree of beauty, tree of light,
   O tree with royal purple dight,
elect on whose triumphal breast
   those holy limbs should find their rest!

On whose dear arms so widely flung,
   the weight of this world's ransom hung,
the price of humankind to pay
   and spoil the spoiler of his prey.

O cross, our one reliance, hail!
   So may thy power with us prevail
to give new virtue to the saint,
   and pardon to the penitent.

To thee, eternal Three in One,
   let homage meet by all be done:
whom by the cross thou dost restore,
   preserve and govern evermore.
      Amen.

Words: Vexilla regis prodeunt Venantius Fortunatus (c 530–c 609), translated by John Mason Neale (1818–66)
Tune: Gonfalon Royal 128ii NEH, Percy Buck (1871–1947)

Let us pray.

All remain standing. The president says the Prayer after Communion

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do also for you: give us the will to be the servant of others as you were the servant of all, and gave up your life and died for us, but are alive and reign, now and for ever. Amen.

The president pronounces the Blessing

Music after the service

Allegro moderato e serioso (Sonata in F minor Op 65 no 1), Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47)

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Hymns covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. Common Worship (Church House Publishing, 2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council. Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version.